How close to AG can I get with extract/partial-mash equipment?

[jamnich314]

I've been doing extract up to this point. I guess you could consider some of them to be partial mash since I have been steeping some grains before adding the LME (right?). My question is, how creative can I get with my recipes without going to AG equipment?

I have a 9 gallon SS kettle with a single, welded valve on a "turkey fryer" burner stand. From what I know, I would need a mash tun and another kettle for hot water (HLT I believe you all call it) to have a "true" AG setup.

How much could I do without those two extra pieces of equipment (along with all the smaller parts and a much different setup)?

How much could I do with a mash tun cooler but not another kettle?

How much could I do with a smaller pot like you would find in a kitchen pot set as my HLT and a mash tun cooler?

I have tons of options when it comes to ingredient kits but I'm also finding lots of great recipes online that require a lot more grain then I have been using. Could I make my mash in a kitchen pot (on the stove) and steep it for however long - while getting the water in my boiling kettle warmed up - remove the grain bag, then add the "tea" to the nearly boiling water that will become the wort in order to get a total of 5+ gallons?

Hopefully this makes sense. I'm basically trying to find a way to either do more partial-mashes or potentially AG without spending more money on equipment. I'm fairly new to this and expect to keep doing it and eventually spend the money on an AG setup, but want to know what options I have right now.

 

[captwalt]

I see. I began AG brewing with 2.5 gallon batches. I got a 5 gall igloo cooler. I had a 5 gallon pot and a threee gallon. The 2.5 gallon batches got tiresome quickly so I went and got a turkey fryer with a 9 gallon pot and used my 5 gallon as the hlt. this worked for a while until I upped the size of everything. I get the feeling this is a common tale umong us homebrewers.
If you really want to try AG im sure you can figure it out with what you have. you will definately need two pots but they dont both have to be the same size. you of course need a brew kettle to boil you wort in and it must be larger than your boil volume for obvious reasons but your HLT can be any size ( within reason). you will need a mash tun but you could brew in a bag in your 9 gall. ive never done it but i cant see why it wouldnt work.
if you got a cooler mash tun you could make smaller batches and not sparge them but I think it may be easier to get another pot. you may see from people on hbt that we all do the same things but in different ways.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

You can start all grain pretty easily if you look into BIAB. Just get a bag and you're ready to go since you have a large pot and can do full volume boils. I suggest either Wilser's bags ($20ish), or if you want to go super cheap, hit up an ikea for the Lill curtains. ($4)

Steeping specialty grains isn't partial mash unless you include some base malt to convert the starch to sugars.

 

[CUrchin]

BIAB all you would need is a bag. It is all grain brewing....

If that doesn't appeal to you and you have some buckets lying around you could easily make a zapap mash tun. While mashing in the zapap, you could heat your sparge water and transfer it to another bucket, do your running to your kettle and then batch sparge. It's crude but it works. That is what appeals to me about this hobby- You can make it as simple or complicated as you like.

 

[feinbera]

If you're using a cooler mash tun, you definitely don't need a second kettle. Since you're just gonna boil 'em anyway, it doesn't really matter what you collect your runnings into, as long as it's clean (your fermenter, your bottling bucket, whatever other random pots/bowls you've got lying around the kitchen...). Use the one big pot as an HLT until you've added the water to your final sparge, dump any left-over water, and, voila, your boil kettle is empty and ready to start heating the wort before your last sparge is even finished.

 

[Darwin18]

You do not need a dedicated kettle as a HLT. That is a huge waste of money. Use your existing kettle as your HLT and purchase a very cheap pot (I use buckets, some people don't) to hold the first runnings from your mash tun. Anyone trying to sell you on a dedicated kettle for a HLT is trying to scam you out of money.

All you really need is something to mash in. You can go BIAB or you can go with a cooler style mash tun. I prefer the 10-gallon rubber maid circular coolers because I mash any style of beer that I choose. You would just need to add a screen or false bottom, and a weld-less ball valve. I haven't done BIAB but it seems very popular.

A good overview on basic, cheap all grain can be found here:

http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

 

[jekeane]

Biab (brew in a bag) is the all grain solution you are looking for. You can make a DIY bag from voile shower curtains for like $5 or you can buy a bag suited to your pot from the guy mentioned earlier.

 

[muels]

Same as everyone else. I have one 15 gallon kettle. My first runnings go into rinsed out buckets while I heat my sparge water. Once I put my sparge water in I dump the wort into the now empty brew kettle and start heating it. 2nd runnings go into the buckets then to the boil kettle with 1st. One mash tun, one boil kettle. Buy a round 10 gallon igloo from walmart and search for the thread about building a stainless braided hose with valve. Your 9 gallon pot is more than enough for 5 gallon batches. Minimal investment to get into all grain....50-70 bucks depending on if you can find a cooler on sale!


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Darwin18]

Muels - Your process is pretty much identical to mine.