Idiot questions!

[GABrewboy]

First off I am on my 5th batch doing extract/grain. I am spending on average about $40, of which $15+ is on the extract itself. If I go all grain, this will reduce the total costs by tons correct?

My idiot question is though, doing all grain this gives you the malt/extract verse having to buy a LME or DME.....is this correct?

My next and last question is: I currently use a propane burner outside, have a 5 gallon stainless brew pot and a 3 gallon stainless brew pot. What other equipment would I need to go all grain? And what would be the expense of going all grain?

Thanks

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Lots of posts in here on the equipment required...check out www.howtobrew.com for a comprehensive breakdown. It can be done very reasonably using off the shelf parts.

As far as your first question, you are correct. You don't buy any LME or DME...you are creating your own product from the grains themselves. Most people can do a basic AG batch for ~$20 plus or minus a few bucks depending on yeast.

 

[GABrewboy]

Thanks so much BEEGEE!! I will check out the link you gave me......yes, I tried to find posts on exactly what you need, but just ran across a bunch of different answers......I am the type of person you need to break it down exactly......

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

right on w/BeeGee. Plamer's is a good, easy guide. you can also hit www.cruisenews.net/brewing/ easy how-to on going all-grain. i did this before i got my keg-kettle system, and had good sucess w/it.

good luck!

 

[Walker]

one thing I think you'll need to get is a bigger kettle. 5 gallons is big, but you'll have to boil something more than 6 gallons for AG... I think....

note: not a AG person myself, but thinking about doing it someday.

-walker

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i forgot, no stupid questions here, right guy's?
good follow up walker. the bigger the brew kettle the better. enables you to get a full rigorous wort boil. better for the color, hop utilization, and maltiness. plus helps hot and cold break for clarity. shoot for an 8-10 gallon if you can.

 

[GABrewboy]

Okay, so if I am reading all this info correctly, basically I will need to buy a cooler with spigot to build the mash tun and then another brew pot that is
8-10 gallons? Is that all I will need then?

Thanks again!

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

you'll need to rig a spigot of some sort to allow wort to flow, and keep the grain in the cooler mash/lauter tun. look at the link to the el cheapo mash tun on the cruisenews.net link. i set mine up for about $30, got all the parts at Lowe's. easy as pie.

 

[GABrewboy]

Great thanks!! But I need a bigger brew pot as well correct? I only have a 5 gallon stainless one right now.

 

[Darth Konvel]

Great thanks!! But I need a bigger brew pot as well correct? I only have a 5 gallon stainless one right now.

Ideally, yes. The more wort you can collect and boil, the better. I personally use multiple pots since I'm limited to my stove top, and I imagine you could get away with something similar if you cannot find a larger brewing pot.

 

[El Pistolero]

Great thanks!! But I need a bigger brew pot as well correct? I only have a 5 gallon stainless one right now.

Yes, a bigger brew pot, and a wort chiller to go with it.

 

[GABrewboy]

Thanks guys!! I do have a wort chiller.....homemade one of those a few weeks ago...... Now, the question is though, do you go with the design palmer writes about or whats on the cruisenews site? Which one of these will clog the least amount and what do you do if it does clog the runoff tube?

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i never had a stuck mash w/ the ss screen set-up. i brewed hefe's, rye's, etc. i would suggest a 10 gallon cooler over the 5 gallon. able to do higher gravity brews. just my $0.02.

 

[david_42]

A larger brew pot is needed. Sparging produces excess low-gravity wort, which then has to be boiled down. There's no other way to get most of the sugars out of the grain.

You can convert your 5 gallon pot to a mash/lauter tun. That's what I did. Just added a no-weld spigot and a bazooka filter. Keep the 3 gallon pot around for heating sparge water. I have a cooler, but only use it to store hot water for sparging.

Clogged tubes are rarely a problem (I had this happen once, too much rye), but you can just blow some air back through the tubes. Or CO2, if you are clever with your hose.

 

[GABrewboy]

So I could use my current brew pot for the mash tun then? That is plenty big enough? I thought it had to be like 10+ gallons even though I will only be brewing 5 gallon batches.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

the maxi got out of the 5 g cooler was about 13 lbs of grain. it was filled to the top. you can do most average ale/lagers in a 5 g mash/lauter cooler/kettle. if you like to brew imperial IPA's or stouts, barleywines, wee heavy's ,ect., you won't have enough room for the grains + mash water. that's why i suggested the 10 g cooler.
you can drill a hole in your current kettle, get a ss weldless valve to put in. most all HBS have them, or get 'em on-line. i think the bit you'll need is 7/8"? when i made mine, i used a friends drill press. much easier that way.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I completely spaced on the cruisenews link...that's the best for getting into AG on the cheap and ease of use. Do it that way. I would still go with a cooler for a MLT because it will be easier to maintain a constant temperature than in a kettle. A 5g cooler is the minimum...you'll feel cramped if you want to do any high OG brews with 5g (I was). I'd get a 36-40qt cooler for 5g batches.

You're really going to want a 30qt or bigger kettle for boiling, although as Lupus Umbrus points out you could do two separate boils each about 3-3.5g. But you still have to collect about 6.5-7g of wort and stir it, plus you only have one 5g pot to begin with, so it's looking like new kettle for you!

 

[GABrewboy]

Just what the wifey wants to hear.......more money on this brewing.....he he......thanks guys!!! Looks like I will be making a trip to Lowe's very soon......Ahhhh......they love me there!!!

 

[david_42]

A typical mash would be 1.3 quarts of water per pound of grain. Most of the time, you'll be using 8-12 pounds of grain, that's less than four gallons. I actually mash-in at 1 quart per pound and add water to keep it hot. Some people will mash as high as 2.5 quarts per pound and do 15-18 pound bills. If you tend to make heavy ales and don't want to do partial mashes, a bigger tun would be neccessary. I make my heavies by using extract for about 1/2 the OG.

 

[GABrewboy]

Well we do love the heavy ales......So I think I will just go ahead and go with the cooler as the mash tun and get me another pot......now, where can I get a nice pot that is 8-10 g's? My wal-mart only has 5g pots.....don't really want to pay shipping on something that large either....

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i had bought my at Academy Sports and Outdoors. try something like Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shops, CostCo, etc. i would get ss, not aluminum, but that's me.

 

[david_42]

Stores that sell to restaurants (like Smart & Final on the west coast) will have both stainless steel and aluminum pots in large and very large. Would you believe a 150 quart pot? Forklift not included.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

A typical mash would be 1.3 quarts of water per pound of grain. Most of the time, you'll be using 8-12 pounds of grain, that's less than four gallons.

It's less than 4 gallons of water, but accounting for grain absorption and the volume of the grain itself you will be right at 5g of total volume with no room for doing a mash out infusion or for doing high gravity beers. All things being equal, including cost, I'd go with a 10g cooler, as I did with the second one I bought.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Well we do love the heavy ales......So I think I will just go ahead and go with the cooler as the mash tun and get me another pot......now, where can I get a nice pot that is 8-10 g's? My wal-mart only has 5g pots.....don't really want to pay shipping on something that large either....

If I had it to do over again I would have bought a retired keg and converted it. Otherwise, check DRB's suggestions as well as your LHBS. I got a 30qt ss pot at my LHBS for $80 which isn't a smoking bargain, but it's not bad.

 

[robmee]

the last purchase I made was for 43 lbs of grain, hops, a tube a yeast (I reused some as well). I got it all for $52 and it made 20 gal of beer (blonde and the wit).

 

[GABrewboy]

Well I got a pretty cool cooler for the mash tun! It is a 60qt cooler on wheels, and it actually has a small shelf sort of in the bottom and the drain plug is above this shelf so the grains should stay below the drain plug and give me a nice run off with very little grains even though I am going to use the stainless braided hose as my filter like on cruises' site. Found this cooler at Wal-mart for $29. My question is though, where can I find the 7/8 rubber stopper like he mentions?

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Not following the shelf setup, but the grains float so they definitely won't be below the drain plug. The stainless braid does a good job of filtering, however, as long as you recirculate the first quart or two of runoff.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i usually recirculate for 15-20 minutes too. helps to set the grain bed prior to sparging.

 

[GABrewboy]

Ahh......guess I am an idiot still on all this......thought the grains got heavy and sank to the floor of the mash tun.......

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

nope, not an idiot. we're all learning here.......