Input on options for an all-grain setup

[adamgram]

I'm looking to switch from extract to all-grain. I also need a new brew kettle. Here are a few things I think might work. Please share your thoughts from experience:
1) Buy a rubbermaid mash/lauter tun and a regular 10 gallon pot (no spigot, thermometer, or false bottom). Start by single-infusion mashing in the rubbermaid mash tun, using a false bottom and sparge arm while using the same rubbermaid thing as the lauter tun. Then using the brew kettle like I always have with extract. Later, if I want to get frisky, I could either step-mash by adding boiling water to the rubbermaid thing, or by mashing in the brew kettle on the stove, then pouring the mash into the rubbermaid thing and using it as a laurter tun.

2) I buy a 10 gallon brew kettle with a false bottom, and use it for all three steps: mash on the stove, drain into bucket, sparge into bucket, remove grains and false bottom, dump wort back into kettle and boil. Transitioning from single-infusion to step mashing down the road would be much simpler: just adjust the heat differently.

What yous think? Would either work? One better than the other? Am I forgetting about anything? Thanks in advance for your help. Cheers!

 

[chickypad]

If you're going with option 2 why not just BIAB. Cleaning out the false bottom and kettle while the wort is cooling in buckets sounds like a PITA and a waste of time on brew day. In option 1 is your kettle doubling as your hot liquor tank while collecting wort in buckets, or do you have another vessel to hold your sparge water?

 

[hirambiram]

Option 1 will work fine. Here is what I have done. I have converted a Coleman extreme 58 qt into my mash tun using dual stainless mesh hoses. This will allow me to do 10 gallon batches.

I have a 25 gallon brew kettle that I heat my strike water in.

The burner that I bought came with a 10 gallon kettle so while I'm mashing I heat up the sparge water in that kettle. So essentially this is the hot liquor tank.

I also have the ability to fly sparge with a round orange cooler fitted with a simple copper manifold. But to be honest I rarely use it.

So I collect the first runnings in the 25 gallon kettle then batch sparge with the 10 gallon kettle.

I hope this helps. This set up has served me well for more than 4 years.

Here's to taking that step from extract to all grain.

 

[FRS]

+1 for brew in a bag, absolutely the cheapest and easiest way to make great all grain beers!

 

[RM-MN]

Are you a traditionalist who must do things the traditional way even if it means spending more money and more time for the same results? Or are you a realist who just wants to get the results the easiest way even though it irritates the traditionalists?

You first setup looks like you are planning to fly sparge. That's fine if that is what you want but be prepared to spend an extra hour or 2 each brew session because fly sparging must be done slowly or you end up with channeling in the grain bed which will lead to poor efficiency.

Your second method looks more like a kludge to do things in the kettle that would better be done in a mash tun and will likely work but take more steps and probably more time too, leading to a frustrating brew day.

Your third method (I know you didn't mention a third way) is to forget the sparge arm, mash in the cooler, drain into the kettle, add sparge water to the tun, stir like mad and drain (batch sparge). This method is faster and loses you a slight amount of efficiency. You also have to collect the runnings into a bucket since your boil pot will be used to heat sparge water.

Then there is the non-traditional method called BIAB. By far the simplest and cheapest and probably the fastest too with efficiency to match or exceed the other methods. Mill the grains fine, heat the water in the boil pot, drop in a bag that has a fine mesh weave (paint strainer is commonly used) and stir in the grains. Mash as usual, pull the bag of grains out to drain, squeeze out all the wort, sparge if you want because you can gain a bit of efficiency that way and get your full volume if you misjudged the grain absorption, and bring it to a boil. The hardest part of all this is lifting the bag of grain and that can be overcome if you think it through. Pulleys are the usual way.

 

[adamgram]

Sounds like a lot of you like BIAB, and no one like option #2. You've pointed out a few things that make option 1 or BIAB a lot easier, so I'm leaning away from option #2. It seems like the only thing it has going for it is the ability to step-mash. Does anyone have any experience step-mashing in an insulated cooler? Or mashing in the oven and pouring into the cooler for lautering?