Mash twice boil once

[SRTBREW]

Hey guys and gals, I need a little help here. I'm planning to do a kolsch for my next brew. I have a few partial mashes under my belt, but to save some money I want to do all grain on this one. The problem is I'm limited to my 2 gallon cooler. I can mash around 4.5 pounds of grain at one time. Does anyone think I'll have a problem doing two seperate mashes before I start to boil? I know this will signifigantly lengthen my brew day. I don't really care because I work at night and have nothing to do on my nights off. Will it cause any problems to do one mash, let it sit in my brewpot and then do my second mash?

Here's the recipe for suggestions.

7.46 lbs. German 2-row Pils
0.32 lbs. Crystal Malt 20°L
0.98 lbs. Corn Flaked info
0.6 oz. Perle (Pellets, 8.25 %AA) boiled 60 min.
0.50 oz. Hallertau (Pellets, 4.50 %AA) boiled 15 min.
0.50 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 1 min.
Yeast : WYeast 2565 Kolsch

Thanks all

 

[wilserbrewer]

Should work fine...You could also mash 1/2 in the cooler and the other half in your brewpot. Just wrap some towels or blankets around it. Sparge out the cooler and then transfer the mash from the pot to the cooler and sparge it.

Walmart carries a slick little 28 qt cooler for like 11 bucks, no drain hole so you'd have to drill it.

More than one way to skin a cat...I wouldn't be afraid to improvise if that's what you wanna do.

Mike

 

[SRTBREW]

I've got a decent sized cooler at home, but it doesn't have a drain. I don't have a hole saw or dremel to make the right size hole. I would already have a large mash tun if I did.
The biggest thing I'm worried about is not collecting enough wort due to grain absortion to get to a 6.5 gallon volume. Using 1.25 quarts for mash-in and sparge I'll only get around 5 gallons. Should I do a second sparge to collect the correct amount of wort?

Next question ;^)
Could I substitute american 2 row for the german pils? Will that make a beer that isn't true to style?

 

[WBC]

Usually all your equipment needs to be for the same size batches because you have to work with as much liquid as you are brewing throughout the process. Think it through very carefully because there is nothing worse than not having a container big enough at any point in the process. Can you cool that much wort? Got carboys? Can you keep your fermenter at the right temperature while fermenting?

 

[SRTBREW]

I have the proper fermentor and a 5 gallon bb for secondary. My boil pot is 32 quart. I will do a water bath with 2 liter bottles of ice to maintain correct fermentation temp of around 60 degrees. I guess I should just pull out the old credit card and get a real mash tun huh?

Cooling the wort may be interesting. I do not have a chiller. I have to use the bathtub.

I also don't have a way to lager this. Will it turn out ok if I keep it at 60 in secondary?

 

[Poobah58]

It's it's a Kolsch, drop the crystal malt and the corn! A Kolsch should be dry and malty. Could use a 1/2-1# of wheat howerer if desired and maybe 1/4-1/2# of munich or vienna.
FWIW here's my 5 gallon recipe:

9 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) 90.48 %
12.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) 7.14 %
4.0 oz Munich (7.1 SRM) Grain 2.38 %
0.75 oz Pearle [7.50 %] (60 min) 18.9 IBU
0.75 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (15 min) 3.2 IBU
0.75 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (5 min) 2.0 IBU
1 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
1 Pkgs Kolsch II Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2575PC)

 

[Brew-boy]

It's it's a Kolsch, drop the crystal malt and the corn! As Kplsch should be dry and malty. Couls use a 1/2-1# of wheat howerer if desired and maybe 1/4-1/2$ of munich or vienna.
FWIW here's my 5 gallon recipe:

9 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) 90.48 %
12.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) 7.14 %
4.0 oz Munich (7.1 SRM) Grain 2.38 %
0.75 oz Pearle [7.50 %] (60 min) 18.9 IBU
0.75 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (15 min) 3.2 IBU
0.75 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (5 min) 2.0 IBU
1 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
1 Pkgs Kolsch II Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2575PC)

I agree 100%.

 

[Yooper]

Cooling the wort to me is even more important than mashing the whole batch. I think in a bathtub, it would take an hour for it to cool. I would get the chiller first, then the mashtun.

 

[Jeffro]

I do my mash in my brewpot on the stove and just use my 5 gallon tun to strain out the wort and sparge. I usually can get by just leaving the stove off, leave the lid on the brewpot and step mash. Maybe you could do something similar and just use the tun you have by filling it up a couple of times.

I have done up to 12-1/2 lbs of grain at once in my 5 gallon tun.

 

[TexLaw]

Cooling the wort to me is even more important than mashing the whole batch. I think in a bathtub, it would take an hour for it to cool. I would get the chiller first, then the mashtun.

I agree. If you have a buddy with a drill, that can take care of your cooler. In the meantime, the process you are thinking about would work, as would the one wilserbrewer mentioned.


TL

 

[beerthirty]

Cooling the wort to me is even more important than mashing the whole batch. I think in a bathtub, it would take an hour for it to cool. I would get the chiller first, then the mashtun.

I agree. the last kolsch I made I had cold break problems due to long wort cooling times, and fermentation problems due to first hot week of the year. If you like banana beer I have about four gallons left.

 

[Hoosierbrewer]

It's it's a Kolsch, drop the crystal malt and the corn! A Kolsch should be dry and malty. Could use a 1/2-1# of wheat howerer if desired and maybe 1/4-1/2# of munich or vienna.
FWIW here's my 5 gallon recipe:

9 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) 90.48 %
12.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) 7.14 %
4.0 oz Munich (7.1 SRM) Grain 2.38 %
0.75 oz Pearle [7.50 %] (60 min) 18.9 IBU
0.75 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (15 min) 3.2 IBU
0.75 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (5 min) 2.0 IBU
1 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
1 Pkgs Kolsch II Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2575PC)

+1 I use either all one grain or will add some wheat. You can do either. BYO had a great article several years ago on it.

 

[Jeffro]

For chilling you can buy one of these http://www.doityourself.com/invt/5207220 at Walmart for, like $6 and 4 or so bags of ice. Put your boil kettle in the tub and load it up with ice. That's what I did before I made my chiller, and I still use that tub for chiling and other brewing purposes.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yes and yes...get er done one way or another...I love the saying that a talented brewer could make nice beer in his hat.

Oh, one more idea...go to home depot or lowes to buy a valve and stainless braid for the cooler you have. Go at an off peak time and you could probably use one of the display/demo drills to drill the cooler while picking up the hardware to convert the cooler. I'm pretty sure a one of the staff would be intrigued by the project.

Good luck, Mike

 

[SRTBREW]

Wow I love this site. You all are so helpful. I think I will drill my cooler and get the valve and braid. For cooling the wort what I'll do is use my tub that I use to cool my fermentor with a few bags of ice and a cookie sheet in the bottom so it won't burn the plastic. Can anyone tell me if 60 degrees is cool enough to get a clean flavor from the kolsch yeast? The only reason I included the corn was I thought a kolsch has a dry flavor. I'll substitute it for a pound of malted wheat for head retention.

 

[SRTBREW]

Also would it have a bad effect to sub the german pils 2-row for american 2-row?