New member and brewer from Minnesota

[Todd Butts]

Hey all! Stumbled across this forum searching google for something. I started brewing about a month ago and like all newbies, my head of full of questions.

I have made four batches so far:
1. 1 gallon of American Wheat. My first batch. Turns out the threads on the cap were wrong from the factory so the batch was bad. Not awesome for my very first attempt. Kind of irritating really.

2. 5 gallons of Stout. Yielded 49 beers. This turned out pretty good i think.

3. 1 gallon of Maple/Honey Mead. This is still fermenting. I am really looking forward to this for some reason.

4. 5 gallons of Sweet Pear Wine. I just started this the other day.

I am having so much fun doing this new hobby. I have notes, logs of temps, times, days, etc.

Anyways, hope to learn from the vets, and post some pics and notes soon.

Cheers!

Todd

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Welcome, Todd. What method of brewing are you using - tins/kits, extract, partial mash or all-grain?

 

[Todd Butts]

Let's see. The American Wheat was a malt like powder. The Stout was grain and extract, and this new one i just got but haven't started yet, is all grain. That is an English Pale Ale.

I don't have a ton of equipment yet, so figuring out how to do things has been interesting. The biggest brew kettle I have is 5 gallons. That isn't going to cut it for the Pale Ale. I need at least a 10 gallon kettle.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Wow, that's an impressive learning curve - All grain in three batches!
Yes, you will need a bigger kettle for a 5 gal full-boil batch. Also, one of the biggest challenges that new brewers face, you'll need a good method for cooling. You'll be surprised how hard it is to quickly chill 5 gal of boiling wort.

 

[Todd Butts]

Oh, I believe it. My first one gallon batch took 45 minutes to chill ( I keep detailed notes ) to pitch temp. Ice bath in the kitchen sink. Now, I am a handy guy, so i started making my own copper coiled chiller. As soon as i figure out how to handle this Pale Ale, i will chill it using that.

I found this beautiful 10 gallon kettle @ www.spikebrewing.com. $200 for the one I want. Very nicely constructed also.

 

[ncbrewer]

If you're boiling on the stove, it might not be able to handle a full boil in one kettle. At one time, I split the boil between two kettles so the stove could handle it. It complicates things, but it works.

And welcome to HBT.

 

[Todd Butts]

If you're boiling on the stove, it might not be able to handle a full boil in one kettle. At one time, I split the boil between two kettles so the stove could handle it. It complicates things, but it works.

And welcome to HBT.

Funny you said that. I was literally just thinking of that. The only way it would work, is to split the grains in half, and do two batches. Sitting here thinking about that, i should just buy a 10 gallon kettle, like I was talking about earlier.

I do have a really nice electric induction heater. Do you think that would boil 6+ gallons, better/faster than my stove? I am thinking it would.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

I do have a really nice electric induction heater. Do you think that would boil 6+ gallons, better/faster than my stove? I am thinking it would.

I doubt any electric heater that you sit your pot on (unless it's wired to a higher than normal Amp plug) would handle 6gal very well - it might work, but be very slow and have a weak boil. Having said that, the only induction heaters I've used were on a normal stove. I'd suggest putting an element or two into your boil pot (water heating element) - there's much less wasted heat with a submerged element.

 

[Todd Butts]

Hmm. Ok good advice. Thanks

 

[ncbrewer]

The only way it would work, is to split the grains in half, and do two batches.

I did one mash. Split the first runnings, and split the second runnings. Split the hops. Boiled both at the same time. It only seemed to take a few minutes longer, but the extra complication is kind of a PITA.

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the hobby, and the group, from Colorado

 

[Kent88]

Welcome!

 

[PeteSeattle]

Funny you said that. I was literally just thinking of that. The only way it would work, is to split the grains in half, and do two batches. Sitting here thinking about that, i should just buy a 10 gallon kettle, like I was talking about earlier.

I do have a really nice electric induction heater. Do you think that would boil 6+ gallons, better/faster than my stove? I am thinking it would.

Welcome from Seattle.

I have a 10 gallon spike kettle and it’s gorgeous. I used it on my 1800w induction. It gets to temp for mashing fine but takes forever (over an hour) for the boil. If you have 3000w stove then go for it. It should get to boil in about 30-40 minutes.

But the kettle is perfect for 5 gallon batches. I’ve got the two ports side by side so I can do 3 gallon batches. This set-up is mainly BIAB.

I just upgraded to a 15 gallon 3 vessel system so my BIAB set up is just sitting on the shelf. But because I fell in love with my 10 gallon Spike kettle I stayed with the same brand.

 

[Todd Butts]

Welcome from Seattle.

I have a 10 gallon spike kettle and it’s gorgeous. I used it on my 1800w induction. It gets to temp for mashing fine but takes forever (over an hour) for the boil. If you have 3000w stove then go for it. It should get to boil in about 30-40 minutes.

But the kettle is perfect for 5 gallon batches. I’ve got the two ports side by side so I can do 3 gallon batches. This set-up is mainly BIAB.

I just upgraded to a 15 gallon 3 vessel system so my BIAB set up is just sitting on the shelf. But because I fell in love with my 10 gallon Spike kettle I stayed with the same brand.

Hey there PeteSeattle!
That setup is so nice! I cannot spend 5k, I would be divorced quickly. What does "BIAM" mean? Sorry, still a brew newb.

Are you willing to piece out your 10 gallon items? That's exactly what I want to start out with. PM me if you would like to talk more about this.

Thanks.

 

[PeteSeattle]

Hey there PeteSeattle!
That setup is so nice! I cannot spend 5k, I would be divorced quickly. What does "BIAM" mean? Sorry, still a brew newb.

Are you willing to piece out your 10 gallon items? That's exactly what I want to start out with. PM me if you would like to talk more about this.

Thanks.

Hi Todd,
Sorry, I should’ve spelled it out. Brew In A Bag. All grain brewing all in one vessel.
You mash in a huge grain bag much like specialty grains but with all the grain. Take the bag out after an hour. From here there are several methods: pull the bag and boil (no drain) or pull the bag and sparge (rinse) grain then added to wort. There are really numerous variations to get from mash to boil but most options are pretty easy.

I would suggest this method for someone who is just coming from partial mash such as you.

I know I’m hanging on to the kettle for at least this month as I’m sending one kettle back to have additional ports added. I can PM you details later when I have a longer break.

In the meantime here’s a good intro video for BIAB. There are many examples but this one is pretty straight forward:

 

[Todd Butts]

Ahh, see that would have solved a few issues this weekend. I split my kit in half this weekend. It was a huge mess, since i do not have a false bottom with my kettle to help separate the grains. Mind you, I am currently using a typical 5 gallon SS pot, that most people have for their kitchen. I do not have a drain either in my kettle. So, I had to pour 2.5-3 gallons (twice) of 155 deg wort through a strainer into another pail to cool it down, to continue with the next step.

Just out of curiosity, did you get the NPT fittings or Tri-Clamp fittings? Thoughts on that?

As I go along here, I am noticing that I am really not setup yet with equipment. Gonna go watch that video now, it looks interesting.

Thanks!

 

[PeteSeattle]

I have NPT fittings. This was before Spike offered the tri-clamp line. I probably would’ve gone with the T.C. ports. Even though some say it’s easier to clean and sanitize it is also a lot more parts to clean. But I don’t regret that I don’t have it. Just have to get in there with a bristle brush and give it a little scrub.

I still can screw in TC port and half convert that way.

 

[MaxStout]

Welcome to HBT, from another Minnesotan!