Newbie with some questions

[DVCNick]

Hey all,
Been lurking for a while, finally decided to sign up. I certainly appreciate all the information here.

I'm about to bottle my third batch. All have been extract kits so far. The first one came out pretty good; the second one.. meh (I suspect some problem with the yeast). Third one, I have high hopes!

Anyhow, I want to go to all-grain asap, and have started gathering equipment. My current question, having never done the all-grain process, is about boil volume.

The extract kits call for boiling 2-3 gallons, mix in all the malt extract, and then top off with clean water to get to five gallons in the fermenter.

Does this strategy work with all-grain, or do you have to get 5++ gallons straight from the mash (i.e. am I going to NEED a bigger boil kettle do to all-grain?)

I got the 10gal orange Home Depot cooler to be my mash tun (seems to be a popular choice), so volume won't be a problem there once I get the time to build the drain manifold for the bottom.
Thanks.

 

[kh54s10]

It is possible to brew an all grain mash that then gets topped up to 5 gallons. That is not the preferred or usual procedure. Usually with a cooler mash tun you will mash with between 1.25 to 1.5 quarts to a pound of grain. You then sparge with enough to get to the amount you need for your preboil volume. It would be worth it to boil some water to determine your boil off rate. You can boil some amount for 15 minutes - see how much boiled away, multiply by four for your boil off rate per hour.

At least an 8 gallon boil kettle would be needed 10 or 15 even better.

Look at some YouTube videos of batch sparging. That should get you going. This is one I started with.

 

[DVCNick]

Looks like I'll be getting a bigger one.. thanks.
I assume 15gal would work fine for a 5 gallon batch, and also give the flexibility to go to 10gal batches in the future? Might just jump straight to there this time.

 

[myndflyte]

I'd suggest at least a 12 gallon pot for 5 gallon batches. I have a 9 gallon pot and I really have to futz with it as the boil gets going so it doesn't boil over. That being said, look into BIAB. I still mash in my 10 gallon cooler but I do BIAB now after have done it the traditional way for a few years. With BIAB, you use the entire amount of water to mash. And when the mash it done, you just lift the bag out. No false bottoms, no stuck sparge, etc.

 

[RM-MN]

Anyhow, I want to go to all-grain asap, and have started gathering equipment. My current question, having never done the all-grain process, is about boil volume.

The extract kits call for boiling 2-3 gallons, mix in all the malt extract, and then top off with clean water to get to five gallons in the fermenter.

Does this strategy work with all-grain, or do you have to get 5++ gallons straight from the mash (i.e. am I going to NEED a bigger boil kettle do to all-grain?)

I've never seen a law that you have to brew 5 gallons at a time. I usually do 2 1/2 gallon batches BIAB in my 5 gallon pot that I used for extract. It lets me experiment without having lots of a bad beer to drink and I can brew right in the kitchen on the electric range. I'd suggest you start with 2 1/2 gallon all grain BIAB to see how the process works. Then if you decide you want bigger batches you can choose which route to go, BIAB or conventional mash tun. BIAB works well with a sparge for larger volumes in the 5 gallon pot too. Just make sure you leave enough space for the foam as the boil starts.

 

[DVCNick]

Definitely seems like a viable option that I hadn't thought of.

So, 12gal boil pot for 5 gal batch? That seems like a lot. Could you do 10gal batch in a 15gal pot without major risk of boilover?

 

[mongoose33]

About the bare minimum for a 5-gallon batch is an 8-gallon boil kettle. I had one, and it worked, then bought a 10-gallon Spike kettle.

I agree with @myndflyte; look into BIAB. The biggest impediment to that is finding a way to hoist the bag.

 

[Staylow]

Definitely seems like a viable option that I hadn't thought of.

So, 12gal boil pot for 5 gal batch? That seems like a lot. Could you do 10gal batch in a 15gal pot without major risk of boilover?

You can definitely do 10 gallon batches in a 15 gallon kettle. Preboil volume is usually pretty close to a full pot, so I always use Fermcap to stop boil overs. But, you may have more (or less) room than I, depending on boil off rate, trub loss in the kettle, and trub loss in the fermenter.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I've never seen a law that you have to brew 5 gallons at a time. I usually do 2 1/2 gallon batches BIAB in my 5 gallon pot that I used for extract. It lets me experiment without having lots of a bad beer to drink and I can brew right in the kitchen on the electric range. I'd suggest you start with 2 1/2 gallon all grain BIAB to see how the process works. Then if you decide you want bigger batches you can choose which route to go, BIAB or conventional mash tun. BIAB works well with a sparge for larger volumes in the 5 gallon pot too. Just make sure you leave enough space for the foam as the boil starts.

I love doing experimental 2.5g biab batches on the stove before scaling up to the big system and would agree it's a great way to get started and doesn't require any major investment. Plus it's easy to clean up and can be done indoors. Give it a shot. Cheers

 

[Transamguy77]

Definitely seems like a viable option that I hadn't thought of.

So, 12gal boil pot for 5 gal batch? That seems like a lot. Could you do 10gal batch in a 15gal pot without major risk of boilover?

I only do 10 gallon batches and I have a 15.5 gallon keggle, it can boil over but after a few batches you’ll figure out how not to. I have found that having it boil before the sparge is even finished helps with boil overs.