Newbie wonders why the fuss?

[Gregg Meyer]

I had my buddy come over who is an advanced all grain brewer. 30 years.
He demo'ed a session of all grain at my home. We were able to covert the grain in a 5 gallon plastic bucket holding the temp for 45 mins plus at 153-4 degrees. We didn't have a cooler to insulate. We did the iodine test and it converted just fine. I asked him why all the stuff about coolers for conversion and he just shrugged his shoulders, he said he has never used a cooler set up, just two plastic buckets. We then moved the grain to the second 5 gal pail and added the sparge water slowly allowing the wort to collect in the boil pot. That took about 45 mins or more and i was off. Was I lucky or is the cooler thing kin d of just fun to see if you can build a really safe heat sink for the mash? I don't know much but have been reading, making notes and brewing as often as i ned to so I always have a brew around.

 

[the_bird]

Since a cooler holds temp much better, you can be a little more precise in your mashing - not just converting starch to sugar, but converting more or less of the resultant sugars to unfermentable dextrines (which add body) or to simple sugars. You have a little more control with a converted cooler, IMO.

 

[BierMuncher]

The coolers give us AG'rs the chance to get everytning else ready for the brew process. I can look at my thermometer reading of 156 degrees and know that it won't move from there for 30-45 minutes.

In the meantime I'm sanitizing my instruments, weighing out my hops, cleaning off my wort chiller or chasing my SWMBO around the house. (she's a lot faster than I am).

 

[Bugeaterbrewing]

Charlie Papazian first wrote of the two bucket method back in the first edition of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. This book is considered the "Bible" of homebrewing by many. Charlie is a nice guy, I even sat down and had a beer with him last fall, and is responsible for kickstarting the modern era of homebrewing. However, the art of brewing has progressed well beyond what he wrote (and continues to write) about. Yes, the two bucket method works. You can make good beer that way. However, there are better more efficient ways of doing it now.

He also promotes the use of bleach as a sanitizer. Again, that will work but there are much better sanitizers that are easier to use and less prone to creating problems in your brew.

Few people anymore do the iodine test for conversion. You get way more false readings than good readings.

Charlie also tosses a bunch of gypsum into the mash in every beer. This may work for the water out there in Boulder, Colorado where he lives, but it does not take into account the different water chemistry elsewhere in the country.

I respect Charlie and his contributions to brewing, but much of what he teaches is outdated. There are many folks out there that still use his methods, however, and they do brew good beer. It is just that there are many other ways to get there and some are easier and more efficient.

A couple urls you should check out on all grain brewing are these:
http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

and
http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/

The methods shown there are much more respresentative of how many folks brew now.

Another good reference is www.howtobrew.com . This site has the online version of John Palmer's book How to Brew. The online version is free. If you are only going to own one brewing book, it should be the hard copy 3rd edition of the book. This edition just came out last June and is the most complete, up to date reference for relatively new brewers there is.

Time for me to get off my soapbox.

Good luck with your brewing!

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

 

[Gregg Meyer]

I gottcha! cool man, the chasing SWIMBO is VERY cool. Just wondering. I don't even know what I really need to build and or what not to.

 

[Gregg Meyer]

Thank you guys, I am learning alot. The controlled temp is a real benifit to a better beer. I guess i too will build a better mash tun than the bucket I have now.

The water thing is very interesting. In my city/town we have great water. One of the brewmeisters here entered several beers in an international comp and won I believe 1st or 2nd place. I hear d some one commented about some of his success to the good water profile here. I know nothing about water either, just like to drink it as often as possible.

 

[Gregg Meyer]

i just bought the How to brew palmer book last Wednesday and am currently reading it.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

I know nothing about water either, just like to drink it as often as possible.

YUCK!!!! Stick with beer. I mean honestly.. Water? Do you have any idea what fish do in that??!!!!

 

[user 574]

Re: the cooler. A lot of people brew in the garage/outside and if it's cooler (or colder than crap out) a cooler will hold temp, the buckets won't. Ie won't get affected by the ambient temp much if at all. Not that expensive either if you're using a 5g variety you can make a nice insulated mash tun for about $25-30 with ball valve, manifold etc.

 

[Orfy]

How did you old the temp at 153 or did it just stay there?

 

[Gregg Meyer]

I'm not, to educated yet but my experienced friend just put the hot water in the bucket and I added the grain. The temps came down yto 154-3 and held at 153 for the entire time. We were inside the house in the kitchen. I can see now the insulated cooler would be a great insurance policy and esp if you were outside. My wife does not like the brewing smell but too bad, I don't have too many other vices so I just keep on brewing inside. She said she liked the last brew I made. So all is well so far. I think I will make an insulated unit.

 

[mew]

Buckets will get cold spots around the edges whereas coolers will keep the entire mash at the same temp.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

SWMBO doesn't like the brewing smell either. we live in an apartment so its smells up the entire place.... I don't understand, I fekkin love it. I wish they made malt barley potpouri.

 

[EvilTOJ]

They do make it, seefresh, but most people call it "spent grains" or worse "mulch pile"!