Pot issues easy stovetop brewing
- Thread starter burkej
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Are you asking if you can make an all grain beer with only one pot? How big is it?
I do all my brewing with a one-pot system and have no problems, but you are going to have to give us a bit more information.
I do all my brewing with a one-pot system and have no problems, but you are going to have to give us a bit more information.
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
if it's partial or split mashes you could do it in a plastic bucket. I've been experimenting with doing partial mashes in different formats and did a double brew day last weekend. ended up mashing in 5 gallon buckets (5 dollars each from home depot) with paint strainer bags. wrapped them in sleeping bags and kept them off the cold floor with a folded towel, ended up with 78% eff and a drop of only 3*f for a 1 hour mash. definitely would do again if the weather was as cold as it was/i didnt want to have to spend all day outside and use a ton of propane.
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
No available fred meyer/target/etc?
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
if it's 34 liters (I initially was thinking quarts) then you should be able to do a BIAB style mash if you have a big mesh bag. Supposing the bag is big enough you could mash a pretty sizeable beer in that pot (34 liters is almost 9 gallons). A quick pencil and paper crunch says you could mash thin (which is how i prefer BIAB) and do a 14 pound grain bill easily, if you were a little more careful with your numbers you could easily mash more.
edited to add: if you post the recipe you intend to use I think people will be more able to provide input, if it's a REALLY big bill it might not work too well, but generally I think you should have no problems with brew in a bag with a bit of a modified sparge method (which is what I generally prefer)
edited to add: if you post the recipe you intend to use I think people will be more able to provide input, if it's a REALLY big bill it might not work too well, but generally I think you should have no problems with brew in a bag with a bit of a modified sparge method (which is what I generally prefer)
Does home depot sell food grade buckets? If so I might need to pick one up.
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
I dont recall specifically, i think the last time i checked at my local ace they had white 5 gallon white #2 paint buckets, those should be food-safe. I've also found them at fred meyer, ranch and home and a lowes. They usually run about 8 bucks with lids.
Yeah its 34 litre pot. I'm doing this ale https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/banana-bread-ale-90074/ and was planning to follow Deathbrewers stovetop guide. With only one pot i dont really understand how i can sparge and mash?
I will look up this BIAB thanks!
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
here's a quick rundown.
heat 4.5 gallons in your pot to about 160*f
drop in bagged grain, stir vigorously till ~150 degrees.
cover, insulate, allow to sit for 1 hour
lift grain bag and drain in strainer over pot, dumping water at ~175 degrees over grain bag until pot volume is at desired pre boil volume.
allow grain bag to drip until fairly drained
proceed with boil.
(these numbers are adjusted for your recipe, i use http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml for pen and pencil calculations)
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
just do biab imho.
Ah i think i understand. Thanks a lot frankstoneline!
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
No problem, I've been doing BIAB and and partial BIAB mashes for most of my recent brews while I finish up a mash tun (hopefully today) so if you have any additional questions feel free to ask. Also I've seen a couple nice excel spreadsheets posted that help a lot with brew day chaos, however the rundown I posted for the actual mash is what has been keeping me sane, I just stick to that process and avoid the urge to "just try and make the process faster".
Thanks so when adding the 175 degree water i want to bring it up to 6.47gallons as mentioned in deathbrewers original post right?
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
Why not get crazy and just go for 6.5 gallons
either or, both will work. but yeah, thats what i would say (though evaporation will probably be different for you unless you are using a pot with the same surface area as his, it's best to sort of figure out what kind of volume loss you are having with your system though this is made somewhat tedious and time consuming using a kettle with no siteglass, i've always just said "about a gallon and a half/hour"
Thanks (again) I guess the rest will come with trial and error.
frankstoneline
Well-Known Member
trial and error is everything, if you develop a sequence of steps that works for you and that produces good beer that is all that matters, however a lot of reading here before hand and a little planning has gotten me much further than I would have anticipated. The process can be quick and painless or slow and excruciating depending on your willingness to research.
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