Questions on all-grain setup

[WarEagleBrewer]

I need opinions! First, assume I only want to do 5 gallon batches for the forseeable future and I do NOT want to do high gravity beers. I am thinking of using a 10 gallon rubbermaid round cooler for the mash tun, and a 5 gallon round cooler (which I already have) for the hot liquor tank/sparging. My boil kettle will be 8 gallons. aside from all the details about the false bottom/valves/etc, will these volumes work for normal gravity beers? Thanks for the info!

 

[twistr25]

Sounds like they will work just fine. I have a buddy who does double batches just using the 10 gallon cooler, no HLT. He does have a keggle though, but the 8 gallon pot should work just fine for 5g batches.

 

[jetmac]

8 gallon boil kettle is kind of pushing it, but it should work. Use some fermacap and a spray bottle of ice water to keep the boil overs down. Usually my pre-boil volumes are over 7 gallons

 

[jerryboy]

This set up will work great.

 

[twistr25]

It may be close, but that's what I use right now on my full boil 5g batches. Granted I have gotten extremely lucky so far and have been able to quell the hot break before it goes off, but that certainly is something to look out for.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

That set up will work just fine, even for higher gravity brews. I too use an 8 gallon kettle and you will definitely have to watch out for boil overs, but if you pay attention you will be fine.

 

[gandalfiii]

Should be fine. That's very close to what I use except I have a 9 gallon kettle. But even so, I've been able to do a few high gravity beers with that so you should be fine.

 

[duboman]

I would recommend swapping the 5 and 10 gallon coolers as you will need more water than grain for beer in the 1.050 range.

You can handle 11-12lbs grain in a 5 gallon MT but will require 7-9 gallons of HLT in total for a 5 gallon batch accounting for absorption and losses.

When I started AG I had a 7 gallon kettle and it pushed it a bit-love Fermcap! Now I use a 10G kettle and brew 6.25 batches with no problems

 

[jetmac]

I would recommend swapping the 5 and 10 gallon coolers as you will need more water than grain for beer in the 1.050 range.

I think you mis-read that. He's using the 10 gallon as a mash tun and the 5 gallon to hold his 5 gallons of sparge water

 

[duboman]

I think you mis-read that. He's using the 10 gallon as a mash tun and the 5 gallon to hold his 5 gallons of sparge water

Perhaps but I read it as a 5 gallon HLT and a 10 gallon MLT. You need more than 5 gallons of water to brew a 5 gallon batch, to include both strike and sparge water, ideally all in one vessel, perhaps the OP can clarify this.

 

[jetmac]

Perhaps but I read it as a 5 gallon HLT and a 10 gallon MLT. You need more than 5 gallons of water to brew a 5 gallon batch, to include both strike and sparge water, ideally all in one vessel, perhaps the OP can clarify this.

If doing a batch sparge(or maybe even a fly sparge) with one 8 gallon brew kettle, you would heat the strike water and empty it into the 10 gallon mash tun. Then heat the sparge water in the 8 gallon kettle while mashing. But you need the kettle for the first runnings, so you move the sparge water into the 5 gallon cooler until you need it.

I have a 10 gallon boil kettle. I heat all of my water to mash temp. Drain what I need for mash, then keep heating to boiling for sparge water. I empty the sparge water into the cooler then move the kettle back to the burner to accept the wort from the mash tun. After draining the mash tun, I drain the sparge water from the 5 gallon cooler into the mash tun for batch sparge.

 

[WarEagleBrewer]

Perhaps but I read it as a 5 gallon HLT and a 10 gallon MLT. You need more than 5 gallons of water to brew a 5 gallon batch, to include both strike and sparge water, ideally all in one vessel, perhaps the OP can clarify this.

I am intending to do a 5 gallon mash IN the 10 gallon cooler....and then sparge with the water in the 5 gallon cooler....surely I wouldn't need more than 5 gallons of sparge water...? I haven't actually done an all grain brew yet, so again this is all hypothetical....trying to get all my gear setup. I'll use the brew kettle for heating the water for the mash, then heat more water for the sparge, and will have it empty to collect the wort.....my reasoning seems sound.....

 

[Face Eater]

I would recommend a bigger pot for sure if possible but it is definitely doable. I have a 9 gallon pot and usually boil 6.5-7 gallons down over 60 minutes and it always wants to bill over. As for the mlt and the hlt they should work just fine for mid range abv beers.

 

[b-boy]

I do batch sparging. I originally built a 5-gal HLT and a 10-gal MLT like the one you're looking into. I set them both up with a copper manifolds. It worked pretty well, but I had problems controlling tempuratures all the way through, plus tranferring the water into the HLT was a pain.

Recently I picked up a 2nd 8-gal pot and I now use it to heat my water and drain it directly into the Mash Tun. I don't use the cooler as an HLT anymore. I use the 5-gal cooler for smaller beers, and the 10-gal cooler for the bigger beers. I've had better results using this setup and I have more precise control over my sparging tempuratures.

To be honest I get much better results using the 5-gal cooler as an MLT. It holds heat a lot better and doesn't stick as often, so I use it whenever I can.

 

[jbaysurfer]

You can run your first runnings into a bucket as well. I did this when I first started AG. Had a 10G MT and used my 8G kettle as both HLT and then brew kettle. If you're batch sparging there's only a brief period of time you'll have to leave the first runnings in the bucket, while you're transferring the sparge water to the MT. Then I added a 10G kettle and now I use the 8G as my HLT only, and the 10G as my boil kettle. I still mash in the cooler.

BTW, most of my sparges for 5G batches (I actually formulate for 5.5 to account for trub, chill, pump lines, and transfer losses) fall between 4 and 6 gallons. They're frequently over 5. You say right now you don't want to do high gravity, but it makes no sense to handcuff yourself while you're making these decisions. The single biggest waste of money I've committed since I picked up brewing is buying the same thing twice because I was certain I would NEVER need to do (fill in the blank) only to find myself eating my words later on.

 

[duboman]

I am intending to do a 5 gallon mash IN the 10 gallon cooler....and then sparge with the water in the 5 gallon cooler....surely I wouldn't need more than 5 gallons of sparge water...? I haven't actually done an all grain brew yet, so again this is all hypothetical....trying to get all my gear setup. I'll use the brew kettle for heating the water for the mash, then heat more water for the sparge, and will have it empty to collect the wort.....my reasoning seems sound.....

The 5 gallon cooler then would be perfectly suitable for the sparge water volume only.

 

[Wirk]

I do 5 gallons batches with only one kettle(6.6 gallons), a fermenter, a pump, false bottom and small kettles from my kitchen(for the sparge). Using simple mashing I can achieve 5 gallons at 1.065 OG without problems.

You just need imagination and plan things