Switching to all grain

[Cajunbrewer87]

So I just started extract brewing and I want to make the jump to all grain and started looking at kits online. Ill be making 5 gallon batches, does this kit look good http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/brewing-equipment/all-grain-equipment/fermenters-favorites-essential-all-grain-brewing-starter-kit-7-gallon.html it only has one review so I wanted you guy's opinion. And besides this all I will need is a 10 gallon kettle and a good thermometer? Thanks

 

[Cajunbrewer87]

Well for some reason it didnt post as a link but its the 7 gallon all grain kit on northern brewers website

 

[TasunkaWitko]

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...l-all-grain-brewing-starter-kit-7-gallon.html

 

[LLBeanJ]

Have you considered going the BIAB route?

You'd just need: a kettle (10g or larger), bag, chiller, burner, accurate thermometer

With the exception of the bag, you'll need all of these things no matter which way you choose to go, but the bag would negate the need for HLT & MLT.

 

[Cajunbrewer87]

I have considered it, but decided I'd rather go straight up all grain. Seems like it would be more fun

 

[BigGoat]

Check this thread out. No need for two coolers.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=23008

 

[Minky]

I'm not a big fan of coolers for HLT's, but I do use a cooler for my mash tun. It just seems unnecessary to heat water in a kettle and transfer it to a cooler, when you can use the kettle for the HLT. Learntobrew.com has 10 gal. Igloo coolers with stainless valve and false bottom for $119.99. You'll appreciate the extra room in the 10 gal.

 

[Cajunbrewer87]

Thanks for the replies, all great ideas but I think I like your idea best Minky. So you're saying i should just batch sparge instead of getting another cooler or is there a way to fly sparge with the kettle?

 

[Happywanderer]

29.99 for a 12-gallon Coleman Xtreme cooler at Walmart.

about $5 worth of 3/8ID tubing

$4-ish bucks: A Nylon 90-degree 3/8in barbed connector (the one that is barbed on both ends). This acts as a dip tube to help suck out as much wort as possible from your mash tun. ... they look like this but are at homedepot in the plumbing section: http://www.grainger.com/product/THOGUS-Elbow-WP121681/_/N-1z0chuw?s_pp=false&picUrl=//static.grainger.com/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/1ZJJ6_AS01?$smthumb$

$7-14 bucks: stainless steel braid from a hotwater heater or toilet ... homedepot... you'll see them. This is your filter at the bottom of your mash tun. OR you can get a voile BIAB that fits in your mash tun as use that as your filter.

3 or 4 small hose clamps big enough to fit on the 3/8ID tubing and barbed connector.

Push the 3/8ID tubing in thru the outlet of the cooler from the outside. It is snug but goes in easy enough. Shove the barbed connector into the 3/8ID tubing and push back into the outlet hole in the cooler. This seals the opening tightly. Make sure the connector is positioned so the other end is pointed to the bottom of the cooler.

Dremel or hacksaw to cut the ends off the stainless steel braid connection lines. Then CAREFULLY work the tubing out of the stainless steel braid. Don't just yank it, wiggly it gently and rotate it back and forth as you pull.

Use hose clamps to secure the braid to the 3/8 barbed connector on one end. Fold the other end over on itself (about 1/2 inch at the very end) then crimp with pliers TIGHT.

BAM.... done. You now have a mash tun for AG brewing. Now just get a 10-15 gallon pot.

 

[Happywanderer]

Cooler I mentioned: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Xtreme-50-Quart-Wheeled-Cooler/14574676

Toilet connector... the hot water heater connectors are BIGGER (about 3/4" vs 3/8") http://www.homedepot.com/p/Fluidmas...-8-x-12-in-Toilet-Connector-B1T12CS/202804980

The pot I bought - don't fear aluminum... it is cheap and works the same as stainless steel. I can say that this pot is DURABLE. Very thick walls. I picked up at 8 gallons of liquid in it using the handles and there was ZERO flex. Very sturdy. Lid sold separately. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CHKL68/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Forgot to mention - you will also need an immersion chiller most likely. Or some other chiller. I bought a 25' chiller because the cause to buy premade was about the same as building one.

So - all told - cooler+parts+pot+lid+immersion chiller .... you are looking at about $170 (about $110 without the chiller).

As others have said, you don't need 2 coolers for water. Only one for the mash tun. You can use a small 5-gallon pot to heat sparge water.

This is for doing batch sparge for 5-gallon batches. If you do bigger batches, your second pot will need to be bigger to accomodate the large sparge volume.

If you've got questions on batch sparge methods I'll be happy to answer them as that's what I do.

 

[YeastMode]

I don't think there is a single "correct" answer to your question, as many people use many ways to achieve the same result. That said, since you seem willing to use a cooler as a mash tun (just like I do along with thousands of other home brewers), I would get no smaller than a 10 gallon cooler, and I would use a kettle for the HLT. Personally, i went with two 11g Bayou Classic pots (HLT and BK), drilled them myself and put in weldless valves. I then converted a 10g Home Depot cooler by using a valve, barb and bazooka screen. My entire cooler was less than $100 with a thermometer and using all SS parts. Add a burner and boom, you are capable of going all grain.

 

[Happywanderer]

Videos are worth 1000 words:

My only variation is using the 90-degree elbow as a dip tube and using the stainless steel mesh screen.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo-d-DLZ-aU[/ame]

 

[Cajunbrewer87]

Thanks a lot happywanderer thats awesome! Will save me quite a few bucks. Glad I decided to ask you guys

 

[Happywanderer]

Forgot to mention - I added a bit of spare copper tubing in the stainless steel mesh as a weight to help hold it down and in place... about an inch or so.

 

[Cajunbrewer87]

You guys are awesome. Quick question though, I already have a 5 gallon stainless kettle, can I use that for batch sparging or do I need o get a larger one?

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

5 will be fine. Heat stroke water, mash, heat sparge water while mashing.

 

[Cajunbrewer87]

Also, do I really need a valve on my kettle?

 

[YeastMode]

You do not, but it does tend to make for a cleaner and easier transfer. Remember, you will have to pick up and pour that hot water to transfer, and one slip or scolding may ruin your day. I think the valves make it much easier, but they are not a necessity.

 

[Happywanderer]

For batch sparging and full boil 5-gallon batches you will need a bigger kettle. 1 10-gallon kettle and 1 5-gallon kettle is what I currently use. You need 10 gallons as your boil kettle because you will be boiling off 6-8 gallons of wort down to 5 gallons. Alternately, you can get multiple 5-gallon pots and boil the wort in two batches...but this is less efficient and just a PITA.




Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Minky]

If you want to fly sparge you'd definitely need a valve on your kettle, and it would make batch sparging much easier and safer. Here's a great deal on a 9 gallon kettle with a welded fitting (I use one of these for sparge water):

http://www.homebrewing.org/One-Weld-9-Gallon-Stainless-Steel-Pot_p_1683.html

 

[jbb3]

Also, do I really need a valve on my kettle?

Temperature gauge, optional. Sight glass, optional. Ball valve, required...

This is not a good place to save a few bucks. I would consider a ball valve in your BK as a necessity. I'm sure some get by without it but I can't think of a single reason why.

 

[TexasWine]

I have considered it, but decided I'd rather go straight up all grain. Seems like it would be more fun

Just wanted to clarify something. BIAB is all grain.

I'd recommend at least trying it out. Then, if you decide that money is burning a hole in your pocket, you can get yourself the extra equipment required for multi-vessel brewing. Personally, I'd rather spend my money on ingredients to make beer.

All you really need is a kettle (I went 9 gallons) and a paint strainer bag. I do no chill so I don't even use a wort chiller. My typical brew day is around 2.5 hours start to finish for a 5-6 gallon batch.

 

[RM-MN]

I'll agree with TexasWine. Fancy equipment doesn't make beer, grains make beer. Fancy equipment doesn't make better beer, it just makes beer. Fancy equipment doesn't make more beer from the same grains, in fact, it may make less as many with the 3 vessel brewing setups are reporting 70 to 75% efficiency while BIAB brewers often report 80 to 85%. For that $100 or more than people are suggesting you spend on the equipment for 3 vessel brewing I can buy 3 bags of base malt which will make many gallons of beer but my equipment won't make friends jealous because of the shiny but my equipment won't take up as much space in the garage as as second car either.

 

[Fishin-Jay]

I have two kettles (a 10 gallon and a 5 gallon) and a 10 gallon cooler for a mash tun. I started off fly sparging (because I wanted to be more traditional) then moved to batch sparging (because it's easier without any loss in quality) and recently I've started BIAB. In the past year or two I'd say I've finally reached the point where I feel like I make damn good beer, as good as anything I've ever bought. With that in mind, if I could go back to five years ago and give myself advice I would have invested only in BIAB equipment instead of my current set up. It's WAY cheaper, less cleaning, less equipment to manage and it makes all-grain beer every bit as good as fly or batch sparging. The equipment cost savings alone are worth it.

 

[Cajunbrewer87]

Not sure if you guys are still following this thread. But Ive been thinking about what yall said and decided to go with BIAB. Ive been reading a little about it and watching videos on youtube. Seems like there are a few different BIAB methods. How do you guys go about BIAB and where is the best place for me to learn about it? Thanks

 

[RM-MN]

There are lots of ways to go BIAB and there it a tun )) of information here about it. Look at the top of the all grain section and you will see a sub-section called BIAB brewing. You can BIAB with full volume, no sparge if you have a big enough pot to hold all the water plus the grain or you can start with a little less water and sparge to your volume. You can even start with a much smaller amount of water and sparge to volume or do a concentrated wort and use top off water much like you might if you were doing an extract kit.

 

[TexasWine]

Here's a good place to start to learn about full volume BIAB.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=233289

You can also read the variety of threads in the BIAB section of the forum. Lots of questions posted in there that I'm sure you'll have, and hopefully there are some good answers too.

If you have anything specific you can't find an answer to, just ask. Somebody will chime in.

 

[rupert130]

Not sure if you guys are still following this thread. But Ive been thinking about what yall said and decided to go with BIAB. Ive been reading a little about it and watching videos on youtube. Seems like there are a few different BIAB methods. How do you guys go about BIAB and where is the best place for me to learn about it? Thanks

Here is a good primer.

 

[Happywanderer]

Yup - BIAB is nice and I was tempted to go that route as well, but found a great deal on a 12-gallon cube cooler...

I'm sewing a BIAB bag to fit it this week. This allows me to do the equivalent of BIAB in a cooler which will hold temps better without the fear of scorching grains/burning bag by maintaining heat in a kettle.

I'd recommend this setup to anyone as it is only an additional $30 for the cooler and the ability to maintain stable temps for mash is priceless.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Not sure if you guys are still following this thread. But Ive been thinking about what yall said and decided to go with BIAB. Ive been reading a little about it and watching videos on youtube. Seems like there are a few different BIAB methods. How do you guys go about BIAB and where is the best place for me to learn about it? Thanks

I think you've made a great choice for getting into all grain brewing! Easy, minimal investment, lots of options. When I first started learning about BIAB I went to biabrewer.info and read a lot there. Beersmith software has BIAB support, and there is a BIAB calculator at http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1869

Keep us posted on what you decide on for bags, pots, etc. I really like the convenience of getting the bag and pulley from Wilserbrewer here on HBT.

Good luck!