Venturing into Small Batch All Grain

[brewbbq]

Hey, folks! I need a little help from the experienced all grain brewers here. I've been brewing small batch extract kits for a couple months now and I'm loving it! Now I want to move to all grain because I want to experiment and also pay less! I'm planning on building my own Mash Tun and Sparge Tank and that's where I need your help! I'm doing all 1 gallon batches. Should I build using Rubbermaid 2 gallon coolers or 3 gallon ones? I want to have a deep enough grain bed for the light ales and pilsners but I also want to have enough room for the strong stouts and barley wines. I've been leaning toward the 2 gallon cooler as my base because of the fact that a 10 gallon cooler works fine for any 5 gallon batch. Am I right here? What are your suggestions?

Thanks for the help!

 

[RM-MN]

Have you looked into BIAB? It seems to work really well for small batches and avoids the question of how bit of a cooler by bypassing the cooler altogether.

 

[smyrnaquince]

+1



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[StompingClover]

I do a lot of 2.5 gal batches using biab. Its just easier than adding extra equipment. I would think the 2 gal cooler would suffice though. I will also add that all of the all grain 1 gal batch kits I've seen being sold are biab.

 

[Baseout]

I converted a 2 gal rubbermaid cooler into a mash tun for AG. I works well for most of the brews I do, mostly 2.5gal batches. I did find that I was at the max use of space for the bigger beers and also ended up converting a 5gal cooler to a MT. When using the 5gal as a MT I end up using the 2gal as my HLT for sparge water, which works well as i just heat up the entire volume of water needed in the boil kettle once at the start! While i have managed to find a use for the 2gal still, I say go bigger than you think you should as it will give you more options in the long run. I started with 1gal, moved to 1.5, now at 2.5 and looking to get to 5 in the next month.

 

[brewbbq]

Thank you, everyone for the quick replies and great advise. I have looked into BIAB but I really want to get used to mashing, sparging, etc before I move to 5 gallon batches. I think I will stick with the 2 gallon cooler for my 1 gallon batches then. Thanks a lot! :rockin:

 

[wilserbrewer]

A smaller cooler with less empty head space will hold heat better.

I would go with 1 cooler, and a pot for the HLT, something about heating water and moving it to a cooler HLT seems inefficient to me.


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[Cyclman]

+1 on BIAB, you can sparge BIAB, and if you move to a 3 vessel system it is an easy step- hitting Ph, temps, etc. is just as important with BIAB as a 3 vessel. The only major advantage, I can see to 3 vessel is efficiency (not so important) but doing very high gravity beers in large quantities (10G+).

Plus, it is easy to add equipment from BIAB to 3 vessel if you plan accordingly.

 

[RM-MN]

+1 on BIAB, you can sparge BIAB, and if you move to a 3 vessel system it is an easy step- hitting Ph, temps, etc. is just as important with BIAB as a 3 vessel. The only major advantage, I can see to 3 vessel is efficiency (not so important) but doing very high gravity beers in large quantities (10G+).

Plus, it is easy to add equipment from BIAB to 3 vessel if you plan accordingly.

How do you figure that getting less efficiency is an advantage. Very few 3 vessel brewers get higher efficiency than many of us BIAB brewers. Very high gravity beers may be different but with the efficiency I get with BIAB I can get a high gravity with less grains.

 

[JonM]

I started doing 2.5 gallon batches and made a mash tun with a 5-gallon cooler. Guess what? When I moved up to 5-gallon batches, I continued to use the same 5-gallon cooler. I'd suggest starting with that because a 2 or 3 gallon mash tun will be no good when you move up to larger batches.

 

[brewbbq]

I started doing 2.5 gallon batches and made a mash tun with a 5-gallon cooler. Guess what? When I moved up to 5-gallon batches, I continued to use the same 5-gallon cooler. I'd suggest starting with that because a 2 or 3 gallon mash tun will be no good when you move up to larger batches.

If I'm doing 1 gallon batches in a 5 gallon mash tun, will I have a deep enough grain bed to be effective?

 

[Calichusetts]

Grab a 5 gallon kettle with a valve. They should still fit in your oven which will hold temp perfectly. Use a bag, but you can vorlauf, sparge or BIAB if you like. Or get a manifold/false bottom/braid. I'm guessing you might even have a 5 gallon kettle for your extract? Just drill and get the equipment online or at a store.

This way, if you go up to 2.5 or 5 gallons, you already have your HLT and some of the equipment necessary.

I've done 1 gallon for almost 5 years. I've even bought the equipment to move up but I really don't mind it. I have my go to recipes, but I experiment WAY to much to justify a case or more of the beer. And I really don't like drinking the same beer over and over so it works for me. Consider some of these aspects as you plan. You can always change up down the road but getting a good sense now can save you a couple hundred along the way.

 

[brewbbq]

Thanks for all the help, folks. I actually have access to all the parts that I need for a Mash Tun and HLT at wholesale prices. I will be able to build both (2 gallon) for about $50 bucks total so that is the way I went.

thanks for everyone's input!