Thinking of going ALL GRAIN, I have a false bottom for my mash tun but do I need one for the boil kettle? most of the on line stores are selling the ball valve , pick up tube with a false bottom. Unless I’m brewing with whole hops is this really necessary? I also see some brewers are using a bazooka mesh type screen, is this also un necessary and more of a pain to clean?
Please advise and hope to be all grain brewing soon
I brewed with both whole and pellet for years and never used or felt I needed a false bottom. I used a side pickup tube.
Thanks Denny:
I’ll have to check out “side” pick up tube
I used a false bottom with whole cone hops. I don’t use one with pellets but I do use a side pickup as well.
Thaanks Brew Bama:
Sounds like some solid advise coming from you and Denny. Besides the side pick up, whats your number one advise for a first time ALL GRAINER?
I would make sure of all my measurements. I would make sure I ran through my process with water. Like when you drain, how much is left behind. A make sure you have a way to measure your kettle volume. I use a simple dowel Rod that I marked at 1/2 gal increments. Pay attention to your boil-off rate. Take good notes so that you can be repeatable. If you have hard water, start off with a stout or blend it with 1/2 RO. Maybe you already know all this equipment stuff.
My best advice to a new all grain brewer is to relax. Then read How to Brew by John Palmer.
It’s really not that hard. One of the most interesting things to me about brewing is that every step of the brewing process can (and does) happen naturally without human interference. As a brewer, we’re really facilitating reactions and manipulating a natural product to create the product we want. All of the enzymes, nutrients, and naturally occurring preservatives are all present in the ingredients that are required for making high quality beer. Barley’s husk and ability to crush the barley without destroying the husk material is even the perfect filtration aid for a mash/lauter. All a brewer has to do is facilitate the necessary enzymatic reactions to start brewing a beer — you can do it.
My second best advice is to follow a simple routine and recipe. Something like a Pale Ale (Pale Malt + C60, Cascade, US-05) via boil in a bag, No Sparge, or batch sparge before you attempt the Double Peanut Butter Imperial Smoked Lager via Triple Decoction.
Other than that have fun and take notes so you can make adjustments in the future. You’re gonna make beer but everything probably isn’t going to go as planned.
Thanks Guys!
All good advise, I have seen some videos with John Palmer a book by him would be a great reference. As Charlie Papazion would say " Relax have a homebrew". Looking forward to the world of flavors, styles and beers that wait in my future
Those mentions of “side pickup tube” are important. With whirlpooling in a properly sized kettle, trub will settle in the center of the kettle and allow clear wort to be collected at the periphery. A false bottom doesn’t help in this case.
Relax, don’t freak out, take good notes. The most important thing is to enjoy it.
Agreed on the whole RDWHAHB mentality. Also for hops of any kind, you can always use a bag suspended from the kettle rim/handle/spoon laid across the kettle rim, hop spider, etc… to hold hops. Use a large enough bag to allow the hops room to actively mingle with the boiling wort. Cheers!
I have a false bottom in my kettle so that I don’t clog the pickup tube when drawing off the wort for chilling (note: I drain the wort from the center of the kettle because I have been too lazy to change to a side pickup in the kettle). Obviously you can’t whirlpool with a false bottom and a center pickup tube. When using pellets, I put them in a hop back and throw them in. Any hop matter that leaks out of the bag is caught with my inline screen that is after my pump and ahead of my plate chiller. I have done this for many years with no issues.
I see some of you use a side pick up tube. If I were using that in a converted keg, how much fluid would I be leaving behind and would that be a concern
I plan a half gallon loss. Once the liquid level hits the hop cone it starts collapsing and draining with the wort. I try to limit hops in the fermenter. I don’t catch them all but I try.
Edit: here’s a photo of the hop cone as a result of whirlpool with three oz of hops. You can see some of the hops in the wort and how the side pickup helps limit the hops in the fermenter.
For me it was maybe a couple cups