Seeking some advice as a newer AHA member. I have been doing nothing but partial mash for the past year or so, have recently took an All-Grain class and am interested in getting into All-Grain fully, to save some cash and control my brews a bit more. I generally do a range of higher 5-8% beers in 5 gallon batches. What type of cooler should I get that will allow me to do my regular brews and a few bigger bears like a DIPA, Imperial Stout? Given the limits of the 5 gallon coolers, would a 7 gallon be the best option? Should I just buy online and do the work myself or buy a regular setup? Space and price limitations (I live in NYC, but may be in DC soon) are a part of my calculus.
Bazooka tube or False Bottom? Or vice versa Round or rectangular?
This first choice will pick what kind of cooler you get. Ive seen most people using bazooka tubes in rectangular MLTs. I use a round false bottom in my 10 Gallon round drink cooler. I think the price difference for the type of cooler is pretty negligable, but i havent done a lot of research in this department. I just went to Lowes and bought a cooler like this for 50 bucks http://www.lowes.com/pd_217539-528-00042125_0__?productId=3742177&Ntt=10+gallon+rubbermaid&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNtt%3D10%2Bgallon%2Brubbermaid&facetInfo=
a cooler like this seems to be the minimium size to make 5-6 gallon Big Beer Batches. With the grain bill of some Big Beers being upwards of 30 lbs, that makes this cooler maxed out. Have to remember the large amount of grain will displace a large amount of space.
+1, 10 gal is really the minimum to be able to do big beers with a workable mash. I’d look for something in the 50-60 qt range. At that size your kettle will probably fit inside it for storage.
I’m going to suggest brew in a bag, because it’s awesome and easy. I did the cooler thing for the last several years only to find brew in a bag, and I love it. It combines the ease of extract brewing with the control of all grain. And it’s cheaper for start up. Currently, I do 3 gallon brews in a bag on the stove top. Dig it.
BIAB seems like a viable method of you do small batches like you do. But when I think about lifting a bag with 15+ lb. of hot, wet grain, it makes me glad for my cooler.
When I started thinking about going all grain, I looked at buying a round cooler set up on NB. Luckily, I checked out Denny’s site and realized I already had a rectangler cooler and a 7.5 gal boil kettle. So, for about $10 jumped into all grain and never looked back. I eventually bought a better and bigger boil kettle, but the “cheap and easy method” has been working great for me for 4 years. I think I might eventually get into a single tier system with a pump to save my back, but starting out simple just makes sense.
I bought a 52 quart rectangular cooler from a major retail store for $20. The parts from a major home building store, $20. Quick and easy. And it doesn’t have to be blue. Don’t let these guys fool you, red is just as awesome… 8)
True. I think brew in a bag is practical really for the up-to-5-gallons kinda brewing; I think it’s still a viable method for 5 gallons. But much more and you’re limited, for sure. People have ways to hang the bag and whatnot over the kettle instead of having to hold it while it drains.
For 5 gal. the least amount of grain I’m gonna use is about 11 lb. Even that much, hot and wet, is more than I want to deal with in a bag. YMMV. And having to improvise some apparatus to lift or hang the bag kinda negates the “simple and easy” aspect of BIAB.
I guess I’m doing BIAB wrong since I use a 40 gallon (not quart) kettle, a bag, and brew between 10-20 gallon beers on it. I use three thick-wall conduit poles ($10 each) in a tripod and use a small chain binder to lift. It’s nice to not have to clean much up and the three pole tripod folds up and is in my garage.
I also have s smaller one using paint strainer bags from the local big box store. I brew on it when I brew away from home.
BIAB is a cheap and easy way for someone to ‘test the waters’ of all grain brewing without the massive investment.
These are all great suggestions. I figure I would just get one cooler and a false bottom, perhap in phases. Is another cooler as a hot liquor tank really necessary or is fine to just rely on the kettle to keep your water warm? Could I use my bottling bucket to collect the sparged wort and transfer back into a now empty kettle? I like your method Denny in terms of relying on the pitcher to transfer water, I pretty much rely on that myself.
I was thinking a cooler, valve materials (hardware store), a false bottle, and a larger kettle. I have a 5 gallon kettle at the moment. The Lowe’s/Home Depot deals on coolers are pretty decent in the bronx and can get the materials there or at Brooklyn Homebrew.
Would something like this rectangular cooler work with the spigot in the middle as opposed to the side? its about 11.25 gallons, looks like big enough just wasnt sure if there is any effect on grain bed if the spigot is in the middle. Thanks again for the advice guys, I greatly appreciate your sage advice.
I don’t see where you’re doing anything wrong, but I also don’t see where it’s easier than what I do. But that’s the beauty of homebrewing…
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Sorry Denny. Typing on phone so really never answered the question. The point of BIAB is that it is cheap, easy, and a good stepping stone if one wants to try all grain. It also scales up nicely.
I have a three tier RIMS pico brew-stylesystem, too. The cleanup is faster in BIAB with only one kettle. It shaved off about an hour in setup and cleanup.
But if you want to buy all the hardware, that’s cool, too. I was just throwing this out as a suggestion since space was listed as an issue.
Sorry Denny. Typing on phone so really never answered the question. The point of BIAB is that it is cheap, easy, and a good stepping stone if one wants to try all grain. It also scales up nicely.
I have a three tier RIMS pico brew-stylesystem, too. The cleanup is faster in BIAB with only one kettle. It shaved off about an hour in setup and cleanup.
But if you want to buy all the hardware, that’s cool, too. I was just throwing this out as a suggestion since space was listed as an issue.
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Nope, I don’t want to go to that extreme either. The cooler with a toilet hose braid I’ve used for 435 batches is all I need. If you haven’t seen it, take a look at the link in my sig. The point I was making is that your BIAB method sounds more cumbersome than what I do now. But to each their own.
On my last batch, a kolsch, I got 87% efficiency, 4 hour brewday for 6 gallons in the fermenter, from pulling stuff out to sitting on the couch.
NOW, I will say it has its limitations. I’ve had some efficiency problems when i’ve tried to do beers bigger than about 1.075. Also, you need to lift. Or fashion a pulley. Which, to Denny’s point, negates the whole purpose. However, I still consider myself relatively young and strapping (emphasis on ‘consider’…I will post again when I slip a disc), so lifting a big bag of wet grain for a minute before I set it on a canning rack to drain isn’t that big of a deal.
Recognize though, that with any setup, you will have some learning curve.
bagbrewer.com ← this guy is the man. You can probably make one cheaper, but he does a great job.
