2 Pot Stovetop Ag With Lauter

[Dazzbrew]

Righto thanks.

 

[Dazzbrew]

Ok some mores help please if you guys dont mind.
I am going to use the three pot method, 19ltr pot for the boil, 11ltr pot to mash in & 7ltr pot for sparge water. After mashing 2.2kgs of grain in a bag at 67 deg & at 2.9ltr/kg I was going to drain the bag in a colander on top of the brewpot then pour the wort through it as a bit of a filter. Then follow that with sparge water at the same 2.9ltr/kg but what temp should the sparge water be?

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Aim at around 81 degrees for 5kg but not sure of the lower amount you're using.

You should be using brewing software such as beermate which will give you a better calc.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

It sounds a bit closer to the two pot stovetop biab I used to use, except i split the grist and did two bags worth.

With the method in this thread, it's about brewing 25L odd batches rather than the 12L-15L typical of normal on-stove BIAB. You seem to b putting lots of extra effort for a smaller batch. Going by your calcs and the fact you're using a bag, why not just mash in the 19L pot and drain and sparge into the 11L one and add back as it ramps up to boil.

 

[Dazzbrew]

So just skip the recirculation step then? Yes that would save some time, thanks.

 

[TheMechWarrior]

Great thread LRG!

I'm in Devonport myself and I'm hoping to hit the stores and the shed this weekend to make the transition from extract to AG.

Cheers,

Mech.

Together Each Achieve More

 

[Tahoose]

Welcome to the forum mate.

A 2nd class ride will always be better than a first class walk. :super:

 

[Fu ManBru]

Brewed two AGs with this method. Tasted the first the other day (SMaSH, MO and Cascade) and was very happy with the result. :icon_drool2:

But at the end of the day it was too much frigging around with two pots for me and the fact my stove top was struggling. It does show though (as LRG intended to) that AG can be done with minimal equipment and I'm glad I did try it as it's helped me hone in on what I want.

I'll stick with partials for the moment as it suits me better but have asked Santa for a burner and bigger pot.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Pretty much nailed it. Lots of faffing about, especially if you have a stove that struggles or a stuck sparge, though the latter can happen regardless of the equipment used.

And the pots are always useful for a brewery upgrade.

Now I'm back in town, I'm pondering what to do with the new potential rig.

 

[Tahoose]

Gonna stay ghetto or looking to upgrade a little? Do I remember you saying that you had some stuff in storage when you left brissy?

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Might upgrade depending on cost. I've got some other stuff to get first, but my biggest issue with going large is a lack of element, which the big advantage, because I don't need to buy anything to heat the pot/s, which cuts the start up cost, but I'm torn between 'buy once, cry once, but wait' or 'get moving and accumulate'.

 

[Tahoose]

Seriously if I had my start up again is be looking at a 40ltr urn with a concealed element.

Somebody chucked up an awesome (read simple) recirculating rig with an urn, a big w pot and a pump a couple if weeks ago.

 

[LAGERFRENZY]

Thank you so much LRG. I've done kits, bits, partials and steeps gradually the past six months or so but everywhere I turned to get a bit of a head-start on AG methods entailed selling a kidney or a left testicle to put a deposit on a Brewfuehrer or a Grainmaiden and learning to calculate my body weight in IBU's on some particularly gnarly software package. Nick's $30 BIAB piece, many writings from BribieG and now your exhaustive de-mystifications of the dark art saw me going to Craft Brewer this week and picking up all the requisites for my first All Grain brew this weekend. I have a couple of recipes, I have just enough of the basic techniques required to make them and now I have a broader understanding of some of the underlying principles that need to be expanded upon. Great forum guys - now I have a toe-hold on the first step up the next ladder. Oh and I am absolutely sure to stuff up the first few times as well!

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Thanks lagerfrenzy, I got going on the Nick_JD thread, but I needed to tweak it to get it to do what I needed, hence this method.

At the moment, I'm using a BIAB bag in the esky with stepped mashes and sparge out, because that's what I have lying about. I much prefer the ghetto lauter though.

Like you said, it's about starting out without selling a left nut, and repurposing household equipment is a good start.

 

[LAGERFRENZY]

Thank you Lord - all encouragement welcome at this wobbly entry to the next adventure. I just cracked 2.5 kgs of grains in my small coffee grinder for my half sized batch tomorrow and boy, will I be ordering them milled from now onwards. Just remembered that I own an old fashioned tea urn that does about 9 litres with controllable thermostat. If I were to sit it on a table with an esky on a chair below it (with a meshed false floor in the esky and a metal tap below that) could I then lauter and sparge in the esky and have the 19 litre boil pot on the ground below it? Not for this brew as I'll need the BIAB sack for my floury grains

BTW I got the urn from Aldi for about $40 a couple of years ago - they still flog them every six months or so. Nine litres may well not be enough for a full sized batch but if the thermostat is reasonably accurate then it might take some of the pressure off with rushing around with many massive pots of water sloshing around?

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Exactly right - use what you have lying around.

If your esky has a tap on it, you could lauter, so long as you have a bag.

Lautering is about separation of liquor from grain after mashing. The BIAB bag serves as a lauter in this case.

Using a bag in an esky and transferring the liquor to a pot will act as your lautet and a run of water with the urn afterward at mashout temp (brewing software will work the exact temp for you - generally around 80 degrees for a 75 degree mashout) Over your bag in the esky, give it a stir and dunk and transfer the sparge runnings in with the first runnings in your pot and boil.

Hope it makes sense.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Oops, just re read, your metal floor in your esky and tap on it - definitely usable as a lauter and sparger.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

And order milled, I got 75% using the bag and shop milled grain. Way easier.

If you go bulk, there is another whole issue, in Tas I only could go unmilled, so a food processor around home did milling duties.

 

[wynnum1]

Thank you Lord - all encouragement welcome at this wobbly entry to the next adventure. I just cracked 2.5 kgs of grains in my small coffee grinder for my half sized batch tomorrow and boy, will I be ordering them milled from now onwards. Just remembered that I own an old fashioned tea urn that does about 9 litres with controllable thermostat. If I were to sit it on a table with an esky on a chair below it (with a meshed false floor in the esky and a metal tap below that) could I then lauter and sparge in the esky and have the 19 litre boil pot on the ground below it? Not for this brew as I'll need the BIAB sack for my floury grains

BTW I got the urn from Aldi for about $40 a couple of years ago - they still flog them every six months or so. Nine litres may well not be enough for a full sized batch but if the thermostat is reasonably accurate then it might take some of the pressure off with rushing around with many massive pots of water sloshing around?

When using coffee grinder be careful they can heat up from friction and motor exertion i have commercial coffee grinder and after doing 2 kg rice was getting hot has less problems with malt grain and the BIAB bags got 3 - 20 L paint strainer bags for under $8 from paint shop and have had no problems using.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Stick the coffee grinder in the freezer to cool quickly. I got through a couple hundred kg of grain and it was still working. It speeds up the overheat reduction.