What's Stopping Me

[RobboMC]

Ok, so I'm doing lots of grain steeping, boiling extract and hops and making great beer.

What's stopping me from going forward is lack of big equipment, in particular heating and cooling stuff.

I only have an electric cooktop, so how much volume can I boil with just a 10A electric element.
I can add lots of boiling water from the jug, but I'll still need to get the extract boil from say 70 deg C up to the boil.

Secondly, what the recommended boil volume assuming I can't do a full 25 litre boil?
Is 10-12 litres enough? ( means a 15 litre pot I know )

Thirdly, once I've successfully boiled 10 litres for the proper time, what's the best way to cool it without an expensive chiller?

If I build something, am I better off building an immersion chiller, or a cooling tube to run the wort through
on it's way to the fermenter. I know not to pour hot wort, but can I rack it without cooling and cool it in the fermenter?

What temperature will food grade plastic tube withstand? It seems to wilt in the boiling water I use to clean it.

I know so many questions, as Rumsfeld said, " you don't know you don't know something until you know you don't know it" or something similar.

 

[braufrau]

Ok, so I'm doing lots of grain steeping, boiling extract and hops and making great beer.

What's stopping me from going forward is lack of big equipment, in particular heating and cooling stuff.

I know exactly what you mean.

I only have an electric cooktop, so how much volume can I boil with just a 10A electric element.
I can add lots of boiling water from the jug, but I'll still need to get the extract boil from say 70 deg C up to the boil.

I boil my 23 litre pot with 18litres of wort in it across 2 gas elements on the stove. I don't know how their output compares to electric.

Secondly, what the recommended boil volume assuming I can't do a full 25 litre boil?
Is 10-12 litres enough? ( means a 15 litre pot I know )

You can do that and use extract to make up the rest of the wort.

Thirdly, once I've successfully boiled 10 litres for the proper time, what's the best way to cool it without an expensive chiller?

In an ice bath in the sink. My big pot doesn't fit in the kitchen sink so I used to take it to the laundry sink.
That's fine because you will then add cool water to make up the rest of the volume, so you don't need to cool the wort to pitching T.

You've missed something .. how will you mash the grain? With a 12 litre boil you can mash 3kg with good efficiency.
Maybe you have a 25litre esky you can convert?

 

[Adamt]

Assuming you have somewhere to mash, you can make 10L batches. You can just no-chill... racking while hot is fine, as long as you do it properly.

So the only thing stopping you now is yourself!

 

[Swinging Beef]

I started AG brewing last month after doing extract for half a year.
Its heaps easier, cheaper and less labour intensive than I thought.

You already have a boiler for your extract stuff, so all you need is a mash tun.
Eskys are $80 in Kmart, or pick up an old one on recycle night... there is always one out on the street round our way.
I also found the copper line I used to make the manifold second hand.

The fitting onthe bottom of the mash tun is the only thing I bought new, for about $30.

Now.. I find Im saving money thru AG brewing instead of extracts, and I didnt need the extra vessels I thought I did.
Sure.. I would like them, but I dont neeeeeeeed them.

 

[seemax]

Even with a large pot, I doubt your electric stove could boil 20L.
Why not do split boil, ie 2 x 15L pots each with 12L preboil. After trub loss, you can expect a combined volume of 20L. Just make sure to split the hop additions evenly between the pots.

For all grain you have two choices, BIAB (brew in a bag) using 2 pots or make a mash/lauter tun with an esky. BIAB is cheap and simple, $10 at Spotlight and you're off. Esky (plenty on ebay) will involve taps, connectors, etc, whilst not too hard will take time and effort. Alternatively, do a combination. Get an 25L esky, lace it with a voile bag, mash in at 2.5L/kg, then mash out to full volume at 76C. Stir it all up well, pull the bag out, slowly drain the wort into your 2 pots and proceed with the boil.

AG can be as cheap or expensive as you like, but once you start you wont go back!

 

[Swinging Beef]

Even with a large pot, I doubt your electric stove could boil 20L.

They can do it... it just takes a little longer than gas... Ive only had gas for the past 4 months.
Even better if you can get the pot to straddle two burners.

 

[petesbrew]

After learning at a big brew day, I did my first partial (making an Altbier) last year using:
a bucket-in-bucket lauter tun,
a 15litre stock pot from Kmart,
and a portable electric hotplate.

The Alt turned out beautifully. Next effort was an infected writeoff, but you've got to expect these things.

 

[rich_lamb]

It is hard to do AG using just the kitchen stove. Like you (and from the sound of it, Brewfrau) I used to do a lot of partials this way - sometimes splitting to 2 pots - and generally cooling the pots in the bath or whatever.

But you are limited to small volumes which generally makes it easier to make up you gravity with extract, ie. partials. Nothing wrong with it, as you say it makes good beer.

But I suspect you want to have more stuff to play with. So get a really big pot and a burner, and free yourself from those limitations! Be free, young brewer!

 

[braufrau]

I've been doing partials for about 18 months and I think I'm about to go AG. Now some people say "pooh pooh! extract why spoil your beer" but i started making partials with only a mayonaise bucket in bucket mash tun. $10 plus the cost of the tap.
So very cheap.

On this equipment, existing pot, new mash tun and a blue bucket to transfer wort from tun to kettle. I learned to brew and recently one a little competition.
In hindsight .. I'm glad I took this conservative route because otherwise I would have spent too much money going to AG or ended up with a bucket of death or something else unsatisfactory.

So now my upgrade will consist of
* conversion of existing esky
*new big SS pot
* purchase of burner and regulator
* getting HWMBO to build a little stand for the burner.
* another blue bucket.
* toss away the inside of my current mash tun and continue to use the outside as a bottling bucket.

estimated cost $300 which is sufficient cost to make me think carefully before jumping in.

 

[Cocko]

Sorry skipped thru the thread so apologies if I missed anything...

So you are obviously happy with the beer you are brewing, happy enough to keep moving towards an even better brew??

So what with grain you are spending 35 MAX on a 23L batch = Say 330 ml stubbies, its 69 stubbies - I top mine up to make sure its 72 - 3 SLABS. What is 3 slabs worth... What does your brew taste like?? Lets say it tastes like VB, 3x VB slabs is 100+ dollars - so you are 65 dollars ahead on one batch... HOW MANY BATCHES HAVE you brewed?

So, a burner+Pot+ whatever... will cost X amount! I am sure you will be ahead of the game if you spend some coin, ALSO you only spend it once! Well I hope so... I hope my burner will do more than one batch

So go for it Robbo! OR go back to the bottle shop...

Sorry had to vent!

All the best on your adventures!

Cocko

PS [Hope not VB]

 

[dpadden]

I started AG brewing last month after doing extract for half a year.
Its heaps easier, cheaper and less labour intensive than I thought.

You already have a boiler for your extract stuff, so all you need is a mash tun.
Eskys are $80 in Kmart, or pick up an old one on recycle night... there is always one out on the street round our way.
I also found the copper line I used to make the manifold second hand.

The fitting onthe bottom of the mash tun is the only thing I bought new, for about $30.

Now.. I find Im saving money thru AG brewing instead of extracts, and I didnt need the extra vessels I thought I did.
Sure.. I would like them, but I dont neeeeeeeed them.

Hey Swinging Beef...

I am also building up equipment, and scored a nice 10 Gall Gatorade cooler for $30 B) What did you use for the fitting on the bottom of yours?