Hi all
For my next brew I'll be mashing in a 20 litre bucket. Would I get a slightly better yield from my 2.75kg of grain by mashing with the maximum volume that my boiler can handle ( 15 ltrs to the brim ) OR by holding a few ltrs back and adding boiling water as a sort of combined dunk sparge/mash out?
The figures I'd be working to are approx......
2.75 kg grain
17 ltrs for full mash and no dunk sparge/mash out OR
12.5 ltrs for main mash then 4.5 ltrs boiling water for dunk sparge/mash out
Both should yield around 15 ltrs for the boil but I'd need to add the last 2 ltrs or so once the level has dropped in the boiler.
Any thoughts or will the difference be so small as to not be worth worrying about?
Cheers Tom
Post #2 made 15 years ago
I'm guessing the difference will be small with a slightly higher efficiency using the dunk sparge method. However, I have the same problem and chose (out of convenience and laziness) to go the route of using the thinnest mash that my setup will allow, then adding water (no sparging) to bring everything up to the desired volume/gravity. If your brewery allows for an easy way of doing the sparge step, then go for it. For me it's not worth the hassle.
Post #3 made 15 years ago
At the moment I've got several buckets ( various sizes ) but my limiting vessel is the boiler. 15 ltr stock pot, I wish I'd got a bigger one now but as it was a birthday present from the kids I can't really complain......
I've sort of promised she who must be kissed that I wouldn't buy too much kit so if I had a nice BIG pot I'd have to invest in a chiller, gas burner, hop filter and who knows what else? So for now I'll have to stick with my stove top pot.......
I'll have a go at mashing as thin as I can getting a bit more volume then maybe top up the boiler more often
Cheers Tom
I've sort of promised she who must be kissed that I wouldn't buy too much kit so if I had a nice BIG pot I'd have to invest in a chiller, gas burner, hop filter and who knows what else? So for now I'll have to stick with my stove top pot.......
I'll have a go at mashing as thin as I can getting a bit more volume then maybe top up the boiler more often
Cheers Tom
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Post #4 made 15 years ago
Yeah, unfortunately 15L is pretty small. My 19L pot is only big enough for half batches. I'll use the thinnest mash that's allowed, pull the bag, add in the rest of the water (boiling in a separate pot) which usually brings the volume to about 17-18L and makes for a few puckering moments as it comes to a boil and forms the hot break.
Have you considered doing a maxi-BIAB? With your extra buckets it might not be too bad.
Have you considered doing a maxi-BIAB? With your extra buckets it might not be too bad.
Post #5 made 15 years ago
With all the buckets that I've got I could mash enough grain for a 10 gallon brew but it would take me two days to boil it all 
I think my pot is a bit too small to do a Maxi BIAB unless Ralph has some secret guide that he's not posted yet?
Cheers Tom
I think my pot is a bit too small to do a Maxi BIAB unless Ralph has some secret guide that he's not posted yet?
Cheers Tom
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Post #6 made 15 years ago
Maxi-biab scales quite well up and down
You could get 15-18L of beer out of your 15L pot
So the answer is, fill your mash to the brim and gather as much sparge as you can. Top up your boil as much as you can and try to end up with the same boil volume as you started! Then add water in your fermenter to dilute to recipe OG
And that's a bit of fluffing about, which gives you a great excuse for the 50 or 70L pot and burner. You don't need a tap or fancy hop stopper and can just use no chill
You could get 15-18L of beer out of your 15L pot
So the answer is, fill your mash to the brim and gather as much sparge as you can. Top up your boil as much as you can and try to end up with the same boil volume as you started! Then add water in your fermenter to dilute to recipe OG
And that's a bit of fluffing about, which gives you a great excuse for the 50 or 70L pot and burner. You don't need a tap or fancy hop stopper and can just use no chill
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Post #7 made 15 years ago
Problem is that I'd want to do full 23 ltr brews, if only to fill the barrel's and not leave too much space above the beer......
I have a thought that MIGHT work. I'll start a thread on it and post the link here once I'm done
Cheers Tom
Link http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=879
I have a thought that MIGHT work. I'll start a thread on it and post the link here once I'm done
Cheers Tom
Link http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=879
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Post #8 made 15 years ago
What are the interior dimensions of the pot?
How close to the rim are you happy to have the wort at Start of Boil? What about End of Boil?
How close to the rim are you happy to have the wort at Start of Boil? What about End of Boil?
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Post #9 made 15 years ago
Generally speaking I try and mash more sweet wort than my boil pot can handle and top it up as close to the brim as I dare as the boil progressesstux wrote:What are the interior dimensions of the pot?
How close to the rim are you happy to have the wort at Start of Boil? What about End of Boil?
Cheers Tom
Last edited by soupdragon on 29 Jun 2011, 01:30, edited 5 times in total.
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Post #10 made 15 years ago
I must admit that a home made boiler is something that I have considered but I'm not sure I'd trust my electrical skillssigurdur wrote:Don't despair .. there's an easy way out ...
I use a 60L (half barrel) plastic boil pot with 2x general 2kW kettle elements. I insulated the pot with a thin soft stone wool and aluminium foil.
Here's some pr0nHere's my photo album that shows it in making...
http://s810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... oil%20pot/
This allows me to do full batches (I could even do double batches, but I haven't done so yet..) easily with BIAB.
It cost me next to nothing to build, and it was so popular that a lot of people here in Iceland copied the design for their own use .. there have been made a lot of variations based on this pot.
I use an immersion chiller myself, but you can always do no-chill brewing. It works well for those down under.
Cheers Tom
Last edited by soupdragon on 29 Jun 2011, 01:33, edited 5 times in total.
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Post #11 made 15 years ago
Something for the future maybe but for now I'm determined to squeeze a bit more out of my poor old 15 ltr pot. If I can that is
Cheers Tom
Cheers Tom
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