Beer Forum

Hey everybody!

I've been brewing extract and partial mash for about a year and a half now...and I'm starting to seriously consider moving up into all grain territory. I have an 8.5 gallon kettle with a wire mesh strainer and a spigot and I was wondering if it might be feasible to mash in it and run the wort into one of my bottling buckets (before cleaning out the kettle, running it back in and starting the boil of course). This might seem like a silly question, but I've got a hankerin' for higher quality beer and more grain character and I'd rather not spend more money than is necessary.

Thanks!

Can you post (or point us to) a pic of the wire mesh strainer?

On the other hand, what you propose is potentially feasible, but why not try BIAB first?
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4650&hilit=BIAB

Definitely go all-grain you won't regret it. What your talking about it similar to what the pros do- using your kettle as the mash mixer, and when the mash is complete, moving it into the lauter tun (your bucket) The only problem I can foresee is that buckets don't have alot of insulation, and temperature control might be an issue. Otherwise, go for it.

I second the BIAB suggestion. I also have an 8.5 gal kettle. It's not large enough to do a "traditional" BIAB, but I've developed a few workarounds: I'll mash in with as much water as I can fit in the kettle (leaving room for the grain), pull the bag at the end of the mash, place it in a 5 gal bucket with holes in the bottom, prop the "strainer" over the kettle on a couple wooden staves, then sparge to meet my boil volume. I'm still trying to get my process nailed down, but my mash efficiency has ranged from 70% to 88%.

The toughest thing for me to do is hold the temp constant for the mash. My next step is to get some temporary insulation to wrap around the kettle during the mash.

I've tried mashing in a bucket wrapped with duct insulation, but it doesn't work as well as a cooler. There's a reason everyone uses them. It's a worthwhile investment when going all grain

hoodie wrote:I've tried mashing in a bucket wrapped with duct insulation, but it doesn't work as well as a cooler. There's a reason everyone uses them. It's a worthwhile investment when going all grain

I used a bucket wrapped in foil/bubble/foil for about a year and a half as a mashtun, but now I use a cooler setup so I can do 10 gallon batches. It worked like a charm and only cost about 20 bucks to set up. Get a small roll of F/B/F insulation (Reflectix brand), cut it to wrap around your bucket, and put something like a steamer basket at the bottom as a false bottom to create dead space. I used a liner made from BIAB material (polyester mesh sheer curtain), too. Put a lid on it and it works almost as good as a cooler to keep temperatures.

My process was to have my old 5 gallon extract kettle on the stove as a Hot Liquor Tank, the bucket mash tun on a chair, and my 8.5 gallon brewing kettle on the ground. I used a glass pitcher to scoop the strike and sparge water from the stove to the bucket, and ran out the wort into the kettle on the floor. When it was full, I would CAREFULLY lift it onto the stove and start the boil. When I got a propane burner, I did the same thing outside, but with an 8 gallon aluminum HLT on the burner, scooping the water to the bucket mash tun on a bench, and then down to the 8.5 kettle.

If you are just wanting to try all grain, go for it. The minimal cost means that you can save up for a bigger kettle if you want to start brewing 10 gallons at a time.