How to go from Extract to AG for < $10.00

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Depends.

I find with my system that I need to mash at 2-3 (sometimes 4) degrees Celsius higher than most of the multi-vessel brewers. (I don't think I would want to mash at 78 - I'm assuming a typo there...) Of course, it also depends on your recipe and equipments, etc. I used to try to maintain the exact temperature over the entire duration of the mash, but now I just mash-in a little higher than I think might be about right and let it do it's own thing until I mash-out. I'm much more relaxed than I used to be and I think my beers might be better as a result, which is counter-intuitive to me.

The original guide (found somewhere on AHB) suggests mashing at around 65-66 Celsius for the Schwartzbeer (sp?) the author uses as a first brew. You can't go too far wrong if you follow that and adjust it over a few brews to suit your equipments and taste. But, if you get anywhere between 65 and 70 on your first brew, nothing is likely to happen to make you want to throw the whole thing out, either, in my opinion.

I firmly believe that there are so many factors to brewing that being too prescriptive about too many of them is a mistake. Give it a whirl or twelve and enjoy!

[Thirsty Boy]

Spills just about covered it -

In brief - mash normally. If a recipe gives a temperature to mash at - just follow the recipe. Tweak for your system's individual quirks as you get experience under your belt.

The 78° might have come from the mash-out/sparge step. If you don't raise the temperature up to 76-78°C at the end of the mash, nothing horrible will happen - you will just get a few points less efficiency than if you do.

Thirsty

[brewme_SLC]

How is the burner situated underneath the converted keg? I just got a keg to brew AG and I likely will use this exact set up b/c concrete blocks are about as cheap as I could get. So, can you take pictures of how this is set up? Is the burner just resting on a smaller block?

[SouthernBrewlady]

I know this is an older post, but I hope you guys will respond. I already do 15-18 gallon all grain batches. Looked at this a little more closely today and it is a great idea to get started allgrain or for smaller batches. You could use 2 bags and split the grains in half. One inside the other to make lifting easier. Just lift the inner one out. then the next one. I may do this for 5 gallon batches. I hate dragging out all my equiment for just 5 gallons. I have been trying recipies with extract and partial mash because of this. Now I'll just do all grain test batches. I was thinking about sewing a cone shape on the bottom of the bag. So when you lift it out; the wort would sparge down the center. The cone would just be folded under while in the pot. Then as you lift, it would fill with grains. I think this would be a little bettter at filtering. Hey Thirsty where is the link to that no chill thing you spoke of? I'd love to read that

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I considered a conical BIAB bag myself, then realised that grain would collect towards the apex of the cone and kinda get trapped there, where I couldn't stir it, so not be able to extract max sugar. The best shape seems to be like a sleeping bag stuff sack, because you get the effect you're referring to from the doming of the base.

Perhaps it is helpful to not think of the bag as a bag, but as a pot liner. You (well, I) want to be able to stir the grain and do all the things I would do if the grain were in the pot without the baggie.

I've brewed with 18kg dry weight of grain (for 46litres of Denny Conn's Rye IPA) and didn't have a problem with the lift. I do have a simple (single) pulley system to help, but whenever I consider another idea for making that part of the day easier, I look at what I've got and realise it doesn't get much better than that. Having said that, your idea of a bag within a bag within a pot ... sounds interesting. I'd be concerned about extraction efficiency.

The discussion thread that I think Thirsty Boy is referring to about NoChill is a long and rough read; many people got quite heated and somewhat rude towards each other over what is basically hot-packing your wort into a HDPE jerry can and letting it cool of its own accord rather than force-chilling it with a heat exchanger. I think it is the best thing since BIAB, frankly...

[SouthernBrewlady]

The cone shape I was thinking of would be folded under. I would have the bag just as he described. Just lining the pot. You could stir and everything. It would work exzactly as his except at the very end. When i was lifting it out of the pot. the grains would slide down the cone. It seems to me it may improve extraction and solve h problem of wort running down the side of the pot. Just an idea though.

[SpillsMostOfIt]

The problem of wort running down the outside of the pot only seems to be an issue for people who convert kegs and cut the hole too small or for people who adopt the 'pillowcase' bag shape (or make their bag too big or are just naturally clumsy). I brew in a 75litre stockpot and since modifying my bag from the Pillowcase to the Stuff Sack design (about 40 brews ago) have not looked back. I had an idea to *cough* improve *cough* the design a while ago, but watching how the bag worked as it drained, I convinced myself that I probably could not (which is not to say that it cannot be improved, just that for my situation, there is little if any point in trying).

[SouthernBrewlady]

I'm definately going to start doing this on 5 gallon batches. One less thing to wash afterward. Woo Hooh.