Extract Brew equipment

[Shoit]

I've decided to have a go at extract brewing with the intention of going on to all grain in the future. I already have the basic stuff needed for kits. I'm looking at the brupacks 29l boiler and an immersion cooler. Will these 2 items work well together and will i be able to use both when I move to all grain in the future?

Anything else that I'm likely to need?

Kev

[jubby]

I would say that it depends on the final quantity you want to achieve. I brew 25 litres final quantity which means I have to start the boil with 36 litres (8 gallons) to allow for losses. So I would go for a bigger boiler. Mine is 10 gallons. As for chillers, I use an immersion chiller, just make sure it fits into the boiler. There are a few different designs, if you want to make your own just search 'immersion chillers'.

[MightyMouth]

They will work fine for both Extract and AG and will work fine together as long as the IC fits in the boiler.

I have to say for the price of the Brupaks boiler alone (unless you are getting a second hand one) you could get the Hop and Grape 10 gallon brewery which is twice the size and has what you need for All Grain so you could jump straight in and bypass Extract, though you will still need to buy the IC. You could also just buy the H&G boiler for half the price.

[Jim]

I agree with Jubby - 29l is a bit small for comfort for a 23l batch size.

Mine is 33l and I have to top up during the boil. Don't forget, you will leave a fair amount behind when you rack the beer out of the boiler as well, so you need more than 5 gal even at the end of the boil.

[Shoit]

The best off the shelf boiler (imo) is the Leyland Homebrew 33L boiler with a second element fitted and Brupaks hop strainer. (Phone Joe at LHB and ask him to do the mods to fit them, he only charges a couple of quid or so and it's worth it).

Sounds like a good plan - presumably this would be good for extract brews and all grain when I get to that point. Would this boiler with 2 elements be ok to run off a standard house ring main?

Would this be ok with an off the shelf immersion heater?

Kev

[Shoit]

I agree with Jubby - 29l is a bit small for comfort for a 23l batch size.

Don't forget, you will leave a fair amount behind when you rack the beer out of the boiler as well, so you need more than 5 gal even at the end of the boil.

Is this just due to dead space in the boiler and hops etc?

Kev

[jubby]

Is this just due to dead space in the boiler and hops etc?

Yes. Losses change slightly depending on your equipment. For instance, I lose1 gallon (4.5litres) per hour of boil due to evaporation. I also lose 3/4 gallon (3.5 litres) to hops and trub (the crud left in the bottom of the boiler) So you can see from this, that if i want 25 litres of wort after a 90 minute boil, I need to start with: 25+3.5 (trub & hops) + 7 (evaporation) = 35.5 litres I round this up to 36, as i always run off 1/2 litre of wort after cooling to clear the crud from my hop strainer manifold before running it into the fermenting vessel.

I would recommend assuming a loss of 10% per hour of boil plus 3 to 4 litres unusable in the bottom of the boiler as a starting point. You will be able to correct it after your first brew.

[Shoit]

Just been looking at the hop and grape 10 gallon brewery - does this include 2 boilers, does anyone know?

Kev

[MightyMouth]

You mean 2 elements? Depends on which version you get. The single element version is £135 and the dual element version is £160. just click the options drop down to choose between the 2.

[Shoit]

I meant 2 boilers but i'm abit confused. I know that i need to heat the mash water up to temp and then whilst it's mashing i also need to heat sparge water up to about 80 deg. The wort then needs to go into the boiler, but it won't i need to use the boiler to heat the sparge water?

Is it just a case of getting all the timings right, heating the mash water, whilst the mash is on, heat the sparge water and transfer it to HLT, then sparge back into the boiler?

Ke

[Shoit]

Going back to the ring, you can run 2 elements on 1 ring but you must use seperate sockets.


Opt 2. Prepare your sparge water and fill a spare fermenter/pressure barrel. Use this as your HLT (hot liquor tank) to sparge from and run your mt off straight into your boiler.

I find brewing on 3 levels makes life easier ie kitchen work top - chair/workmate/beer crate - floor.

When I use an underback i'll only half fill it then left it onto the kitchen work top and collect the rest using a 5L jug, filling the underback with the jug as I go. It saves lifting anything too heavy. The boiler sits on a beer crate below waiting to collect the wort.

If you use option 2, is there usually enough time whilst mashing to heat enough water for the sparge?

Kev

[Jim]

Going back to the ring, you can run 2 elements on 1 ring but you must use seperate sockets.


Opt 2. Prepare your sparge water and fill a spare fermenter/pressure barrel. Use this as your HLT (hot liquor tank) to sparge from and run your mt off straight into your boiler.

I find brewing on 3 levels makes life easier ie kitchen work top - chair/workmate/beer crate - floor.

When I use an underback i'll only half fill it then left it onto the kitchen work top and collect the rest using a 5L jug, filling the underback with the jug as I go. It saves lifting anything too heavy. The boiler sits on a beer crate below waiting to collect the wort.

If you use option 2, is there usually enough time whilst mashing to heat enough water for the sparge?

Kev

Yes. I heat up 5 gallons of water to nearly boiling. I run some off into the mash tun then add cold water to get the strike temperature. The rest of the cold water goes into the boiler with what's left of the hot water, so I'm starting from fairly warm water and it doesn't take too long to get up to sparge temperature.

[MightyMouth]

Just to add my method and hopefully to clarify the procedure (or maybe not). I heat my water up to about 74c in my boiler then run off the desired amount into my mash tun for a 2.5 ratio then add the grain for the mash, this usually gives me a mash temperature of about 66c-67c and if not I add boiling or cold water to get the right temp, though if its a degree either way I don't worry about it. I mash for an hour, add any top up water from the boiler for the first collection give it a good stir then drain the MT into my fermenter. I then batch sparge, adding the remaining water from the boiler which I have heated to 80c then stir well and drain again. I then use a 1lt measuring jug to move the wort from the FV to the Boiler. I start the boiler up after the first jug of wort is in as I use a gas ring so don't have to wait for the element to be covered.

Here's a few photos of my last brew it might give you an idea of how it goes. Notice the massive amounts of grain. I made 10 gallons of my 1.080 Titan Stout as can be seen from the Hydrometer reading. It is now down to 1019 and still bubbling gently so hopefully a little over 8%.

[Shoit]

Thanks for all the advice - I'm seriously thinking about all grain, and am starting to get the process. I guess moving the wort from the fermentor to the boiler is the only way to do it - other than having an element in your HLT and heating the water that way for the mash and the sparge. Then you could drain directly into your boiler?



Kev

[alefric]

Thanks for all the advice - I'm seriously thinking about all grain, and am starting to get the process. I guess moving the wort from the fermentor to the boiler is the only way to do it - other than having an element in your HLT and heating the water that way for the mash and the sparge. Then you could drain directly into your boiler?



Kev

Yes Kev you're right.....which is effectively two boilers.....but as the others here have said, using a collecting bin and one boiler realy is no problem and i would suspect that is how most people do it..Also do have a go at AG,you won't believe the difference in quality till you've tried it.

Good luck

Andrew