ok, i don't want to be teaching anyone to suck eggs, but when i was looking for this, no-one else seems to have done it, so i developed it myself: an all grain method with no big boiler, lauter tun nor mash-cooler-box thing nor a wort cooler.
so, all those add up, cost-wise and i ain't got much cash. I got a big pot instead, it holds 15 or twenty litres, i forget... main thing is, it fits in the oven. a just a common household stock pot, really, albeit a large one.
Preheat oven to your mash temperature – mine's not that fine tuned so i just pop the knob to half way between 50 and 75 degrees
then put about 2 kg grain in the pot and cover with a mix of boiled/tap water, adjusting until temp is about 55 degrees. Light the hob under it if necessary, but be careful!
put on the lid and pop in oven and leave for an hour, hang your cheap sparge bag in a fermenting vessel while you wait.
When mash done, strain through sparge bag. Pour 2-3 kettles full of boiling water through the grain to wash out all the sugars. Taste the grain to check. You'll have about two gallons of liquor.
Rinse out pot.
Pour strained malt liquor back into pot from the FV and boil with hops according to your preference for 45-75 mins – keep an eye on it, you might need to add some boiling water as liquid boils off.
Strain into sterilised FV (i use the middle section of a stainless steel steamer we got as a wedding present, but a colander would probably do the trick) and leave to cool (add a kettle of cold water to help!). Cover.
Do same again next morning and add to FV. I usually end up with 4-5.5 gallons wort at about 1.035 gravity. Let cool and adjust gravity with water/sugar solution (or both if you're looking to increase volume) until just right. Add yeast and you're off!
Obviously you get quite a lot of trub and totally miss out on the cold break, but my results have been extremely pleasing (once i figured out that i need to add the right amount of hops!) - the final beer's as clear as any kit brew and really yummy – better than any kit i ever made! The other main drawback is the expense of boiling smaller amounts twice rather than a bigger volume once. But i'm just delighted to have found a way to go forward with all-grain brewing without all the clutter and of new equipment i don't have space or money for! And unlike a beer boiler, you can use your big pot for making stock, soup and jam too!
Comments and suggestions welcome.
ian
low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
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Deebee
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Re: low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
This is quite a common practice actually and there is a great thread on this method at www.homebrewtalk.com
Cost wize ( in the uk at least) its not that expensive. A cheap cooler box for around about a fiver a few bits of copper pipe for a few quid ( inclusive a tap under a tenner from b&q.
A mango boiler from ebay for a fiver and 2 five quid kettles.
total price around about 25 quid and your done.
I store mone in the loft when not in use. You can still do the no chill method. I did it once and had no adverse effects.
Although this is maybe a reltively large financial cost in the beginning you will earn it back when you think that you get a much better efficiency being able to sparge properly.
If you want to do it in one go however you can basically up the grain bill by around 30 % and mash in your normal way, then just add the water you want to your pre boil OG. Its a no sparge method.
As i said though You are in effect losing money the way you are doing it now by likely not being able to sparge efficiently.
Thatbeing said, if it works for you, it works! would be interested of some pictures of your method next time you do it.
Cost wize ( in the uk at least) its not that expensive. A cheap cooler box for around about a fiver a few bits of copper pipe for a few quid ( inclusive a tap under a tenner from b&q.
A mango boiler from ebay for a fiver and 2 five quid kettles.
total price around about 25 quid and your done.
I store mone in the loft when not in use. You can still do the no chill method. I did it once and had no adverse effects.
Although this is maybe a reltively large financial cost in the beginning you will earn it back when you think that you get a much better efficiency being able to sparge properly.
If you want to do it in one go however you can basically up the grain bill by around 30 % and mash in your normal way, then just add the water you want to your pre boil OG. Its a no sparge method.
As i said though You are in effect losing money the way you are doing it now by likely not being able to sparge efficiently.
Thatbeing said, if it works for you, it works! would be interested of some pictures of your method next time you do it.
Dave
Running for Childrens cancer in the Windsor Half marathon.
Please consider helping a good cause:)
Running for Childrens cancer in the Windsor Half marathon.
Please consider helping a good cause:)
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boingy
Re: low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
Nice one, Ian.
Being blokes we do tend to get a bit carried away with equipment and we can, at times, forget that it's actually quite easy to make beer. Someone on here said "beer wants to be made" and I think that is very true.
My first foray into AG was about 25 years ago with a bodged-together setup based around my Mum's jam-boiling pan. My methods were similar to yours except that I "mashed" on a gas hob, just stirring and heating carefully across about 2 hours. God only knows what the variation in temperature was across the mash. It was absolutely impossible to brew the same beer twice and there was not much point worrying about trying to emulate a particular beer but despite all that, I brewed some very good beers and I think it is true to say that even the less good ones were still eminently drinkable.
The biggest (cheap) improvement to your setup would be the addition of a coolbox. You can get away without modifying it if you are prepared to use a sieve or grain bag to filter out the grain at the end of the mash. And if you don't modify the coolbox you can also use it as an, erm, coolbox when you are not brewing....
Being blokes we do tend to get a bit carried away with equipment and we can, at times, forget that it's actually quite easy to make beer. Someone on here said "beer wants to be made" and I think that is very true.
My first foray into AG was about 25 years ago with a bodged-together setup based around my Mum's jam-boiling pan. My methods were similar to yours except that I "mashed" on a gas hob, just stirring and heating carefully across about 2 hours. God only knows what the variation in temperature was across the mash. It was absolutely impossible to brew the same beer twice and there was not much point worrying about trying to emulate a particular beer but despite all that, I brewed some very good beers and I think it is true to say that even the less good ones were still eminently drinkable.
The biggest (cheap) improvement to your setup would be the addition of a coolbox. You can get away without modifying it if you are prepared to use a sieve or grain bag to filter out the grain at the end of the mash. And if you don't modify the coolbox you can also use it as an, erm, coolbox when you are not brewing....
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rhodian
Re: low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
thanks deebee, i've heard of people working miracles with a couple of kettles but i'm a bit of a wuss and scared of electricity!
boingy: "beer wants to be made" - i love it! one of the most profound statements i've heard in ages!
boingy: "beer wants to be made" - i love it! one of the most profound statements i've heard in ages!
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dopejack
Re: low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
Nice one!
I remember trying my hand at what I thought was AG brewing when I was a student, in my Mums kitchen using an old much used DEEP FAT FRYER!! Got about ten pints of decent enough beer out of it! Tried the same method again a few months later and got ten pints of sewage. Think that's probably why I've bought all the kit these years later, though after recently changing the element in my boiler, I realise what a tw@ I was forking out £70 for one when I could've made one for £20. Similar story with the wort chiller. Still, we live and learn. By the way, as I'm writing this I'm supping on a bottle of Brakspear Oxford Gold, (no homebrew ready yet, a Batemans XXXB and Courage Directors clones maturing) and it's lovely! Anyone got an AG clone recipe?!
Cheers
I remember trying my hand at what I thought was AG brewing when I was a student, in my Mums kitchen using an old much used DEEP FAT FRYER!! Got about ten pints of decent enough beer out of it! Tried the same method again a few months later and got ten pints of sewage. Think that's probably why I've bought all the kit these years later, though after recently changing the element in my boiler, I realise what a tw@ I was forking out £70 for one when I could've made one for £20. Similar story with the wort chiller. Still, we live and learn. By the way, as I'm writing this I'm supping on a bottle of Brakspear Oxford Gold, (no homebrew ready yet, a Batemans XXXB and Courage Directors clones maturing) and it's lovely! Anyone got an AG clone recipe?!
Cheers
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flamminggimp
Re: low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
Top Stuff, I've got a low tech setup as well, just fermenting a stout which will be my 3rd AG. I have a 2 gal pot which I use to mash on the hob, water keeps its tempreature pretty well so I just go and check on it every 15mins or so, then sparge by pouring kettles of water over the grain held in a sieve into my fermentation bucket, then pour this back into the pot for boilling. When done I put the pot in the sink, surround it with cold water. also fill a smaller pot wih icy water and put this inside my 2 gal pot. this cools it pretty quickly. Seem to get reasonable results. I like the idea of using the oven, might give that a go next time, would be easier.
James
James
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Invalid Stout
Re: low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
Yep, low-tech methods work too, nobody should be put off if they can't scrape up spare cash/time/space to invest in gear
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shinyherms
Re: low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
Or if you really want.
Go back to basics for real
Go back to basics for real
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dave-o
Re: low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
I did my first AG with two large pots and a kitchen gas cooker.
It was fine.
But to be fair it is easier and more enjoyable with the right stuff. And it doesn't cost a lot - just keep an eye on Ebay for someone selling up.
I got mashing tun, boiler, bottles, 2 pressure barrels, spoons, hydro, tubes, thermometer, capper, 3 FVs and some leftover grains and hops as a job lot for £30.
It was fine.
But to be fair it is easier and more enjoyable with the right stuff. And it doesn't cost a lot - just keep an eye on Ebay for someone selling up.
I got mashing tun, boiler, bottles, 2 pressure barrels, spoons, hydro, tubes, thermometer, capper, 3 FVs and some leftover grains and hops as a job lot for £30.
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flamminggimp
Re: low-tech all grain method (just stuff in yer kitchen)
2 enthusiastic thumbs up to shinyherms