Help me MacGuyver

[TwoRiders]

In my possession

1 12qt pot
1 20 qt pot
1 78 qt coleman extreme cooler (that I am forbidden to turn into a mash tun)
1 grain bag

assorted this and that.
gas stove with an overdrive.


SO right now im thinking of just boiling up 7.5 gallons of water (to temp)

dumping it into the cooler with the grain bag and grains.

and letting it mash for an hour

then drain it back into the pots for final boil where it will get additives and goodies.

The part im not yet sure of is the cooling.

I was thinking of just running it through some copper lines in the cooler after i fill the cooler with ice.
RUnning a standard or even a homemade immersion chiller would be too much considering where my pots will be and where my sink is.


So help?

 

[Captain Damage]

I don't think this is the kind of advice you're looking for, but your life will be easier if you plan around 3 gallon batches, rather than 5. Your 20 quart pot will do a 4 gallon full boil (boil off of 1 gallon = 3 gallon batch) if you use foam control. It will also be easier to cool your wort if you can keep it in one pot. Pot in the sink with an ice bath will cool it quickly. I wouldn't use the cooler in this case. I was in a similar situation to yours, equipment wise, and going to smaller batches was the key. Yes, 3 gallons is essentially half the beer for the same amount of work, unless you have to do so much improvising that getting 5 gallons is twice the work anyway.

 

[TwoRiders]

I thought about that.

but id like to utilize the 6 gallon better bottle i have.

 

[BrewerBear]

You can ferment a 3 gallon batch in a 6 gallon better bottle with no problems.

 

[TwoRiders]

Won't that oxeginate the beer?

 

[govner1]

I routinely do 3 gal batches and use 5 & 6 gallon BB's for primary. It dies not oxygenate or oxidize your beer. Remember, the fermentation activity will create a "blanket" of CO2 over your wort. Also, you need room for that activity. I've had to use a blow off tube on a 3 gal batch in a 5 gal fermenter.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Ok...mash with say 3 gallons in the 20 qt pot,,,at the end of the mash add hot / boiling water to max out the pot and to do a mash out, but stay below 170.

Remove bag and measure wort, then do a dunk sparge in the 12 qt kettle to get your total wort requiered.

Mix together by transferring w a pitcher or small pot between the two pots.

Boil both pots and chill in the sink, or just lid the pots and no chill overnight.

Ps. You can simply put the mash in a warm oven to retain heat.

This is doable IMHO. Good luck.

 

[TwoRiders]

sink is much to small cant fit the pots in there.

nochill method intrigues me.

 

[wilserbrewer]

will the pots fit in the cooler...you can use the cooler to chill w/ a water bath, then ice water once the temp has dropped to say 100 - 120 plus minus.

No chill also works, just lid the pots overight. No chill likely will lead to chil haze, but a couple weeks cold conditioning usually drops the beer clear IME. whirfloc in the boil, and gelatin in the cold fermented beer helps clearing!

 

[TwoRiders]

wilserbrewer as I understand it

I brew as normal and do the 30-60-90 min boil at the end(with whirlfloc).
Cut the heat and leave the pots overnight.

In the morning I ad gelatin and yeast and drop both pots into the primary.

let it set into secondary and bottle it out.
Bottle condition for say an extra week and it should clear out?


SO what does chil haze really affect? I can find nowhere where chil haze would affect any kind of taste profile.

Im almost sure Im going to go Kegg anyway so wouldn't force carbing push out any haze?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Gelatin is added after fermentation to cold beer, aka cold conditioning.

Yes kegging or storing the beer cold helps clarity IME.