Some Questions About the All Grain Jump

[brandonman]

Hey all, I'm definitely considering making the jump to all grain from extract brewing with specialty grains here soon. I have a couple questions though.

1) can I reasonably do this, given that I'm in an apartment with a glass topped electric stove? It works for extract but I typically boil with 2.5 gallons there or so for fear of cracking the glass or not having enough heat transfer

2) my current project is experimenting with the Brewers Best Brown Ale extract kit with some flavoring and abv bumping. Does anybody have a recipe that would loosely approximate it and I could work from here?



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[jtratcliff]

Should be doable. Don't know about the glass top but if you don't get enough heat from the stove, you can supplement with am electric heat stick.

I do stove-top biab. And I find that it works well for me.

 

[fimpster]

Make the jump! Do it!

Many AG brewers move to a propane burner for full volume boils. Even so, doing it on a glass cook-top should be fine, provided the stove can bring the full volume to boil in the first place. The weight will not be an issue.

 

[ruralbrew]

I have done full boils for five gallon batches on a glass top stove with an eight gallon stock pot. But I also use a 2000 watt heatstick. No problem with the glass top on the stove but if you have a boilover it redefines mess.

The only problem I have is the microwave rangehood. Not the most efficient and the moisture tends to mess up the controls for the microwave. It has always dried off by the time the wife comes home and is back to working so no worries there. Yet.

Not as handy as the propane burner but when it is cold in the winter it beats standing out in the garage freezing.

 

[Sir_niveda]

If tying up the entire kitchen is an issue (I used to live in a house with 8 other people, It sucks trying to not tie everything up, and then clean after so's everyone's happy), you may consider something like this http://www.amazon.com/1800-Watt-Portable-Induction-Countertop-8100MC/dp/B0045QEPYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414518355&sr=8-1&keywords=induction+cooktop Though for the same price (or a little less) you could get a very decent propane burner, of course in apartments that Ive lived in this doesnt always fly. And yea, the whole process is doable in one good size kettle. I only went with a three tier, two kettle one cooler setup because I had the space and could be outside.
The one thing I love about limitations, is that it leads to creativity.

 

[TastyAdventure]

I got 2 cheap 5 gallon kettles, and split my 5-6 gallon batches between the two. This was awesome because I could throw different hops into each pot and learn what different hops tasted like. Split batches are dope!

 

[fimpster]

... you may consider something like this http://www.amazon.com/1800-Watt-Portable-Induction-Countertop-8100MC/dp/B0045QEPYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414518355&sr=8-1&keywords=induction+cooktop

+1 on the induction cook-top. I have the same one on my Amazon wish-list. Thought it might be a good idea for indoor winter brewing. One thing to keep in mind is that your kettle needs to be induction compatible. Unfortunately my current kettle is not.

 

[Worticia]

You might concider partial mash. PM gives you lots of control and can result an excellent beer.

You could also make 2 1/2 gallon batches using a mini-masher. I have mashed up to 5 1/2 lb in my mini-masher (I think it is a 3 gallon size).

I used to do boils on a glass cooktop for partial mash/LME & then I would top off to make 5 gallons. I recall it taking a long time to get a boil when I had 3+ gallons. Weight was not a problem.

The PROBLEM I had was that I have a microwave mounted above my stove top and too much steam got into my microwave. The day after one of my brew days, the microwave shorted out and started sparking and smoking (it was off and empty when this happened). My kids were home alone and had to call dad at work to find out what to do. He had them turn off circuit breakers until they found the right one.

Another problem was continously wiping off condensation so it wouldn't drip back into my brew pot. Three gallons of boiling wort makes a lot of steam on one hour.

 

[jbaysurfer]

+1 on the induction cook-top. I have the same one on my Amazon wish-list. Thought it might be a good idea for indoor winter brewing. One thing to keep in mind is that your kettle needs to be induction compatible. Unfortunately my current kettle is not.

Stupid question to follow:

What exactly does "induction compatible" mean? Is that just having a clad bottom to distribute heat?

 

[feinbera]

Induction cookers work by creating a magnetic field directly above the surface. If the bottom of your pot is made of something ferromagnetic (a metal that can be magnetized), this magnetic field will create small, circular electric currents, which will in turn generate heat – in effect, you're turning the whole bottom of your pot into a huge, very low-watt-density heating element.

But if your pot is made entirely out of something like aluminum, the magnetic field will pass right through without having any effect.

Most new pots will say whether or not they're induction-compatible.

 

[fimpster]

Induction compatible cookware is magnetic. THIS LINK can explain in more detail. For example I have a Bayou Classic Stainless Steel 16 gallon, it is NOT compatible (although some Bayou Classics are). I know that MegaPot 1.2 from Northern Brewer/Midwest ARE compatible, but Blichmann's are NOT. You can test your kettle with a fridge magnet.

 

[bobeer]

I had a glass top stove and i made the jump to 2.5-3 gal biab and it worked fine. Was sort of a pain to get the boil going but in the end it worked out fine. Go for it!

 

[JohnSand]

I can boil 7 gallons on my glasstop stove. But it is a recent Maytag with a large "speed-heat" element. I also make sure that the pot fits within the heat ring, and is dead flat on the bottom.

 

[brandonman]

I'm glad to have my number one concern alleviated. I was really worried about cracking the top with the weight. I haven't had absolutely problems bringing 2.5 gallons to a boil, so hopefully I'd be alright bringing a full boil up. I could always turn all the burners on to add extra heat to the air around it (Damned thermodynamics class messed with my head. Talk about inefficiency) and give it more heat

I could quite possibly make a propane element work, as I have rooftop access. Would I want to sit out there during the St. Louis winter? Doubtful, but hey, bundle up in leather, comfy blankets, and some good music, maybe take the guitar out there, could be fun :rockin:

 

[brandonman]

The PROBLEM I had was that I have a microwave mounted above my stove top and too much steam got into my microwave. The day after one of my brew days, the microwave shorted out and started sparking and smoking (it was off and empty when this happened). My kids were home alone and had to call dad at work to find out what to do. He had them turn off circuit breakers until they found the right one.

Luckily, I don't have the microwave above the stove. Oddly enough, there isn't even a vent above the stove. There are big windows right next to it though, so ventilation shouldn't be an issue!

 

[RM-MN]

Nobody said that you have to make 5 gallon batches. I brew on my stovetop (not a glass top) and while I can do a 5 gallon batch I prefer to work with 2 1/2 gallons. Some people even like to do a 1 gallon batch.

 

[gatorforty]

Nobody said that you have to make 5 gallon batches. I brew on my stovetop (not a glass top) and while I can do a 5 gallon batch I prefer to work with 2 1/2 gallons. Some people even like to do a 1 gallon batch.

100% agree. I'd go for full boil, all grain batches of smaller sizes long before I'd do partial boil, partial mash, split boils, etc.

When I first got into brewing, I'd do 2 gallon batches every two weeks, because I was always trying new recipes / techniques / gear, etc.

Ron

 

[JohnSand]

Me too. Even did a one gallon to test unidentified hops.

 

[yeastforbrains]

Hi there
I agree with other brewers on this thread on making smaller batches, given if your stovetop cannot bring a full 6-7 gallons to a boil. Personally, I went straight to all-grain without passing through the extract phase and had good results from the start. Nothing to it really. I read myself up on this forum and watched youtube videos. I have recently made 2 extract brews, (wanted to try and save some time) but both with results I was unhappy with (attenuation and oxidation/metallic flavour issues), probably because I don't know my way around extract. So I'll just stick to allgrain then...

Cheers
Yfb