What else do I need?

[Tony C]

Hi,
I would rely love to have a go at all grain brewing, but haven't ever gone into that side of beer. I am an experienced home brewer though so am not too concerned over the process, but want to have a go at producing enough to fill a barrel each for my son and I.
I.have a 60l FV.
I have been given a 60l HLT
I have been offered a Mash tun that is a converted cooler box, I think it's about 30l.
Next I think I need a kettle to boil the mash.
What size will this have to be, does the kettle need to be 30l+ and I guess that even at this size I would need to two runs of Mashing and Wort production to fill the FV?

Does this make sense? Can I do two runs for one fermentation?
Where can I get a 30l kettle from?

I could potentially get my hand on some beer barrels can these be converted into something?

I am sure this will lead to more research on my part, but would love some input into direction to take.

TC

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Hi,
I would rely love to have a go at all grain brewing, but haven't ever gone into that side of beer. I am an experienced home brewer though so am not too concerned over the process, but want to have a go at producing enough to fill a barrel each for my son and I.
I.have a 60l FV.
I have been given a 60l HLT
I have been offered a Mash tun that is a converted cooler box, I think it's about 30l.
Next I think I need a kettle to boil the mash.
What size will this have to be, does the kettle need to be 30l+ and I guess that even at this size I would need to two runs of Mashing and Wort production to fill the FV?

Does this make sense? Can I do two runs for one fermentation?
Where can I get a 30l kettle from?

I could potentially get my hand on some beer barrels can these be converted into something?

I am sure this will lead to more research on my part, but would love some input into direction to take.

TC

I'm in the process of going all grain too. I don't plan to have a separate HLT and kettle. I'm planning to just get a kettle from the Malt Miller. While mashing, I shall heat up sparge water , emtpy the mash tun into a FV most likely, then sparge, then put the lot in the kettle for the boil.

 

[Tony C]

The HLT I have been gifted is plastic, would it still work?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Maybe something like this would be of interest? You can mash and then boil in the same vessel.

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/70-litre-stainless-boiler-burner-combination/

 

[Tony C]

Maybe something like this would be of interest? You can mash and then boil in the same vessel.

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/70-litre-stainless-boiler-burner-combination/

Would be lovely, but I am well out of my budget.

 

[Dads_Ale]

Would be lovely, but I am well out of my budget.

Hi.
If that is out of your budget then you are probably looking at something like this:
60 ltr Fermenting Bin & Lid From The Home Brew Shop UK (the-home-brew-shop.co.uk)
You would need to add a tap and element so a bit of extra expense and DIY needed and you would probably only get 25L max out of a single run.
Also you need to look at what final volume you want/need. Whilst you have a 60L FV it will probably only be good for 50L to allow for some head space. Also you can put less in.

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Hi,
I would rely love to have a go at all grain brewing, but haven't ever gone into that side of beer. I am an experienced home brewer though so am not too concerned over the process, but want to have a go at producing enough to fill a barrel each for my son and I.
I.have a 60l FV

I have been offered a Mash tun that is a converted cooler box, I think it's about 30l.
Next I think I need a kettle to boil the mash.
What size will this have to be, does the kettle need to be 30l+ and I guess that even at this size I would need to two runs of Mashing and Wort production to fill the FV?

Does this make sense? Can I do two runs for one fermentation?
Where can I get a 30l kettle from?

I could potentially get my hand on some beer barrels can these be converted into something?

I am sure this will lead to more research on my part, but would love some input into direction to take.

TC

Hi

Sorry to be dense here but what is a HLT?

Just because you have a 60L FV you don't have to fill it - it would be very heavy if full

Again just because you have a 30L Mash Tun you don't have to fill it

I do not trawl HB web sites but I believe that 25L kettles are more common. What you have to be careful of is that whatever volume the kettle can take you need to leave sufficient room for the rolling boil, otherwise it will boil over

Are you OK with a plastic boiler with an electric element or would you want a stainless steal one - either heating by an element or over a gas ring

There is no reason you couldn't do two brews and put these in the same fv

In terms of the beer barrels it depends what they are but providing they are leak proof you could probably find appropriate kit online to use them at such as BrewKegTap

 

[Banbeer]

OB, HLT = Hot Liquor Tun

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

OB, HLT = Hot Liquor Tun

Yes I was being dense

Must need some home brew

Thanks B

 

[Banbeer]

The HLT I have been gifted is plastic, would it still work?

I have a plastic HLT and they're fine.

 

[Dads_Ale]

OB, HLT = Hot Liquor Tun

I thought it was Hot Liquor Tank

 

[Banbeer]

I thought it was Hot Liquor Tank

Yeah, you're right

 

[Tony C]

I have a plastic HLT and they're fine.

Do you use it as a kettle as well?

 

[Tony C]

I already use the 60l to ferment a sugar wash or a rum base and know not to fill it too much. 50l is plenty for most purposes.
The barrels I mentioned are beer barrels from a pub, but if the plastic HLT can double as the kettle then all I need is the mash tun, which can be mine for a very very reasonable deal.
Cheers all for your help and advice so far

 

[Banbeer]

Do you use it as a kettle as well?

I now have an all in one (2 years now) but this is what I used when I first started doing AG.
Plastic (30L) HLT to heat the strike (mash) water, then used a converted cool box to mash in. Whilst mash is doing fill up the HLT with sparge water. When mash is finished sparge from HLT into Mash tun using an FV to collect the wort, empty the wort from the FV to the HLT and set it to boil adding hops etc when necessary. Basic set up but worked really well.

 

[Tony C]

I now have an all in one (2 years now) but this is what I used when I first started doing AG.
Plastic (30L) HLT to heat the strike (mash) water, then used a converted cool box to mash in. Whilst mash is doing fill up the HLT with sparge water. When mash is finished sparge from HLT into Mash tun using an FV to collect the wort, empty the wort from the FV to the HLT and set it to boil adding hops etc when necessary. Basic set up but worked really well.

Thanks Banbeer,
I will check the type of plastic the HLT is made from but am fairly confident, if it can boil the water it should be grand for the wort.
Hmm now I need to find a decent recipe to have a go with.
Or I may need to talk to my son's brother in-law, who is the sales manager for a brewery to see what deals he can do me and if he can help.

I feel a plan coming together.

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

The barrels I mentioned are beer barrels from a pub

I take it the barrels are stainless steel, not wooden? Think long and hard before you do anything with them. I'm pretty sure that even if you bought them you do not legally own them, as they are either in use, or scrapped and Keg Watch will prosecute as stolen kegs/barrels/casks cost the indusrty millions of pounds a year.

There is more information here: FAQ's | kegwatch

 

[Tony C]

I take it the barrels are stainless steel, not wooden? Think long and hard before you do anything with them. I'm pretty sure that even if you bought them you do not legally own them, as they are either in use, or scrapped and Keg Watch will prosecute as stolen kegs/barrels/casks cost the indusrty millions of pounds a year.

There is more information here: FAQ's | kegwatch

Never thought of it as I often see people converting beer barrels, kinda thought they worked similarly to gas bottles, you pay a deposit if you haven't got an empty.
As one of my boys runs a pub, just thought it wouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for your input, will definitely give more thought to my plan, but may not need it if the HLT can double as the kettle.

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

It's the same with gas bottles and blue pallets. You only lease them. The deposit is to ensure you return it. I doubt the deposit would pay for a new one.

 

[mdss]

Hi Tony, I built my rig some 5 years ago, using a 30 liter food grade plastic bin, using 2 Tesco Value kettle elements, a 1/4 turn ball valve and about 1/2 a meter of copper pipe. This rig has just clocked up 100 brews, using it as the HLT and the boiler, works just fine.