This vessel must also be able to withstand temperatures up to 175 ☏ (80 ☌), and it should be tall enough that the grain bed will be about 12 inches deep (±4 inches). Lauter tun: This is the vessel that holds the grain during the sparge after the mash is complete. Don’t invest a lot of time or money in a system that you may quickly outgrow. Larger brew lengths, or higher gravities, require larger equipment. The main requirements are that it be large enough to hold the amount of grain you would like to use (a 5-gallon batch of 1.050 beer requires about 5 gallons of mash/lauter tun volume) and that it be able to withstand and maintain temperatures up to 175 ☏ (80 ☌). Mash tun: This is the vessel that holds the grain and water during the mash. You will quickly notice that although large breweries typically have separate vessels devoted to each task, home brewers can and do double up on their equipment. Here is a quick run-through of the basic equipment needed to accomplish each step of the process and the purpose each serves. To view our selection of all-grain brewing equipment, click here! Part II will discuss some optional equipment upgrades and common problems encountered in all-grain brewing, with an eye to expanding production capabilities. If you already have an advanced extract brewery, you’ll only need to add a couple of inexpensive pieces of equipment to complete your brewhouse. This first installment details the essentials of designing and building your own all-grain mash system. In this two-part series, you will see just how easy it is to assemble an all-grain brewery. Many all-grain home brewers agree, though, that the time spent brewing is fun time and definitely worth the extra effort. It does take substantially longer to brew an all-grain beer than an extract beer. The biggest hurdle for some people to overcome when advancing to all-grain brewing is the increased time requirement. Many of my homebrew clubmates live in New York City, where space is certainly a luxury - yet they are still able to practice all-grain brewing. Other brewers complain that they lack the space required for building an all-grain brewery. As this article shows, an advanced extract brewery can be converted into an all-grain brewhouse for very little additional expense. This worry, however, can easily be laid to rest. Mashing principles have been covered quite a bit in the past. Some cite the initial expense of purchasing all-grain brewing equipment as a major hurdle. The truth is that you don’t need a chemistry degree to mash-you need to learn a few basic concepts. Some people are concerned that the process will be complicated. Some extract brewers have a long list of reasons for not trying to brew all-grain. The time spent brewing is damn fun, too, which is good for the soul! New all-grain brewers quickly gain a deep understanding of their product and are rewarded with a tremendous feeling of accomplishment every time they serve a pint. Some brewers are impelled to brew all-grain for less tangible reasons. Quality malt extract is difficult to make, a fact that is reflected in its price. The small investment necessary to build a brewhouse is quickly recovered by substantial savings on ingredients. Malt extract manufacturers usually do not disclose the ingredients or mashing parameters of their products, so their customers do not really know what they are getting.īrewers also realize monetary savings when brewing all-grain. Why?īrewers have many reasons to brew “from scratch.” One of the biggest is the increased control you can gain over the ingredients and processes used in wort production. Yet many extract brewers still talk about all-grain brewing as if it were something to aspire to. No one doubts that great beer can be made from the wide range of malt extracts available today.
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