@kylemcphe10000 I wrap my small cooler in a blanket. If you didn't do it the first time, take a temperature reading right after you mash to give yourself an idea of how your setup is holding heat.
Hey mean. I did still use the 5 gallon cooler. I added .75 pounds of DME as that is what I had after using some to make a yeast starter. I also added 1 cup of sugar along with my LME in a late addition. I have done some research and I am going to pre heat the cooler to not loose as much heat in the mash. Also I will wrap it. I am going to do my second batch in there in a few days. Going to the hombrew shop today. Cheers.
Well I brewed using this method. When I finished with my mash and sparge my gravity was only 1.020. I think I may have lost to much heat on the mash and possibly a bit to much liquid on the sparge. I don't know. Luckily i had enough malt to get it up to 1.051 at least. what can yo do to increase efficeincy?
@kylemcphe10000 Did you increase the amount of grains you used? What about the cooler, did you go with a larger one? How much DME did you have to add to get it up to 1.051?
Awesome feedback. I did just read it. There would not be a draw back I am not considering in doing the same size recipe as you in the bigger cooler would there? I will have some extra DME laying around. thanks. Also would the efficeincy go up if you soaked the sparge batch for 10 minutes instead of 5?
Awesome feedback. I did just read it. There would not be a draw back I am not considering in doing the same size recipe as you in the bigger cooler would there? I will have some extra DME laying around. thanks.
@kylemcphe10000 The only drawback I can think of would be losing temperature due to the extra space in the cooler. It's crucial to hit your mash temps and hold them in that range.
Hey I love this video. I am going to do an IPA next week with this system. I have a 5 gallon cooler. I think I can do 7 pds of grain. 5 base malt and 2 specialty. Then add two to three pds of extract. Do you think this sounds right.
@kylemcphe10000 The only thing I would watch out for is making sure you can maintain a proper mash temp with the increase in grain bill. You will have to adjust the strike water temp since you're heating more grain. You might also want to think about having some spare extract. After performing this method of few times, I've found the efficiency to be on the low side, so I now add a bit more extract to get my OG where I want. Good luck! (make sure to read the article in the "more info" section)
i really wish i could hear your video :) LOL
epicbeerdude 1 week ago
@epicbeerdude Sorry about that. My future videos will be done on a Mac (way easier to edit).
surfmayhem 1 week ago
personal preference: I would do the spoon pushing thing you do in the mash tun. You might extract off flavors and aromas from the grains.
javiclase 1 week ago
@javiclase Did you mean to say you "wouldn't do the spoon pushing"?
surfmayhem 1 week ago
I realize I didn't tell you how much grains. I ended up with 6.25 pds of grains. I am going to stay in that range.
kylemcphe10000 1 month ago
@kylemcphe10000 I wrap my small cooler in a blanket. If you didn't do it the first time, take a temperature reading right after you mash to give yourself an idea of how your setup is holding heat.
surfmayhem 1 month ago
Hey mean. I did still use the 5 gallon cooler. I added .75 pounds of DME as that is what I had after using some to make a yeast starter. I also added 1 cup of sugar along with my LME in a late addition. I have done some research and I am going to pre heat the cooler to not loose as much heat in the mash. Also I will wrap it. I am going to do my second batch in there in a few days. Going to the hombrew shop today. Cheers.
kylemcphe10000 1 month ago
Well I brewed using this method. When I finished with my mash and sparge my gravity was only 1.020. I think I may have lost to much heat on the mash and possibly a bit to much liquid on the sparge. I don't know. Luckily i had enough malt to get it up to 1.051 at least. what can yo do to increase efficeincy?
kylemcphe10000 2 months ago
@kylemcphe10000 Did you increase the amount of grains you used? What about the cooler, did you go with a larger one? How much DME did you have to add to get it up to 1.051?
surfmayhem 1 month ago
cool, I will get my strike water a bit hotter. Thanks.
kylemcphe10000 2 months ago
Awesome feedback. I did just read it. There would not be a draw back I am not considering in doing the same size recipe as you in the bigger cooler would there? I will have some extra DME laying around. thanks. Also would the efficeincy go up if you soaked the sparge batch for 10 minutes instead of 5?
kylemcphe10000 2 months ago
Awesome feedback. I did just read it. There would not be a draw back I am not considering in doing the same size recipe as you in the bigger cooler would there? I will have some extra DME laying around. thanks.
kylemcphe10000 2 months ago
@kylemcphe10000 The only drawback I can think of would be losing temperature due to the extra space in the cooler. It's crucial to hit your mash temps and hold them in that range.
surfmayhem 2 months ago
Hey I love this video. I am going to do an IPA next week with this system. I have a 5 gallon cooler. I think I can do 7 pds of grain. 5 base malt and 2 specialty. Then add two to three pds of extract. Do you think this sounds right.
kylemcphe10000 2 months ago
@kylemcphe10000 The only thing I would watch out for is making sure you can maintain a proper mash temp with the increase in grain bill. You will have to adjust the strike water temp since you're heating more grain. You might also want to think about having some spare extract. After performing this method of few times, I've found the efficiency to be on the low side, so I now add a bit more extract to get my OG where I want. Good luck! (make sure to read the article in the "more info" section)
surfmayhem 2 months ago