How to make a Mash Tun from a cooler

Brian and Jen tell you how to turn a 50 quart Coleman XTREME cooler into a Mash Tun for some XTREME brewing fun.

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  Howto & Style

[TJ R.]

Nice video. One thing is the galvanized wire. The galvanic coating will come off into the beer and can poison you. I recommend stainless steel wire or copper wire. Also for people worried about lead in brass, just soak the brass in a solution of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. Mix the solution 2 parts vinegar to 1 part peroxide and soak for no more than 5 minutes. This removes the lead from the surface of the brass. You can find this info in John Palmer's " How To Brew" book. Again nice video. :)

[richf69]

Was that a batch of Bud Light in the cooler towards the end?

[abcent27]

I would probably leave the Teflon tape off on the inside of the mash tun. it doesn't need to be completely waterproof just enough to filter. Also, Who knows what kind of chemicals are being released by it

[strungoutfan78]

I was going to say the same thing. LOL

[Snoopy Bagsalot]

wrap the teflon tape the other direction, think about it

[Steve Sendecki]

Galvanic corrosion takes place between stainless steel and galvanized steel. I neglected to take this fact into account when I followed the video. Upon cleaning the tun with PBW, I accelerated the corrosion and destroyed the galvanized wire. Visible pieces of zinc rust were floating in the solution several hours later. I highly recommend having no dissimilar metals in contact with each other in any fluid that will touch food. It's worth the extra money to get all stainless steel parts.

[mofoz66]

Very nice instructions. Thanks for taking the time to post!!

[Scott S]

48 to 50 quarts is too big for most 5 gallon beer recipes. You can do most basic recipes in 5 gallons. You can do a barley-wine in 10 gallons. All the extra head-space will just make it harder to control your temperatures.

[RatkoUSA]

Awesome.