Moving on from Kits with minimum equipment.

Hi folks,

I want to move on from using kits, I've honed my skills at cleaning, sanitizing, re-hydrating yeast etc and think I should extend my skills and learning a bit.
I have the usual ancillary equipment, thermometer, Hydrometer, large paddle/spoon
I dont, as yet, have a insulated coolbox/mash tun, or a chiller.. but this is the equipment I do have.

Ritchie/Bruheat boiler - came with a mash bag
another large 'fine mesh' nylon bag
3x25L FVs with taps
1x10L FV no tap
A couple of basic camping mats - I can use these as insulation.

I have read about BIAB but it seems to be pretty inefficient with the Liquor:Grain ratios so I would prefer to do some kind of separate mash technique with what I have.
If I insulate a 25L FV, line it with my mash bag, add water at 70°, then add grain, cover and leave for the required mash time would that be OK? How much liquor should I add ? Do I add ½ of my brew length for the mash, drain and then sparge with the remaining ½ of my liquor, jiggling the bag about to get the remaining sugary wort out of the grain?

I do not yet have a hop strainer for the boiler, I have seen hop bags at my LHBS, are these any good, what are the pros/cons?

After my boil, considering I have no chilling device, can I transfer the hot wort to FV and seal it and let it cool over night? I have heard the Aussies do this. I would be careful during transfer as not to get much, if any, air into the wort by using a pipe from the boiler tap to the bottom of the FV. Hot Side Aeration you guys call it.

I think that about sums it all up at the moment, please let me know if Im on the right track or not.
Do any of you do full BIAB, is it a way to go?
Any of you in Birmingham? Apart from the campden tablet, what water treatments do I need to use?

Am currently scouring Freecyle/Freegle groups for an old coolbox

Regards
Jack

Jack Hackett said:

Any of you in Birmingham? Apart from the campden tablet, what water treatments do I need to use?

Click to expand...

For you first few brews do not worry about water treatment at all, the difference it makes to you beer can only really be seen when other much more important factors/techniques have been mastered . . . . Hone you all grain brewing techniques first . . . and then worry about the really minor things.

FWIW, I would insulate an FV and uses a drilled plastic plate as a false bottom for a mash tun . . . rather than a cool box, and skip BIAB . . . BIAB works and is very simple, but I feel much more comfortable using the traditional techniques.. . . . a converted FV should give you enough space to do a batch sparge on normal beers . . . and fly sparge stronger ones.

Hop strainer for the boiler . . . make your own from some copper pipe it really is not rocket science.

Don't worry too much about HSA . . . which really starts from the beginning of the mash all the way through to when the boil occurs . . . and from my research appears to affect beers made from malt with high levels of lipids (such as US 6 Row . . . we don't get that here) where the lipids have not been reduced during malting. . . . It is a good idea to reduce the exposure of the wort to excessive splashing as a matter of course, it is good practice, but don't be too anal about it.

Cheers for the valuable advice and info Aleman, much appreciated.

I have just acquired a CoolBox of a 'Recycle' group member, you know the type, its 20L capacity, will this do as a MT for 19L brews? or is it a little small. Am I right in thinking I need to 'batch-sparge' with this arrangement?
I do have an old shower head and pipe I could attach to my HLT/boiler's tap and do a 'fly-sparge' I think, Im not sure which is best.

I have had the coolbox apart and there is 'some' polystyrene inside, but I will add to that with some BacoFoil and some camping mat material (close cell sort of stuff) to help boost the insulation. Im thinking of filling the hollow lid with some expanding foam too. Sound good?

Im still new to all this, have read plenty of posts on the usual brewing forums, seen plenty of youtube vids etc.
I just need to get on and put the theory into practice.

Regards
Jack