If you knew then what you know now....

Hi all

I am planning on either buying or building a system to perform a multi step mash and boil. I dont have room for a 3 kettle system so am looking for inspiration on good ways of doing this with a single or 2 kettle system.

I guess many of you have been there and learned along the way so I want to tap into that font...

For info I just sent my Klarstein all in one back as it was tripping (wort was burning on the hidden element ring). Am happy to try an all in one again but wonder if a hidden element is worse than a trad element?

My current thinking is either a 2 kettle set up:
1 = An HLT to be used as a HERMS and then switched over to a boiler post mash. I plan to use a standard immersion cooler as the herms heat transfer with a pump from the mash tun through the coil and back to the mash.
2 = A stainless thermos mash tun (no heating required) with just a false bottom. Ideally a stainless grain basket too.
This system in my mind is very similar to an all in one but that I cant burn the wort on mash.

OR a single setup with a stainless thermos pot with one or two elements and a recirculating pipe....

So a few questions:
A = Good idea or is there a better solution?
B = Buy an HLT for �£100 (most with hidden element?) or build one? I have a single PID controller. If buy HLT, which are good and can I connect my PID easily?
C = Hopback needed or not? If so what to do/use?

I am sure there is much more but this should start the ball rolling...

Answering your questions a bit more directly, if I had the knowledge I had now when I was upgrading my system, I would probably get an all in one system like a grainfather. I have a 2 vessel HERMs and I'm a bit tired of tinkering with it, dealing with broken parts, getting inconsistent brews. I know some people love this stuff, and I did at first, but I want to focus on recipe creation and actual brewing.

Having said that, if it's any help a 2 vessel system which does the job well. I did have a SS mash tun from Powell Brewing which got low efficiency, so I moved to a rubber maid cooler and I get higher efficiency. I have a 56 litre stainless steel kettle from The Homebrew Shop UK which is great. I put a filter in made from a bendy copper pipe so it can siphon from the bottom of the kettle so there is less dead space.

I've got more information about my brew setup and how I use it in detail here: http://www.honestbeerguide.com/about/my-brew-setup/. It's improved since then - my pump is secured the right way up (unlike the photos) and as mentioned I use a cooler.

Hi Tuizner,
Sadly I have limited experience, but in the same situation as you. Like the all in one approach jceg316 mentioned above, but with additional options; I'm looking more at the BIAB approach?http://www.homebrewbuilder.co.uk/biab.html However I would like to use induction for heating a 50l insulated pot (3kw hobs are cheap and efficient with ss ind compatible bases to stop burning on) Just wondering how to prevent circulating pump causing problems with oxygenation? or could it be somehow sealed up and use CO2 to push the clearing wort around? also reading up on chilling alternatives such as the Australian no chill as our water is metered. Will watch your thread and hopefully someone will come up with a solution!

Buy a GrainFather, bits + time = MORE £!!!

Unless you are building for the pleasure of doing so it's just not worth it, although you could make a saving if you just build a basic plastic BIAB brewery. Go "Staino" save nothing or just a little,


aamcle