AG Vessel Minimum Capacities

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calluma11

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Hi Folks,
Just wasting time at work and doing a bit of research. I think in the summer i'm going to be building an AG set up.

Here's my idea:
Electric boiler to heat sparge water and boil wort
Coolbox mash tun
Wort chiller

Now, as i'm looking at various vessels online, i'm wondering what the minimum capacities are? (mainly boiling - because of headspace etc)

I can only find 33ltr FVs for the boiler so i'm wondering if that'll be enough for a full size 23ltr batch?

What size coolbox should i be looking for?

Thanks!
Callum
 
33 litre boiler should be big enough to boil a 23 litre batch. Mash tun wise, what are the strongest beers you will brew?
 
Sky's the limit, but truth be told about 5.5-6% max.
I actually like to make around 4.5% most times, so I can have a few of them at a time
 
A 25 litre mash tun should be ample. 5kg of grain plus 15 litres of water and some space for a mash out. I have a 19 litre tun and manage 5kg of grain just about.
 
I agree that 33ltr kettle should be fine...I made a mistake of buying a 27ltr one and its just a little too small for 23ltr brews resulting in me having to boil some wort in parallel on the cooker in a pot. I was originally going to go for a 25ltr mash tun but ended up going to a 33ltr one. I wasn't planning on doing stronger beers, but once I'd got a couple of all grain brews under my belt I wanted to try a MacEwans Champion clone at 7-8% abv , and also a couple of stronger Belgian beers where I needed the extra space, so was glad I went for 33ltr.
 
It was a slightly beefed up Champion clone as follows:

7.50 kg Pale Malt (Golden Promise) UK (5.9 EBC) Grain 4 80.9 %
0.55 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (150.0 EBC) Grain 5 5.9 %
0.35 kg Wheat, Torrified (3.3 EBC) Grain 6 3.8 %
0.25 kg Aromatic Malt (51.2 EBC) Grain 7 2.7 %
0.11 kg Roasted Barley (1300.0 EBC) Grain 8 1.2 %
0.06 kg Peat Smoked Malt (5.5 EBC) Grain 9 0.6 %
Mash In Add 25.01 l of water at 75.3 C 66.7 C 60 min
0.45 kg Lyle's Golden Syrup (0.0 EBC) Extract 10 4.9 %
50.00 g East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 11 21.8 IBUs
3.00 g Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 12 -
17.00 g Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [3.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 13 0.8 IBUs
10.00 g Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 14 0.8 IBUs
2.0 pkg Nottingham Yeast (Lallemand #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 15
So I was right up to the top (and a bit) of the 33ltr tun (.

It's bottled and now conditioning...will leave it for 3 months before trying since it's a strong one.
 
Thanks you guys, just what I needed - as always :D

I'd also be curious as the the clone, will have to remember and keep an eye out in a few months' time :)
 
Calluma11, I'm sure you'll enjoy AG. It's only my first year doing AG so still learning but its fun researching and tweaking the recipes. Best thing I've found is that the beer, even immediately after fermentation, tastes 'clean'...so can drink it even after only a week in bottle (of course it improves with time)...no HBT. Brewdays are a lot longer but I think its worth it.
 
Getting rid of HBT alone will be worth it.
Saying that, recently i've left my beers longer in both FV and also conditioning and this has improved them no end. I just like the tinkering and mechanics of brewing - it's a hobby with a bonus for me :)

But dishing it out and seeing peoples faces, especially without HBT, is going to be the best bit!
 
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