I just made the leap to AG brewing and am planning my first batch. I have heard that with a 5 gal mash / lauder tun that I may not have the space needed to accommodate higher gravity beers.
What is the max grain size (lbs) that can be mashed in a 5 gal tun? Are there ways of getting around this limitation?
Thanks
[quote=“Loopie Beer”]Check out this site. Should be able to help you.
http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml[/quote]Handy, thanks. How can I determine what my mash thickness will be?
That is something you’ll have to decide. It can be anywhere fom 1 qt/lb to 3 qt/lb. If you don’t have enough room in the MT use a thicker mash. I have a direct fired system and usually mash in at 1.5 qt/lb. However, if I’m doing a step mash I will go as high as 2 qt/lb. You’ll have to find what works best for your system.
For the very same reason you are speaking about I got the 7.5 gallon coolers. Plus they are shorter and wider so easier storage.
It is better to have and not need than need and not have, IMHO
I think the price difference was nominal.
Good Luck with your AG quest!
Thanks Ranger. Very helpful.
If you haven’t bought a cooler yet I’d suggest you get a 36qt or larger rectangle one, the Coleman Extreme coolers make excellent mash tuns.
Yea, if you are going all grain, get a big enough cooler and pot to handle bigger beers or the occasional 10 gallon batch. You will never regret that decision.
I purchased a 70 qt Coleman xtreme off of amazon several months ago. Converting to a mash tun was easy, and it holds temps very well. It really depends on how large your beers are going to be and how many gallons you want to do at one time. With the xtreme I can do double batches and high gravity beers too.
