I was wondering how feasible going all grain would be in a small kitchen. Right now, I do 5 gallon extract batches with 3 gallon boils topped off up to 5.5ish gallons. My plan was to get the NB Deluxe All Grain system (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brew … allon.html) and split the boils into 2 5 gallon kettles. I haven’t tried splitting batches into 2 kettles although I know many people do this. Do the additions work well just splitting everything in half? Does anyone see any issues with this plan?
http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/
http://brewing.lustreking.com/gear/mashtun.html
Save yourself $150.
You plan is solid otherwise. I might drain the mash tun into a bucket first. That way you can mix the concentrated 1st runnings with the 2nd runnings. Getting closer to equal OG’s in each pot.
As I’ve said in countless other posts, I have only brewed on my stovetop for the past 14 years. I have moved to smaller batches for a number of reasons. But if you still want to make 5 gallons at a time, it’s doable on the stovetop. You just need to boil in two kettles at the same time. Not a big deal if you’ve got an extra kettle. Go for it, either way. Lots of advantages to smaller batches if you should decide to go that route. Think about it.
I brew on the stovetop almost exclusively. I have a 15 gallon kettle that spans two (gas) burners and can get a nice rolling boil going in 7+ gallons.
During the winter I brew 5 gal batches on my stove; I use a heatstick to assist the stove. Works great.
I do 4 gallon batches on my stove. Depends how much your stove can boil. You could scale back to 3 gallon batches. You get to brew more often, have more variety, and it’s simple and easy. You could do brew in a bag or a simple 5 gallon cooler setup.
I miss brewing outside on some days, especially in the fall. But otherwise, brewing inside rocks. There’s no bugs and it’s the same weather year round.
