Ad Hominid Homebrewing Co.

Really quickly (only after two brews) I've grown tired of brewing on the stove-top. I'm not too fond of using the malt extract and wanted to get started on some all-grain beers. I looked around online and found the Cheap 'n' Easy Batch Sparge Brewing method. It's the same all-grain process I blogged about earlier.

There are a couple of ways to do an all-grain batch, and the differences lie in the sparging process. Sparging is essentially rinsing all of the sugars off of the grain. The most common, closest to what the professionals use, and most efficient method of sparging is known as Fly Sparging. This is where you continuously trickle hot water over the grains at the same rate in which it is being drained. You sparge until you get your desired pre-boil wort volume.

The other method of sparging is called Batch Sparging. Here you do two runoffs, one batch at a time, until you get your desired pre-boil wort volume. Of course, you can also do a No-Sparge method, which can best be described as a single infusion process; you collect the first run-off and call it a day. This method, however, provides only about 50% efficiency, the lowest of all three methods. For more information, click here and here.

Since I do not have the equipment for fly sparging, I will likely start out with batch sparging. To do this I had to get a kettle large enough for larger boil volumes. I managed to find an old turkey fryer off of craigslist for $20, with a 7.5 gallon aluminum pot; just enough for six gallon batches.

I also had to build a Mash Tun. This is where hot water is added to the crushed grains. An insulated cooler is used to retain heat, while enzymes break up the grain's starches into simpler sugars for the yeast to convert into alcohol.

Build list:

$37.96 - 10 Gallon Rubbermaid Cooler
$5.37 - 3/8'' Female Pipe Tee (Watts A-758)
$2.67 - 3/8'' MIP x 1-1/2'' Brass Pipe Nipple (Watts A-786)
$6.10 - (2x) 3/8'' Comp x 3/8 MIP w/Insert Ander-Lign Compression Connector (Watts A-123)
$2.48 - 3/8" Barb x 3/8" MIP Hose Barb Adapter (Watts A-294)
$7.30 - FloodSafe 48" Stainless Steel Washing Machine Hose (Watts FSW48)
$3.00 - (4x) 5/8” Stainless Steel Fender Washer
$6.89 - 3/8” Threaded - Full Port Ball Valve
5/8” I.D. (Internal Diameter) O-Ring
Seal from plastic spigot of cooler (shown below)
Teflon tape (which should be applied between each connection.)

Total: about $70.00. Not bad, considering comparable mash tuns are generally sold by most home-brew stores for over $150.00.

Build Instructions:

Here we have the 10 gallon cooler.

Hold onto the outside spigot and use pliers to unscrew the inside plastic nut. After it loosens a little, you can hold onto the plastic nut and rotate the spigot till it comes off.

Retain the rubber seal as it will be used later.

Here's the 48" stainless steel utility hose. A smaller one could be used, but this wasn't too much more expensive and it's best to have a large filter surface area.

Cut off the hose fittings and the inner tube slips right out.

Feed the filter end into the compression connector and stick the insert into the filter.

What I found worked best was to complete one compression connector and screw it onto the female pipe tee. Screw the other compression connector onto the tee before attaching the other side of the filter. I found this reduced twisting of the filter. (As you can see below, I learned by trial-and-error, by assembling both sides of the filter before screwing it on the pipe tee.)

Here's the filter fully assembled.

Now we must put everything onto the cooler. On the left side of the twist-tie we have what belongs inside the cooler, and on the right, the outside components. Not pictured is the 5/8” I.D. O-Ring, which will be the first component on the outside of the cooler.