New Brunswick Craft Brewers Association
Brewing => Equipment => Topic started by: Chris Craig on April 01, 2014, 03:12:41 PM
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After last week's attempt at brewing a 40L IPA using 12.5 kg of grain in my Coleman 48qt cooler, I decided something slightly bigger was in order. Aside from wanting something a bit bigger, my current tun was bowed a bit in the front from use. This left a noticeable gap at the lid. Bad for heat retention.
The new tun didn't need to be too much bigger. I tend to mash thicker on bigger beers to boost efficiency. I just needed a bit more room. Amazon.ca started carrying these:
http://www.igloocoolers.com/Coolers/Marine/Marine-Ultra-54
$59 shipped isn't exactly the best price, but hey...this is Canada.
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I think im close to due for another mash tun but I wouldn't mind switching to a kettle for mashing down the road.
Do you sparge twice? 13 kg of grain can sometimes push my limits usually on the sparge side, and I have a 72 qt.
Either way those look like really quality coolers
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I sparge twice, but I'll mash that much grain at 1qt/lb instead of the usual 1.25qt/lb.
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For a mash tun for doing 5 gal recipes, are one of those 5 gallon drink coolers big enough for doing a mash?
I see a fair number of them (and tons of how to on YT) about them, but they are usually 10 gallon ones. Just wondering if a 5 gal would be big enough for only doing 5 gal batches.
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Yes, they're big enough, but you won't be able to do a very big beer. 12-13 lbs max.
Most of us here use picnic coolers because they're cheaper, more readily available, and they hold more grain. They are really easy to convert to a mash tun too. Exact same process as the beverage coolers.