How do you use a cooler mash tun?

Summing It All Up

1. Strike the grain between 165-170°f to mash at 150-155°f. Do this for an hour. Empty the mash tun and rinse the grains with the mash water once.
2. Strike with sparge water at 180°f. Add enough sparge water so that the total volume of first runnings and sparge will be between 6-6.5 gallons.

Can you make mash in a cooler?

Putting together a mash tun out of a rectangular picnic cooler is actually quite easy. From the inside of the cooler, place the rubber mini-keg bung in the whole where the spigot was. Optional: If the mini-keg bung is not fitting snug, food-grade sealer can be used to create a water-tight seal.

What is a cooler mash tun?

A mash tun is where a brewer steeps grain with hot water to produce a sugary liquid that will eventually become beer. But with just a few parts and tools (and no more mechanical know-how than a 6-year-old), you can easily convert a plastic beverage cooler into a mash tun for less than half that price.

How do I increase the temperature of my mash cooler?

Just as you would add boiling water to raise the mash temp, you can add cold water to the mash to cool it down. The tools mentioned above (Beersmith, Brewtoad, etc.) will also tell you how much cold water to add if your mash temp is too high.

How big of a mash tun do I need?

If you make 5 gallon batches typically under 1.060 OG you mash tun only needs to be a little over 4.5 gallons in size. I got to this figure assuming 12lbs 2-row at 70% efficiency to get 6 gallons of 1.060 wort (preboil).

What happens if mash temp too low?

Temp Too Low By mashing low will give you more fermentable sugars, leaving the beer thin and dry. Leave the mash temp too low (below 140 °F) for too long, then you run the risk of ending up with a “watery” beer that does not taste good.

What temp should I mash at?

Mashing in – sometimes called “doughing-in” – is typically done between 35–45 °C (95–113 °F), but for single-step infusion mashes, mashing in must be done between 62–67 °C (144–153 °F) for amylases to break down the grain’s starch into sugars.

How many pounds of grain are in a 5 gallon mash tun?

12.25 pounds
The grain bill calls for 12.25 pounds of grains for 5 gallons.

What size mash tun should I get for 5 gallon batch?

5 gallon batches can make use of a minimum of 8 gallon boil kettle and 5 or 10 gallon mash tun. 10 gallon batches (up to 1.088 OG) will need a 15 gallon kettle and 10 gallon mash tun.

How can I make a mash tun out of a cooler?

Remove the plastic spigot from your cooler.   Use a wrench to hold the plastic nut on the inside and then remove the spigot on the outside.   Remove everything except for the inner rubber seal/grommet.   If you bought new from Home Depot, you’ll have a white rubber grommet.

Where can I buy a 10 gallon mash tun?

1. Obtain a beverage cooler of appropriate size. I decided on a 10-gallon round Igloo beverage cooler that I purchased at Lowe’s for $49.99 in Grand Forks, ND. If you’re Canadian like me you’ll find that these are significantly less expensive South of the border.

How long do you let a mash tun rest?

Fill the cooler halfway with water and let it rest for about 20 minutes. If it dribbles water out the front, check that you’ve sufficiently tightened both sides of the pipe nipple, and that your rubber washer is pressed flush against the inside of the cooler.

How do you make a mash tun cabin?

Place the ball valve on the pipe nipple and hand-tighten. Use a wrench to hold the inner lock nut in place, then use a second wrench to fully tighten the ball valve. Pour some water into the cooler to check that the assembly doesn’t have any leaks.