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I know a few of you are mashing in coolers... I am currently putting together a recipe for a barleywine for next fall, and it got me wondering... What is the biggest beer you've brewed up with a cooler MLT? I guess another way of looking at it would be what is the largest grain bill you've squeezed in there?

I use a (rectangular) Rubbermaid 48qt cooler, and have not dumped more than 15 pounds of grain in there at one time. I am hoping to break the 20 pound barrier for this barleywine. I've got some Kent Goldings to use up, so I figured, what the hell.

My mash tun is a 48qt cooler too & I've recently done an Old Ale that was just shy of 19lbs. I probably could have squeezed in an extra pound in there. The water level was ~2 inches below the lid.

I partigyled mine, which meant I mashed thinner than normally so I could get enough for the first runnings beer, if I sparged it, I would have mashed thicker & not had the water level so high.

akr71 wrote:My mash tun is a 48qt cooler too & I've recently done an Old Ale that was just shy of 19lbs. I probably could have squeezed in an extra pound in there. The water level was ~2 inches below the lid.

I partigyled mine, which meant I mashed thinner than normally so I could get enough for the first runnings beer, if I sparged it, I would have mashed thicker & not had the water level so high.

Good to know... Did you do an extended boil? What was your mashing temp?

I can get about 36 lbs in my Igloo cube for bigger beers, but if I want to go over 1.080, I'm adding sugar or extract.

Wow, that is a lot of grain. What size is your cube? Is that the design with the handle and wheels?

I might throw a pound of extract in for good measure, but I am a bit worried about the abv tolerance of my yeast. I will be bottle conditioning this one, so I am reluctant to get much above 9% or so. (limited temp control, no diffusion stone)

Yeah, it's the handle and wheels style form Walmart. What yeast are you using?

mr x wrote:Yeah, it's the handle and wheels style form Walmart. What yeast are you using?

I haven't decided yet. I am going for an English style with those UK goldings, so I am thinking either Nottingham or WL 1318... From what I'm reading, the Notty is a bit more robust... 1318 is listed for 10% abv. If I hit my target OG, I should get about 9% from the prelim recipe. 1028 might be better.

Those cubes look pretty solid. Mine unfortunately has an inch or so of dead space below the valve. Not really a huge deal, but it starts to be a pain in the ass when I am filling the thing to the brim.

I'd go with the 1028 for the barleywine. I tried a BW with a lower attenuating English strain, and even with mashing low and using sugar, it still didn't get me the attenuation I wanted. Sweet barleywine sucks rocks.

mr x wrote:I'd go with the 1028 for the barleywine. I tried a BW with a lower attenuating English strain, and even with mashing low and using sugar, it still didn't get me the attenuation I wanted. Sweet barleywine sucks rocks.

I agree... The Notty makes it a bit more economical, but I am starting to lean towards that 1028. I am also thinking about throwing a couple of ounces of oak for bulk aging in secondary.

Yeah, the Nottingham would be easier on the budget if you're going from scratch. I always do a step up beer to get a good yeastcake before brewing a big beer with liquid yeast. I don't have a problem throwing packs of -05 at a big beer though.

moxie wrote: Good to know... Did you do an extended boil? What was your mashing temp?

Hell no - as it was I over shot by a mile and had to dilute when it went into the kettle (that's OK, more beer). I over-estimated how much of an efficiency hit I'd take - I was still ~67%

round about page 6 of this thread I link to the resources I used to dial in my partigyle.

I've got a 48qt cooler. I've had 23.75lbs of grains and still had a little room left over.

I used 1098 for mine. Started at 1.088 and finished at 1.022. It is supposed to be good up to 10% ABV. It was delicious and disappeared fast.

JLC

I used the 1099. Bad idea.

For mash tun size, this link is a good referance.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/how-big ... ds-123585/

I don't agree with the last column regarding 80%eff at that high an OG.