Do the mash.

Well, I've now brewed my first all-grain recipe. I built a mash/lauter tun out of a 5 gallon cylindrical water cooler, a stainless steel false bottom, and the following (inside to out):

3/8" hose barb to 1/2" MIP
1/2" FIP to 3/4" male hose
3/4" female hose to 3/4" MIP
(Cooler wall)
#17 rubber O-ring (#15 would have been better)
3/4" ID washer (2" OD, milled to 1.75" to fit the cooler)
3/4" FIP to 1/2" FIP reducer
1/2" x 1.5" MIP nipple
1/2" ball valve (threaded 1/2" FIP both sides)
3/8" hose barb to 1/2" MIP

Toss in some vinyl hose, teflon tape, and a trio of clamps, you've got yourself an all-grain setup. It's fun to build, but not really worth the time. I spent about $75 ($20 for a new cooler, $25 for the false bottom, $30 for other parts), which is only about $10 less than a new complete assembly from MoreBeer.

For my first recipe, I borrowed Jim Rossi's Honey Pale Ale from MoreBeer's library.

Batch #15
Jim Rossi's Honey Pale Ale
--7 lbs 2-Row American Pale Ale Malt
--8 oz Honey Malt (Crystal 25L)
--3 lbs Honey (15min)
--0.5 oz Cascade 7.4% AA (60min)
--0.5 oz Cascade 7.4% AA (1min)
--Whirlfloc (20min)
--White Labs WLP001 Calif. Ale Yeast
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.004!!!
ABV: 6.5%
Calc. IBU: 15ish

Mashed 1 hour at 152°F with 2 quarts per pound. Batch sparged to 6 gallons. Mash gravity was 1.035. My calculations bring that to about 74% efficiency. I used whole hop leaves for this one.

How to build a wort chiller, Part II

I cleaned and tested the chiller today. Copper Fonzie I cooled five gallons of water mixed with half a gallon of vinegar from boiling to 80ºF in about 15 minutes. No leaks on the inlet or outlet, but the faucet hookup was having some trouble. I neglected to clamp the vinyl hose onto the nylon barbs and the force of the water pulled the hose off a couple times. That's a problem easily solved for less than a dollar tomorrow, though. Hopefully I'll be home from work in time to brew.

All told, the chiller cost more than I would have liked. Not counting the pipe bender, faucet aerator, and Teflon tape, I spent $85 to make two chillers. Subtracting the $40 I made off of the Fonz' younger brother, I saved $10. I'm canceling the time and labor costs with the DIY enjoyment factor so that I still feel like I came out ahead. The moral of the story, which applies to homebrewing in general, it seems, is: unless you like to make it yourself, it is almost always cheaper to go to the store and just buy it. That said, I'll keep brewing and will make my next chiller, too.