Thanks to everyone for the advice and for easing my worries about my previous pale ale made from extract. It came out being very drinkable, even in my rather warm apartment (by fermentation standards, anyway). I didn't intend to step up to all-grain so quickly but I happened upon a free cooler (a basic, standard-sized cooler runs $70 here in Korea) and figured I might as well use it for mashing grains. I've only done all-grain twice and it's been years since I last tried it, so I have some questions and concerns:

1.) I'm going to do a wheat beer, all-grain, and am concerned about my mash temp -- what's ideal for a 2:1 wheat:barley recipe? (Does the grain type even matter?) I assume I should mash for less body.

2.) And since I'm doing it in a cooler, should I get the water hotter than my target temperature to allow for some cooling when I pour it into the cooler?

3.) Also, I am considering the use of a mesh "tea bag" to hold my grains -- I seem to recall this trick from years ago in a brewing handbook. Is there anything I should be aware of with this method? Living in Korea, my only real option for this is a fine-meshed, double-walled synthetic-fiber bag made for running clothes through the laundry. Obviously, I'd buy a new one and make sure it's properly sanitized. Even so, I'd like some positive feedback before going ahead with it.

Thanks in advance!

Welcome back to all grain. How much does grain cost over there?

1) I think I would mash around 152F, and the grain type does matter. 2-row pale is a cleaner tasting malt than 6-row which has a grainier flavor and with the wheat 2 row would be better. Use a high attenuating yeast to help dry it out.

2) Yes you should get the water hotter than your mash target and the temp you need depends on the amount of grain your using, the temp of the grain, and the temp of the cooler.

3) I used to use mesh bags until I set up the stainless braid in my cooler and it worked just fine. Efficiency will be a little lower but I found it helped to split the grain into two bags and stir vigorously several times during the mash. Just wash the bags before you use them the first time to make sure there are no oils in them that could taint your first mash. You have to boil after you drain into your kettle anyway so "properly sanitized" brings on a whole new meaning. I only sanitize what touches my wort after the boil.

Grains aren't too expensive here. I got 9 pounds of grain for US$25-30 (the dollar/won conversation rate is a little awkward). About what I expected the pay. I might start buying in bulk to bring the costs down further.

1.) As far as the specifics you mentioned about grains, I don't know what I've got. My supplier's limited English and my lack of Korean had me simply asking for "wheat" and "light colored barley." FWIW, he said he gave me pilsner-style barley, which makes me think it's 2-row.

2.) I'm not sure I entirely understand your response here -- are you saying that the temperature of the cooler and the temperature of the grains will determine how much the water cools? I'm using 9 lbs. of grain. I assume the grains and the cooler will be room temp (77-79F). Knowing this, what temp. would you recommend I get the water to?

3.) Two bags it is. And good advice on washing the bags ahead of time.

Hey there, I'll try to help with Question #2. If you are mashing at 152, and you have a mash thickness of 1.25 Qt./pound, then your strike water should be 167, assuming your grains start out at 77 dry. Now, that being said, if you go higher than that by, say, 5 degrees, then pour the water into your tun, you will have as close to a thermal mass of 0 as is practical (this makes hitting your mash temp much easier). You then let the temp in the tun drop to 167, and then put your grains in. How do I know this? Magic. Just kidding, use the link below.
http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

Oh, just so you know, this is the way I figure out my mash schedule, but I don't use bags, I have a igloo cube cooler with a copper manifold in the bottom. I wouldn't think the bags would change it too much, but your efficiency will go down some.
Good luck

The pilsner he said he gave you would be 2 row, just kilned a little lighter than normal pale malt. Should go good with the wheat. I would recommend using a 1.5 qt/# ratio, especially when using grain bags. With that said your strike water would be 163F.

I don't know how big those bags are you would be using as your grain bag, if you can fit all the grain in one and it's not packed tight in there you could just use one bag. You just want plenty of room in it to be able to expose more grain to water when you stir it around.

+1 chuck. Or.. Just use the formula you are used to but put 2-4 qts boiling water into the cooler before the mash just to heat it up. When you're ready to mash in dump your preheat water.. Just a thought though.. you're in Korea.. and no rice in the beer?

Thanks again for all the helpful information guys!

Brew day is now upon us and I remembered one last question: How can I figure out my mash efficiency?

Another question: Do I pour the hot water over my grains in the cooler or do I dip the grains into the water?

I just pour the water on top of the grain in the cooler and stir it in really well. Do you have a brewing program like Promash or Beersmith that would calculate what your OG should be?

Hey all, just wanted to say thanks for all your help and advice on this batch. Things went pretty well and our wheat beer has been fermenting since Sunday morning local time (it slowed down yesterday).

We didn't get quite as much efficiency as we'd have liked -- the recipe called for 1.052 OG but we topped out at 1.044. It's my fault, I didn't have enough hot water for sparging and forgot how much water the grains would soak up -- is there anything wrong with mashing 2 qts per pound of grain? Or, more exactly, what would be the affect on the beer if I mash with more water? (I used 1.5 qts per pound last time)

I try to get equal amounts from my first runnings and my sparge and 1.5 quarts per pound is fine. After a couple more batches you will dial it in.