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So, tomorrow I will be attempting my first All Grain Homebrew. I’ve built my Mash Tun, DIY Mash Tun, and I plan to follow an instructional video I found on Don Osborne’s YouTube channel…

The kit I will be making is an Irish Red from Northern Brewer.com. It calls for a 153° F mash for 60 minutes, and then a 170° F mash out for 10 minutes. From some suggestions on NB’s site, I have purchased an additional 1lb of malt to bump thinks up a bit.

I’ll take some pictures and post up my results after the Brew Day is done!

Last night I just planned on installing some accessories for the stereo but I figured since I had the center console out I would also install my Mopar STS while I was in there.

A while back a friend of mine gave me a set of Energy Suspension shifter base bushings that he never got around to installing, so I figured I’d throw them in. You basically pull out the OEM bushings, install these and reuse the metal center section to bolt things down.

I also relocated the aftermarket FM antenna I had tucked behind the head unit to under the dash top. The signal is MUCH stronger there, as now I get damn near every FM station in the area. Before this my radio would seek through most all frequencies. I also stuck the Sirius antenna in the defroster vent to clean things up a bit. On the column is the microphone for the Bluetooth hands free feature on the radio. Works great! The Sirius hardware is neatly tucked under the driver’s seat.

Lately the majority of my time as been consumed with my SRT situation. Now as things are settling down I have some more time to work on other hobbies. Up until now all of the homebrewing I have been doing has been from Extract Kits. Brewing with extract is okay, it’s much easier and faster, but the results are not as good as brewing from grain. So the next batch of beer that I will be making will be made completely from grain, with no extract used. However, in order to accomplish this I need one additional piece of equipment. A Mash Tun is a vessel that you use to mash the milled grain in order to create the wort that you will eventually boil to brew the beer. There are many options to obtaining/building a mash tun, most all of the homebrew supply sites and stores offer pre-built or kits for building one. With some searching online, I found an easy DIY solution that would get me into all grain brewing for little cash. I basically followed Don Osborune’s how to that is located on his site. Cheap and Easy Mash Tun. My cost was slightly higher than his, because I used a better cooler than he did.

Parts.
Coleman Xtreme 50-Quart Cooler on Wheels from Walmart
Approx 5′ of 3/8″ Tubing from Northern Brewer
Small Tubing Clamp from Northern Brewer
Braided Stainless Steel Supply Line from Lowes
Small Stainless Steel Worm Gear Clamps from My Garage (can be found on NB or at Lowes/HD)

Assembly.
Gather all of your parts, Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine is Optional.

Cut the ends off of the stainless steel braid. I used some pipe cutters I had, but a hacksaw would work well for this also.

Using needle nose pliers, remove the tubing inside the braid. Leaving a floppy stainless steel outside. Be careful not to prick yourself with the frayed ends.

Set the braid aside. Push the tubing through the drain in the cooler. I found it easier to go from inside out, vs outside in. Your mileage may vary based on what cooler you use.

Clamp the braid on the end of the tube inside the cooler. Fold the other end of the braid over itself a few times and clamp it closed.

Slide your tubing clamp up the outside tubing and place it an inch or two from the outlet of the cooler.

Wait for your significant other to leave, and then leak test your new Mash Tun.

I should be trying my first All Grain brew in the next couple weeks. I’ll update with my experience.

Thanks to my friend Sean and his neighbor, we were able to get rid of the wrecker shell last weekend. He also picked up the long block too.

Thanks again to Sean, Dustin, Gabe, Juan, Jamar, Erik, Jesus, and everyone else from the LVSRT family that came and helped me get my parts off that old car and ready to install on the new car.

Finally, I am able to park both mine and my fiancee’s cars in my garage and now I have room to get started on installing the fun stuff on the new SRT.

Now the fun begins