Mini Mash Brew Session
 

I'm going to document my brewing session with the Mini Mash/Lauter tun system I built. If you haven't already seen it look at this thread for an explanation of what I'm doing. I will post specifics and photos as time permits. Mash in was about 15 minutes ago and so far so good.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/mini-mash-system-extract-brewers-8805/

Here is the recipe I am making:
McDermott's Irish Ale

A ProMash Brewing Session - Recipe Details Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 8.13
Anticipated OG: 1.056 Plato: 13.81
Anticipated SRM: 16.0
Anticipated IBU: 32.6
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
49.2 4.00 lbs. American 2-row America 1.038 2
36.9 3.00 lbs. Generic DME - Light Generic 1.046 8
12.3 1.00 lbs. Crystal 55L Great Britian 1.034 55
1.5 0.13 lbs. Roasted Barley Great Britain 1.029 575

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Challenger Whole 7.00 30.4 60 min.
0.25 oz. Fuggle Whole 4.00 2.2 30 min.


Yeast
-----

WYeast 1968 London Extra Special Bitter

The 1 1/2 gallon strike water was added to the pre-heated Mash/Lauter Tun at 175 degrees and allowed to cool to 170 degrees. The grist was added to the water and stirred to break up any clumps. The mash stabilized at 155 degrees and the temp seems to be holding well. :o

Thanks for the update Rich. I've been wondering how this was going with you and Chimone. I was eyeballing rubbermaids while out and about this wknd.

Keep us posted and good luck!



Ize

This is a good thing you are doing here Rich. If we ever get a FAQ going, this will definitely be in it.

I still can't understand how you can brew so late!!!!

Im still undecided on a recipe for next weekend.


Way to go Rich! This added about an extra hour and a half + to total brew time correct?

For me it's easier to brew late or very early. I have the house to myself and I'm not bugging anyone. Although, the is the first brew I've done in the kitchen in over 10 years and my daughter came down to complain about the smell. :drunk:

Actually, it's been so long since I've done an extract brew I'm not sure how much longer it takes. I would say you are in the ball park though.
The wort is done boiling and is now in the sink and is cooling in ice water. I am now at the 3 hour mark for this session. How long does your extract sessions take?

About 2-3 hours including cleaning before and after. It has been over 3 once when I had to steep like 2 lbs of grain and only small pots to do it in. Also, can't forget the drinkin' time!

So what did you end up going with for a setup? I'd be interested to know.

Finished!
 

That session went very smoothly. I have to say that I haven't done an extract brew in over 10 years so it was interesting.

The mash/Lauter tun was preheated with hot tap water for about 15 minutes while the strike water came up to temp. I wanted the strike temp to be 169 but I heated it to 175 degrees. It was poured into the mash tun and took about 10 minutes to drop to 169. I do this so the tun absorbs as much heat as possible. This helps the tun hold temp when the grist is added.
The grist was slowly added and stirred to eliminate clumps
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/...trikeWater.jpg
I allowed the mash to stabilize and checked the temp. The mash was at 155 degrees. Perfect.
This 3 gallon cooler works better than my 10 gallon. It held the temp for an hour. It didn't drop one degree.
Here is how the mash looked. Plenty of room for 5 1/8 pounds of grain. I think it could even go to 6 pounds of grain
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/...stMiniMash.jpg

The Sparge
 

I heated 2 1/2 gallons of sparge water to just about boiling. Half of this was added to the mash when the Saccharification rest was complete. The mash was stirred to mix the water and grains. The temperature stabilized at 164 degrees which is a bit low for mash out but not a huge concern. The valve on the tun was opened and the batch sparge began. I recirculated about 6 cups of wort back into the tun to insure the wort was clear.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/...irculating.jpg
The flow was then directed to the brew pot and the first 1 1/4 gallon of sparge was drained into the pot.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/...ntobrewpot.jpg
When the flow stopped, the remaining 1 1/4 gallon of sparge water was poured into the tun. Again this was stirred. The grain bed was extremely compacted so it took a bit of effort to get it loosened up and mixed with the water. Once mixed, the tun was again drained into the pot until flow stopped.
The gravity of the final runnings were way high (1.035) and have me concerned. This is one thing I need to figure out.
To save time, I added the DME to the pot during the sparge. After the DME was mixed well I put the pot on the heat and started the boil. (It took a long time to come to a boil. I'm used to my propane burner)
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/...ntobrewpot.jpg
Here is a photo showing the mash/lauter tun elevated above the brew pot.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/...iMashsetup.jpg