Heating strike water help

Beau815 · 05-02-2009, 03:57 PM

I am doing edworts haus ale and its my first AG he doesnt give a temp for stirke water, says sparge at 175... but all he says is dough in w 3.5 gallons for 60 min... anyone know what temp?

**Yooper** · 05-02-2009, 04:18 PM

It depends on your system, so you would use whatever temperature strike water you need to hit your goal. In my case, for a mash temp of 154, I usually use strike water of 170 degrees. I use a cooler MLT, with my grains at basement temperature (in the 50s) and the MLT is preheated with boiling water.

What do you usually do?

Beau815 · 05-02-2009, 04:48 PM

Usually use malt extract lol... anyways i did use 170 and preheated my cooler, i checked temp and its at 160 so i took lid off to cool down to 154... it was 160 for a good 20 min so should i extend my mash time by 20 min?

Beau815 · 05-03-2009, 03:41 AM

I had like what 11lbs of grain or so with edworts haus, and only hit 1.042 I suck at AG...no clue how to "mash" and I studied ALOT on it for months and just dont know how it works... i stirred the mash a little... let sit for an hour... drained... sparged with 175 degree and it ran pretty much clear. Kinda disappointed in my mashing...

tenglert · 05-03-2009, 03:55 AM

You just need practice. Learn from your mistakes.

My first AG went much like yours. I over shot my temp and mashed too hot. Then I sparged too fast. Now that I know how my mash tun works, next time it will be much better.

Beau815 · 05-04-2009, 01:26 AM

i sparged pretty slow i thought... i didnt stir it much though... are you supposed to stir a lot? i was afraid it would give off flavors and release "tannins" etc. I made sure i sparged pretty slow but does the speed of the spigot flow matter that much and why? I know your to go slow so i did but dont know why. I def think i sparged too hot though...

**Yooper** · 05-04-2009, 01:30 AM

Well, if you "batch sparge", you don't have to go slow. That's where you dump in the sparge water and stir it up, then drain. If you fly (continuous) sparge, where you trickle water over the grain bed while keeping an inch or so over the grain bed and drain out as fast as it goes in, it's important to go slow.

So, it depends on how you did the sparge. What did you do for a technique?

You don't stir during a sparge at all, beyond when you stir at the beginning of a batch sparge or a mashout when you add water- you want the grain bed to settle so you can just drain clear wort out.

**Yooper** · 05-04-2009, 01:36 AM

I was just thinking- I'm a visual learner, and not good at explaining stuff. One of the HBT'ers named Bobby_M has a great video on AG brewing, parts 1 and parts 2 that easily explains and shows this.

Here's the link to utube: YouTube - BobbyFromNJ's Channel

If you look at the brewing videos, those two are listed and they are very helpful!

Beau815 · 05-04-2009, 04:59 PM

Thanks, I watched them before but it was months ago when i only did extract. I should watch again now and I will probably soak up more... and I batch sparged... I did the 3.5 gallons for the hour then the 5 quarts for 10 min after the hour...

After watching I noticed that I did not wait and check water temp after putting strike water in cooler... just hit 172 degrees in the boil then dumped into cooler then added grain and stirred. Also, I did not do 2 batch sparges only one... after the hour and first running i added 5 quarts and did a second running... looks like he did it 2 times after the original 60 min he rinsed twice.

**Yooper** · 05-05-2009, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beau815

Thanks, I watched them before but it was months ago when i only did extract. I should watch again now and I will probably soak up more... and I batch sparged... I did the 3.5 gallons for the hour then the 5 quarts for 10 min after the hour...

After watching I noticed that I did not wait and check water temp after putting strike water in cooler... just hit 172 degrees in the boil then dumped into cooler then added grain and stirred. Also, I did not do 2 batch sparges only one... after the hour and first running i added 5 quarts and did a second running... looks like he did it 2 times after the original 60 min he rinsed twice.

Well, mash temp is probably the most critical thing, so make sure you check, recheck, and then check again on your mash temp. I stir like crazy to get out all of the doughballs and equalize the temperature, then check the temp in the middle, sides, etc. of the mash. That's really important- a good thermometer, and checking the temperature. Too high, and you denature your enzymes. Too low, and you'll lose the "body" of the beer. Make that a priority next time.

If you're batch sparging, no need to drain slow. Let 'er rip.