Do Not Fear All-Grain Brewing - A Primer

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jfowler1

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Do not fear all-grain brewing.

Intro

There have been lots of threads (recently and historically) about concerns with consistency and accuracy in all-grain brewing. Stuck sparges, missed mash temps, volume control problems (collected too much/not enough, mash wouldn’t fit in tun, etc.), and my favorite, inconsistent efficiency, seem to be commonplace. I suppose those fears/issues are what keep people away from all-grain brewing - nonsense. This may be unusual, but I enjoy the brewing more than the drinking. The feeling of control and craft you get while brewing from grain can not be matched. This will be a bit cumbersome, but I thought it would be nice to put together a “little” all-grain primer. It may have been done before, but I wanted an opportunity to offer my own thoughts and ideas, while passing along some of the best information I have come across. I have learned a lot from this site, and I thought it would be appropriate to contribute something useful to the next group of brewers coming into the hobby. Some thoughts are semi-original, others are simply regurgitated from reliable sources. At this point, it is hard for me to distinguish between the two.

My AG primer will break this process down to four parts; the crush, the mash, the sparge, and a little bonus, “common pitfalls”. Once the wort is in the kettle, you are on your own. I’ll explain what works for me, and why. For full disclosure, I run a continuous (fly) sparge on a 5G system. My mash tun and hot liquor tank are both igloo coolers, which obviously, can not be directly heated. My experiences will obviously be tailored to my system, but the principles can still be helpful for a batch sparger or someone with a direct fired mash tun. Proof-reading this, I believe the principles apply regardless of how complex or simple your brew house is. Tailoring nuances are part of the fun of this hobby – so good luck there.

It will become obvious that I am a bit of a process junkie. This primer leans heavily on a repeatable, well planned process. A brewer who enjoys a more artisanal – no two batches are the same – approach may not see this information as valuable. That’s okay. On the other hand, to a new all-grain brewer, or to someone who wants to be able to repeat a recipe, I hope you find my tips and experiences to be of use.

Please give me a few minutes to get things copied and pasted, and then I would be happy to hear anyone’s thoughts, questions, or additional contributions.
Joe
 
Part 1 – The Crush
Crushing the grain is such a simple throw-away thought, but it is going to dictate the entire flow and repeatability of brew day. Unless you have a reliable vendor that you use every time, who crushes the grain the same way every time, I think you need to invest in a good mill. I use a barley crusher (with the small hopper), and I am thrilled with it. I went with the small hopper a couple years ago because the added capacity didn’t match the added cost, but I am really happy I went that route because it stores a lot easier. My advice here is that less is more when it comes to the crush. Do not over crush your grain! All you need to do is crack the husk open. Just give them a good crack. Some will split, some will kind of hang together, but they will all look like grain. If you can not identify malt kernels after you crushed, your mill may be set too tight.

There is a school of thought that a finer crush will give you better efficiency. It may be true that efficiency can be improved a couple points by turning your grain and starch to powder, but I think the negative tradeoffs offset a couple points of potential efficiency. Namely, the more powder in the mash, the more prone you will be to channeling - and worse – a stuck sparge. The cracked husk is the natural filter that clarifies wort during recirculation. It’s job becomes much harder if it looks more like saw dust than a pile of husks. Visualize what water looks like passing through a bucket of pebbles versus passing through a bucket of sand. That is the difference between a fluffy grain bed and a bed full of powder.

I used to get an efficiency of 85-88%, but going slightly against the grain here, I wanted it lower. I opened my B.C. back up to its factory setting (I tightened it down when I received it), and I conduct my sparge at a faster rate than I used to (usually reaching pre-boil volume levels in less than 30 minutes). I got my efficiency down to 75%, and I could not be happier. Tasting the wort, I find it to be richer, with much less offensive “grainy” character. The cost of richer wort at lower efficiency; about a pound or two of 2-row. More importantly, the fluid dynamics through my grain bed are much improved, and the wort clarity during recirculation has never been better. A stuck sparge used to be my biggest brew day stress – it is a thing of the past.

As an aside, the only thing more ludicrous and misdirected than bragging about efficiency is bragging about lag time (but that is a topic for a “fermentation primer”). High efficiency does not equal high quality wort. Ironically, high efficiency is not really “efficient”. I would not call 2 hour trickle sparges efficient. After In-bev makes an offer to buy you out, then you can start worrying about high efficiency, but at 5G at a time, please value quality, consistency, and ease, over saving a pound of grain.
Finally, every time someone asks if they should buy a mill – the response is always “Yes, because you can buy in bulk and save money!” While true that there is a return by buying in bulk, I feel there is a much bigger return from having the physical control over the crush. The money saved breaks down to pennies on the pint, but the consistency you pick up by crushing your own grain is invaluable. For that reason alone – buy a mill.
 
Part 2 – Dough in and Mash Temperature
Hitting mash temperatures plagued me for a little while. Maybe not “plagued”, but definitely “pained”. I would always be close, but I could never get it exact. I recently dialed in a process that enables me to hit my mash number every time. Have some patience – this is the longest part of the primer.

Before I get into it, I ask you to throw away a couple preconceived notions. First, the quarts of water: pounds of grain ratio is a ball park number. I am sure that there would be some effect of 1:1 vs 3:1, but we all seem to be in the range of 1:1– 1.5: 1, so I will go with that. Again, it is only there as a ball park. The second thing you have to accept is that software calculations are a decent and arguably necessary starting point, but you can not rely solely on them to sort out the brew day for you. This is a hands on hobby, and you – not the software - need to be in control. Finally, accept that the biggest constraint to your mash is the volume that your tun can hold. Pretty obvious, right? Basically, my system starts with tun volume, and works backwards from there. If you have a direct fired tun, you will have a little more flexibility for corrections – but my method will get you where you need to be faster, rather than playing “chase the mash temp” for 15 minutes.
Also, I should add that this process is easiest if you have a way to control the flow of strike water from your kettle to your tun. The best case scenario is a ball valve feeding the tun from your kettle via a pump or gravity. If you have to physically dump water into your tun, that is okay too, but you will need a pyrex pitcher on hand or really enjoy picking up and pouring a pot of 175F water over and over again (I would opt for the pitcher if I was in group “B”).

Before I get started, I want to briefly mention water. All I use is a carbon filter, and a touch of campden on all of my brewing water. If you want to add salts/minerals, then that is up to you, but I really love what I heard from a brewer at Lagunitas. I’ll paraphrase;

“We all have access to the same grains, hops and yeast strains. The only true variable from brewery to brewery is the water and the brewer. Embrace your water, because it is one of the few things that can distinguish your brew house.”

I love that thought, and it is what I prescribe to. I like to leave the chlorine and chloramines behind, but I want all the other stuff in there.
 
On to the mash.
The first thing you need to do, days before brewing, is document volume levels and dead space in your equipment. This is where accuracy and consistency start. This could take an hour, but it is worth it. The other thing to do prior to brew day, is to explore your recipe and find out the “ball park” quarts: pound ratio you will be using.

I love this site (thanks Green Bay Rackers)

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

I will do an example with a 12 pound grain bill. I start with a target thickness of 1.25 qts: pound, because that is my favorite target. I plug it in, and I find out that thickness requires 4.71 gallons of space. It fits! The catch is that I can not go over 1.25 qts: pound. If I do, I run out of room to infuse more water. This simple concept of space constraint is where my mash process was born.

Brew day arrives and you know a few things. You know the dead space in your kettle (mine is 2.75 qts). You know that you can target 1.25 qts: lb for your 12 lb grain bill, because 4.71 gallons of volume will fit in your 5 gallon tun. You also know that it is 60F today. You can use that same Rackers site to calculate your strike temperature as 171F. With some simple math, you find that 1.25qts: lb or grain with a 12 lb grain bill is 15 qts. So to recap, the software says heat 15 qts to 171F, dough in, and you will settle at 154F. Sounds good, but in practice, it is destined for failure.

That calculator made no assumptions about dead space in your kettle (or tubing, pumps, etc), or heat loss due to ambient during transfer, or to that theme, heat loss due to the thermal mass of your specific tun. Combine all of those variables, and you just set yourself up to fall short of 154F. You also just ran out of room to scramble and infuse boiling water, because this grain bill only allowed about a quart of freedom. Missing a mash temp is not the end of the world, and falling on the low side, it will not ruin your beer (where as tremendous overshooting can ruin your beer by denaturing enzymes prior to conversion), but it will be different than the beer you set out to make – which frustrated me enough to figure out a nearly fool proof solution.
I’ve seen lots of ideas about hitting mash temps. Preheating the mash tun, adding all of the required strike water and allowing it to settle before adding grain, ice cubes or boiling water on hand; they all seem like fixes instead of solid and repeatable directions. Worst of all, they are not controlled. You add the water, add the grain, and hope everything comes together.

Here’s what I do. It has worked for me every time I’ve done it. It is low stress, consistent, easily explained, and fairly original. Naturally, YMMV (but it shouldn’t).

Run your recipe through a calculator as offered on the Rackers site to figure out a ball park for volumes and temps. Keep in mind, your only constraint is mash tun volume, and your main concern is avoiding a terrible overshoot. My example instructed measuring 15 qts, heated to 171F. That is only the jumping off point. The first thing you need to do is add the dead space in your kettle to the volume you were given. For me, that is 2.5 qts, but I round up to 4 quarts of dead space because I use a lot of tubing and a pump. So now, my volume is 19 qts. I should add here that kettle dead space is pretty much a non-issue if you are not using a ported kettle, but since mine is stationary and pumps move things around, I have to account for the dead space in every calculation. Next, I add another 4 qts to that dead space correction – I consider it an insurance policy. It also increased the thermal mass of the strike water, so in theory, it should lose less heat while waiting to be transferred. The next thing to consider is the temp I am heating up to. I am told 171F should get me where I need to be, but I know there is heat loss during transfer, and I also choose not to pre-heat my mash tun. After some trial and error, I found that 4-5 degrees F in the winter, and 3-4 degrees F in the summer (over instructed temp) keeps me where I need to be. So again, for this example, I will heat 23 qts to 175 F. Pretty simple so far.

The next step is the dough in. This is a hands on process. There is nothing I hated more than the anxiety of dumping in the water, dumping in the grain, stirring, crossing my fingers, measuring the temp, then scrambling to fix it. Granted, it would work out every now and then to within a degree or two, but if I designed a recipe for 154, I want the rest to be at 154. “Dump and Pray” as I call it, is a process that can use some improvements.
The dough-in process I want to share goes like this.

Quickly settle on a thick but stir-able mash ratio. I find that .75-1 qt: lb is in that range. Precision is not too important here, just be mindful that the thickness of this step should be about 75% of the thickness you designed the recipe around. This recipe is 1.25:1, so for this case, I’ll work with 1:1. For this grain bill, that is about 12 qts. I move 12 quarts to the empty (non-preheated ) tun. At this point, I all but close off the valve from the kettle, maybe allowing a trickle at most. If you have to dump strike water, just stop dumping when you reach 3 gallons/ 12 quarts. Now add ALL of your grain. The mash will be thick, and in this case, will probably be in a temp area of about 145F – take note that since the cool grain is in a greater proportion than the strike water volume you designed brew day around, the mash temp will be below your goal rest temperature. That should be an easy concept, but I wanted to spell it out. Stir it for 30 seconds or so and make sure the big clumps are broken up and that the first bit (in this case 3 gallons) of strike water is distributed. As a recap, you have added all your grain, 12 qts of the available 23 qts you preheated, and still have almost 3 gallons of 175F water available to you. Now, armed with a thermometer and a mash stirrer, start slowly adding the remaining water to the tun, while gently stirring the mash. This is where a ball valve comes in handy to regulate flow for you, but a pyrex pitcher will work (for the crowd using the pitcher, work in about a quart of strike water at a time, and drop to 1/2 qt as you get really close to rest temp). You will see the temp steadily tick upward. You will see that just before you are at your 1.25:1 mash thickness, the thermometer will be reading 154F. Hit your temp, turn off (or stop pouring) the strike water, give one more good quick stir to double check things are settled, cover, and walk away.

Why does this work?

First, you are over compensating on heat and volume from the start. Odds are, you will have a thicker mash by .1-.15 qt : lb than originally called for, but it will be guaranteed to fit in your tun. So yes, you are heating more water than planned, but could potentially be using less water than planned. That will have a lot to do with variables like grain, equipment, and ambient temperatures, as well as miscalculated dead space. To reemphasize, the tun volume is the biggest constraint – almost everything else is a variable and can be altered to come out with the same net result – but the tun volume is a constant. Also, by adding some water, then all of your grain, then the rest of your water as needed, you have a chance to break up dough balls, get the tun assimilated to the heat, and then work from cool to hot. It is not a yo-yo of hot water/cool grain. It is not a “dump and pray”. It is an anticipated below temp dough in, and then a steady, linear, controlled climb to your target mash temp – with temperature measurements being done along the way. Having all the grain in the tun also gives you one less thing to juggle, which is nice if you brew solo.

Best of all, if there is strike water left in the kettle (there should be) you just got a head start on preheating your sparge water, so no energy was wasted - but that belongs in part 3.
 
Part 3 – The Sparge
I considered leaving this part out, because I fly sparge and can’t speak about batch sparging from experience, but when you break down what you are trying to accomplish, the processes are really more similar that we make them out to be. At the end of the day, you are adding water above mash temp to rinse sugars from the grain bed to wind up with a predesigned volume or wort. When you look at it in those terms, the results are really the same – the delivery methods are just a bit different.

One of the most disturbing things I have discovered about the sparge is how misinterpreted sparge volumes are. There is no reason to use a volume given by a computer program. It never seems to work out. I can point once again to dead space issues, variable absorption rates, etc. The solution is simple. Heat as much sparge water as your hot liquor tank can hold, and stop sparging when you reach your designed pre-boil volume. If you have hot water left in the HLT but already collected enough wort – great! Save it for cleaning. The following concept is so simple, but people have relied on the software for so long that it seems to get lost.

Let me explain. I have a certain volume of water in my mash tun. I can sort of guess how much is in there, but in truth, I don’t care. I do know that between whatever I put in my tun, and the 5.5 G of sparge water + the 1 gallon I will boil and add for a mashout, I have enough water in the system to collect 26 qts of wort back into my kettle pre boil. And that is the number I use every time – 26 qts preboil. By keeping the wort volume in the kettle the same every time, I can confidently predict my brew house efficiency, which is really helpful in recipe formation. Also, I always use a 75 minute boil, and collect exactly 5G of wort into the carboy (leaving behind a couple qts in the kettle). That helps me be consistent with evaporation rates, pitching rates, finishing volumes, etc.
So what do I do?

As soon as the mash is covered and set, I add the soon-to-be sparge water to my kettle. How much? 6.5 Gallons - every time. After I raise the water to about 175F, I transfer 5.5 gallons to my second cooler which acts as a holding tank/HLT. If I had a second burner for the HLT, that transfer would be unnecessary. Either way, I really suggest having this third vessel in addition to the kettle and a tun, and if it is insulated or can be directly fired; better yet. Back to my system- the last gallon is left in my kettle, and after my 60 minute mash is complete, I boil that gallon. Once boiling (only takes a minute or two) I carefully lift and pour the gallon of boiling water into the mash tun (you wouldn’t be able to do this if you had maxed out the tun’s space during dough in). Don’t get caught up in the mash-out. Sometimes (maybe in this case) I wouldn’t be able to fit a whole gallon of boiling water. I will fit what I can, and thin out the mash as much as possible. The mash-out is not a measurement to get caught up in. I give the mash a quick stir, recirc for 10 minutes, then rearrange some hoses and begin the fly sparge. The sparge lasts about 30 minutes. Once the 26 qt mark is reached, I close the ball valve on the mash tun, confirm the wort’s gravity, and I am on my way to the boil.

Yes, some wort is left behind in the tun. No, I don’t care. Personally, I favor consistent volumes over draining every drop of wort from the tun.

I believe this process can be used equally effectively with a batch/ double batch sparge. Just as I do not collect the last of my runnings, a batch sparger would cut off the tail end of his collection as well. I understand there are some differences because the mash in a batch sparge is a bit more homogenous due to stirring where as the mash from a fly sparge is being constantly diluted, but once you do it a few times, I am sure the efficiency will form a trend and you can adjust from there. Besides, a batch sparger collected the best of the wort during first runnings anyway. That last sparge will be the least rich and most tannic – it probably wouldn’t hurt to leave some of that behind in the tun. If I had to convert my process for a double batch sparger, I would probably drain my first runnings, at that point, I would know how much additional sparge water would be needed to hit 26 qts pre boil. At this point, absorption is practically a non issue, so accounting for dead space only (and maybe adding a couple qts to my calculation for insurance), I would take that calculated sparge volume and split the second two sparges somewhere along the lines of 65:35. The 65% sparge would be drained completely, and the wort will be richer. The 35% sparge may be cut off short, but it is the most diluted and low quality wort anyway. Admittedly, batch sparging is not my forte.
 
Part 4 – Pitfalls

Finally, I just wanted to offer a few words about sparge pitfalls; mainly – avoiding a stuck sparge. I see three reasons a sparge gets stuck.
1) Equipment failure – namely; collapsed braid.
2) Too much powder in the crush.
3) Compacting the bed by draining too quickly.

Equipment Failure
I think the most common equipment failure is a crushed/tweaked/collapsed braid. It is the most common problem simply because the braid is cheap, accessible, and therefore, the most used set-up. There are some good solutions on the boards about how to reinforce your braid. Give them a try before you find out you have a problem. Once the braid gets crushed, you brew day will go from relaxing to ruined. Plan ahead.
I used a braided manifold for a while, and it did its job, but it would fail on me about 10% of the time. I decided to eliminate the problem and buy a SS false bottom designed for my 5G cooler (I only buy from Ed @ Brewmasters Warehouse). It is completely stainless. All fittings in my brewery post filter are stainless, so I wanted to stay consistent. Ed distributes some great quality stuff.

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0102038/ss-false-bottom-9-in-diameter

Going for the FB was the best decision I have made in a while. It is just a superior product to my DIY braid, and has completely eliminated my equipment concerns.

Another design I really like is the copper and CPVC manifolds that some people have built. Especially in a rectangular cooler – I think this design is second to none in an oddly shaped tun.

It is also worth mentioning here that whatever medium you choose, braid, false bottom, or manifold, its purpose is to separate the grain and the wort – not to filter the wort. The grain bed is its own filter, which brings me to pitfall #2; the crush.

Crush
As I mentioned earlier, the crush dictates brew day. It is the key to consistent efficiency, and it is imperative to a successful sparge. Prior to opening up my rollers a bit, I looked into my drained mash tun and saw about 2 inches of tan powder on top of the grain bed. It looked like a bag of flour. I have no idea how the water was able to rinse through that layer, but I guarantee it was not easy. A nice, fluffy grain bed promotes improved fluid dynamics. I heard there were reports recently at the CBC that despite conventional wisdom, some breweries found improved efficiency with a coarser crush. I suppose it lends to the idea that if it is easier for the fluid to navigate a grain bed, it will do a better job of rinsing the sugars from the grain. Once again, when it comes to the crush, less is more.

Draining too quickly
Finally, I have heard of issues where a brewer fully opens the valve on his mash tun and the pressure of the fluid trying to escape is so great that the grain is pulled downward and the bed compacts. I was guilty of this myself. This is a mistake that you typically only make once, and just requires a little trial and error to figure out a speed your system can handle. I say to stick on the side of caution. Begin draining the tun by just cracking the output valve open enough to see that wort is exiting. You can increase the speed from there. Again, this is really trial and error, and barely requires mentioning, but it could be a pitfall.
 
Conclusion

Well, that is it. The wort is in the kettle, and you know what to do from there. Please let me know if anything needs clarification or further illustration.

Thanks everyone for all the tips you have given me along the way. I lurk more than I contribute, so hopefully this makes up for that a bit.

Joe
 
Here is a pic - shows the connections for a hybrid pump/gravity fly sparge in action. Fingers are tired, so all I will offer is a link if you want a better breakdown of the components of the rig.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/my-ag-rig-1550-lite-240483/

Joe

circular fly sparge.jpg
 
I like your dough-in process. I'm always adjusting down rather than gradually bringing the temp up to where it's supposed to be - I think I'll try it your way next brew day.

Thanks for taking the time to explain your methods and write everything up so well!
 
Someone wanna sticky this? I'll definitely be referring back to the dough-in steps numerous times on my next few brew days to try it out.
 
+1 on the dough in.. I'll try that (or something like it out as I don't have a pump) next brew day in a couple weeks.

First of all, thanks for all the very kind feedback.

Secondly, in response to the quote above, a pump is by no means neccessary (unless your rig looks like mine and forces you to defy gravity). In fact, if you can transfer from kettle to mash tun via gravity, you have one less component (pump) to worry about. If you lack valves and therefore, don't have the option to use gravity, the pyrex pitcher can be used for strike water just as effectively; it just requires you to be a bit more hands on.

Another tip I left out is the medium you use to have water entering your tun. When I started brewing, I built one of those copper rings with a bunch of drilled holes that was supposed to rain down above the mash; what a waste of time and effort! The only thing more disturbing than that "ring" is the helicopter style device that looks like one of the presents a resident of Whoville would play with on Christmas morning. I switched to a length of 1/2" silicone tubing that just rests against the side of the tun a couple inches above the grain bed. You can see a picture in the link I offered, but you will notice that mine is hard plumbed into the top of the tun. That is not neccessary, especially if you are feeding the tun via gravity. Simply run the tubing from the kettle into the top of the mash tun. Better yet, make sure the tubing is aimed at the side of the tun; it will keep you hands out of the way of 175F strike water while stirring and measuring temps- which is a good thing.

Feel free to continue posting any questions you have about applying this dough-in method to your system - I am sure we can work through them.

Joe
 
Great stuff. I'm doing my first AG batch tomorrow and this is just about exactly what I got on here looking for. Thanks a lot!

---Chris
 
Fatastic post. Thanks so much for imparting some knowledge and experiance. My first AG batch will be next week, and I'm definately comming back to this post :cheers:
 
great advice on the dough in. Makes perfect sense in hindsight. Will be adding that to my brew day for sure.
 
Great write up. I'm 4 AG batches in and have been doing the dump and pray. I've been coming in pretty close thanks to brew target as they do take deadspace etc into consideration...at least I think they do since there's a space for it. I will definitely give your method a try next batch...already mashed in this morning :doh:.
 
Hey, just wanted to say - I just doughed in like you described in this post and for the first time, I didn't have to use any cold water to bring my temp back down. Worked really nicely - thanks!
 
Awesome primer. I'm hoping to move into AG this summer, provided I can allocate enough funds to it!

And I'm just curious with your technique: How consistent is your efficiency? Or perhaps put a better way, how near to your planned OG do you usually come after the mash? My partial mashes with ~4lbs of grain has been all over the place, but then again I'm working with pretty basic equipment.
 
And I'm just curious with your technique: How consistent is your efficiency?

All of my recipes are built for 75% efficiency. That was not originally my target, but 75% became the trend I saw once I settled into a brewing process I was comfortable with. IMO, a "target" is actually a pretty silly thing to have had in the first place. It is my philosophy now to let your process dictate your efficiency, and not to let efficiency dictate your process. Think about that for a second.

Also, if the process is repeatable, the efficiency is repeatable. I know I mentioned this in the primer, but you don't need it to be a high number, you need it to be a consistent number.

Joe
 
It is my philosophy now to let your process dictate your efficiency, and not to let efficiency dictate your process. Think about that for a second.

Touché. And well put. I suppose it's easy to get caught up in the efficiency race.

On another note, I've been assembling my list of equipment for going all grain. I'll be back to this thread once it's procured!

:mug:
 
Quick question. For us batch or double batch spargers, it seems the common convention is to not perform a mash out to allow more water for sparging.

How would you recommend raising and stabilizing sparge temp for us? I normally follow a dump and pray method from brew software here but maybe we could do something similar to your dough in advice?
 
Quick question. For us batch or double batch spargers, it seems the common convention is to not perform a mash out to allow more water for sparging.

How would you recommend raising and stabilizing sparge temp for us?

Good question.

The meat and potatoes of the primer is hitting your desired rest temp for a single infusion mash. It gets a little hazy once you get to the sparge step because that process is very system dependent....but I'll take a shot.

Look at this question in two parts.
1) Mash-out and Recirc
2) Sparge

Mash-out and Recirc
I know the mash-out is technically there to quickly raise the grainbed above 170F, and denature the enzymes in the mash; essentially, locking in the fermentability of the wort. In truth, I don't know if that gallon (or in some cases, less than a gallon) of boiling water I add prior to recirc is enough to get me to 170F. Rather, I look at the "mash-out" as one last opportunity to liquify my mash as much as possible, and to get the wort to a temperature more capable of dissolving sugars into solution - whatever that temperature may be. As I said before, don't sweat specifics of the mash-out.

However, in my experiences, the mash-out and the recirc go hand in hand, and one would be borderline useless without the other. Obviously, the process does not need to be automated with a pump, and reviewing your question, is also independent of the upcoming fly/batch sparge. Even if I were to batch sparge, I would still follow my advice as given and add about a gallon (if it fits) of boiling water to my mash about 10 minutes before I want to begin my sparge. I would give the mash a good stir to incorporate the boiling water, and then begin a varlouf (or as I say, "recirc"). My recirc is automated, but slow. Over 10 minutes, I would be surprised if I recirculated more than 2 gallons. Recirculating 2 gallons can easily be done manually. Up to this point, there is no difference between your system and mine, so that mash-out + recirc process should be familar.

Sparge
I appreciate your concern about "If I mash-out, I have less water to sparge", but in my opinion, that is exactly what you want to do. Again, this is only opinion, because I do not batch sparge. Look at it this way, you are essentially moving that gallon from the last bit of wort collected to the first bit of wort collected. In my mind, the first runnings trump your last runnings. This plays to the logic of no sparge brewing from a wort quality standpoint, but in this case, you give yourself a little help in the efficiency department by doing that second (or third) batch sparge. To be honest, I don't really understand the concern about maintaining sparge temps, because if you follow the infuse, recirc, drain method I just laid out, each upcoming "batch" sparge you do after first runnings is like its own mini-mash-out (you just don't need the water to be boiling because the grain you are adding the sparge water to is "dry"). So to take a guess, you would only have to heat the sparge water to 180F or so, infuse, stir to incorporate, recirc, and drain - and do that as often as you need to reach the designed preboil volume. Maintaining temperature should be a non issue, because you are controlling what is going into the tun for each sparge step, and you know better than me what temp that water needs to be. Temps only need to be maintained long enough for you to run your recirc and get the tun drained.

So in summary, if I were to batch sparge, I would still do a mash-out. I think you would want to collect as much of your pre-boil volume from first runnings as possible, because those first runnings are going to hold the highest quality wort. Additionally, the mash-out will aid in dissolving the sugars back into the solution you are about to drain, and the now slightly thinner mash will make recirculation easier.

This process may change the efficiency you have become used to, but I really think the wort quality will be better. To me, that is the name of the game.

Joe
 
Back when I used to brew iI did fly sparge. Now as I get back into it, I'm reexamining every single part of the process, using all new gear from the ground up - with the goal of the simplest, smallest and most effective brewing I can do.

For me, the BIAB mashtun/batch sparge, then move the bag to the boil kettle for dunk sparge is so perfect I can't wait to do it.
 
This is a great writeup, and very timely for me. I've been having maddening inconsistencies with hitting my mash temps--one day it's spot on and another day I fight it for 15 minutes. As you call it, the "dump and pray". I'm brewing tomorrow and have been mulling over ways to get a better result and all of a sudden, no searching, here's your thread! Thanks, you answered my questions that I didn't even have to ask! Cheers! :mug:
 
Awesome writeup. I'm trying my first AG batch this weekend, and this is definitely the process I'm going to use. Thanks!
 
Before launching into a project I try to get a handle on "cost of failure." In other words what will this project cost me if I totally fail and have to dump the beer.

I got in to all grain after brewing only ONE BATCH of extract beer. The reason I did was I learned that the only extra equipment I needed would cost about $20.

30" braided stainless supply line = $12
Brass plug = $2.50
Stainless hose clamps = $2
Poly tubing = $3 - $4

I already had a 48 qt cooler that had a drain plug. Since you don't make any permanent modifications to the cooler, if the project fails you remove the poly tubing and you've got your cooler back.

Of course you have to add the cost of the grains, hops, & yeast in to the cost of failure.

So the worst cast scenario is utter failure to brew a drinkable beer. And that cost would be about $40. So why would all-grain be so scary?
 
When I did AG in my original cooler setup, I found that thinner mashes (1.8 to 2qt/lb) were much easier to deal with. I know there's always a debate about mash thickness, but I've since found that thin mashes -- and always using rice hulls in every batch -- led to greater efficiency, more consistent mash temp throughout, and zero stuck sparges.

The downside to thin mashes, of course, is the size of the mashing vessel. On big brews, I was forced to mash thick -- and this usually meant (for me, at least) headaches -- including inconsistent mash temp throughout the grain.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but I thought I'd throw that in. Great write-up!
 
When I did AG in my original cooler setup, I found that thinner mashes (1.8 to 2qt/lb) were much easier to deal with. I know there's always a debate about mash thickness, but I've since found that thin mashes -- and always using rice hulls in every batch -- led to greater efficiency, more consistent mash temp throughout, and zero stuck sparges.

Yeah, I'll go with that.

I believe that I have heard that a thinner mash may promote a higher efficiency. I also believe I have heard the trade off is a slower conversion from starch to sugar, because there is literally more volume that the enzymes need to search through. You can still get full conversion, but I think that it may take a little longer. How much more efficiency or how much longer to conversion....well, that I can't answer.

As I said in the original post, I only see mash thickness as a constraint to your tun volume - you also eluded to this when you talked about using a big grain bill. The practical differences between 1:1 and 2:1 are pretty negligable, and almost everyone is operating somewhere in that range. My point was only that it is not something to obsess over or get stressed out about deviating from. Your mash thickness is a variable, your tun size is not.

Personally, I have gone as thick as 1:1 in my 5 gallon cooler, and since correcting my crush, dialing in a run-off speed, and switching from a manifold to a false bottom, I have not had any stuck sparge issues either. Even with a mash on the thicker side of the spectrum, I can run an automated recirc with no problems. I would prefer to be in the 1.25:1 range for everything, but some recipes just don't allow it. Fluid dynamics are very system dependent, and what works great for one person can be an epic failure for someone else.

Regardless, I think it is awesome that you have dialed in some techniques that make your brew day easier and more repeatable. That is the name of the game. I am sure that if someone has been struggling with a thick mash, your suggestion to try thinning things out could be a great tip.

Thanks for contributing,

Joe
 
Nice write up. I can only speak from my experience, but by plugging my system (10 gal round cooler with SS braid) into BeerSmith, I never have to "dump and pray". I follow the directions and hit my mash temps dead on every time, without fail. I also hit my pre-boil and pitching gravities dead on 9 out of 10 times without thinking about it.

The $20 for good brewing software us the best investment I've made as a home brewer. If you know your system, it works great and you don't have to sweat this kind of stuff.

*shrug*
 
All of my recipes are built for 75% efficiency. That was not originally my target, but 75% became the trend I saw once I settled into a brewing process I was comfortable with. IMO, a "target" is actually a pretty silly thing to have had in the first place. It is my philosophy now to let your process dictate your efficiency, and not to let efficiency dictate your process. Think about that for a second.

Also, if the process is repeatable, the efficiency is repeatable. I know I mentioned this in the primer, but you don't need it to be a high number, you need it to be a consistent number.

Joe

I love the idea of this. I swear by the same philosophy. I just wanted to let you know how great of a write up I thought this was and add a couple of points. I discovered the under shoot your temp and add hot water method and how great it works the first time I did a double infusion mash. Since I didn't really care what the volume was and in a 10 gallon cooler I'm not usually limited I just used my software to get me in the ball park. stopped short of that volume and then added until I got to the correct mash temp. It works really slick. Also, as someone who batch sparges what I can tell you is that there really isn't any reason to over sparge and leave anything in your mash tun. Since we drain our tuns completely after the mash when we batch sparge we can then measure how much wort we have collected and calculate how much water to sparge with. For example, let's say I mash with 16qts of water and collect 2.5 gallons. to hit a pre boil volume of 6.5 I need to sparge with 4 gallons (break it up however you like.). Since you don't need to calculate your dead space to sparge (it's filled with wort from the mash) this should work everytime. What you suggested is great advice but the thought of leaving wort in the mash tun makes me cringe. I'll tell you this though, I'd rather collect a little extra and boil it off than be under personally.

Oh yeah, Prosted!
 
Nice write up. I can only speak from my experience, but by plugging my system (10 gal round cooler with SS braid) into BeerSmith, I never have to "dump and pray". I follow the directions and hit my mash temps dead on every time, without fail. I also hit my pre-boil and pitching gravities dead on 9 out of 10 times without thinking about it.

The $20 for good brewing software us the best investment I've made as a home brewer. If you know your system, it works great and you don't have to sweat this kind of stuff.

*shrug*

Beersmith is always technically correct, the problem is we don't live in a technically correct world. The OP actually points this out when he states something about temp dropping a few degrees more while transferring on a cool day compared to a warm day. That being said, when I was fooling around with beersmith 2.0 I thought I remember seeing an option to input ambient air temp. but I never used it because it's just as easy to stop short and fill until I hit my mash temp.
 
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