Hey guys,
Just did my first all grain brew last week and am preparing to bottle it sometime next week. It went well, but there were some difficulties I encountered.
After the mash was complete, I turned the lever on the kettlevalve to let the wort run out, but it wasn't coming out very well, just a few drops a second, not sure why. After letting it sit that way for a few minutes I got impatient and started messing around with the spoon inside the tun (Link) and moving the false bottom around a little helped it flow, but it stopped flowing right after I stopped playing with it. I got impatient again and lifted it slightly which caused it to gush out. I let it down again and the flow kept up just fine. I guess I had a clog somewhere? Or did my false bottom get too mucked up to allow the wort through?
After the 4 hour cooling period (tun is too big to fit in the sink, didn't have any ice, and couldn't leave it sit outside in the freezing cold with the lid off), I transferred it into my betterbottle and pitched the yeast. I noticed when I moved the bb to where I was going to leave it to ferment that the bottom bulged out a little when I lifted it up, which caused it to suck in a little sterilized water from the airlock. I'd prefer to avoid that when I go to bottle. Any suggestions on how to move a BB without leaking the airlock water into the wort/beer?
Just did my first all grain brew last week and am preparing to bottle it sometime next week. It went well, but there were some difficulties I encountered.
After the mash was complete, I turned the lever on the kettlevalve to let the wort run out, but it wasn't coming out very well, just a few drops a second, not sure why. After letting it sit that way for a few minutes I got impatient and started messing around with the spoon inside the tun (Link) and moving the false bottom around a little helped it flow, but it stopped flowing right after I stopped playing with it. I got impatient again and lifted it slightly which caused it to gush out. I let it down again and the flow kept up just fine. I guess I had a clog somewhere? Or did my false bottom get too mucked up to allow the wort through?
After the 4 hour cooling period (tun is too big to fit in the sink, didn't have any ice, and couldn't leave it sit outside in the freezing cold with the lid off), I transferred it into my betterbottle and pitched the yeast. I noticed when I moved the bb to where I was going to leave it to ferment that the bottom bulged out a little when I lifted it up, which caused it to suck in a little sterilized water from the airlock. I'd prefer to avoid that when I go to bottle. Any suggestions on how to move a BB without leaking the airlock water into the wort/beer?