Jablestein
Well-Known Member
Hey all,
I figured I'd post this in here since I'm an all grain brewer and I assume that part of the issue has to deal with the way I'm taking temps in my mashtun with all the grain added.
I'm using a converted keggle mashtun that has a thermometer built into the side wall. I'm currently only doing 4 gallons of water with my grain in the mashtun since I'm still using a 5 gallon brewkettle (and don't have much space if I sparge out into a 5 gallon pot). Part of the issue I have right now is that the thermometer doesn't quite reach the water when only 4 gallons are in the mashtun, so I generally rely on my digital thermometer to test the initial water temp before adding grain. However, once the grain is added I'm have an extremely difficult time getting accurate temperatures.
The digital thermometer seems to change drastically whenever I stir the grain. I can only assume that there are hot/cold pockets forming with the grain in the water. Furthermore, the digital thermometer is generally reading 10+ degrees compared to the analog thermometer built into the side of the mashtun. Basically, I'm not entirely sure which temp I should be reading. I generally ere on the side of caution and go with the digital since it's higher and I'm afraid of boiling the grain at too high a heat and releasing nasty tannins. I'm not entirely sure what I have to worry about if the grain is boiled slightly under 150 (the pot thermometer reads about 140).
I'm just curious if anyone else has run into this issue and has any suggestions for me. Thanks so much!
I figured I'd post this in here since I'm an all grain brewer and I assume that part of the issue has to deal with the way I'm taking temps in my mashtun with all the grain added.
I'm using a converted keggle mashtun that has a thermometer built into the side wall. I'm currently only doing 4 gallons of water with my grain in the mashtun since I'm still using a 5 gallon brewkettle (and don't have much space if I sparge out into a 5 gallon pot). Part of the issue I have right now is that the thermometer doesn't quite reach the water when only 4 gallons are in the mashtun, so I generally rely on my digital thermometer to test the initial water temp before adding grain. However, once the grain is added I'm have an extremely difficult time getting accurate temperatures.
The digital thermometer seems to change drastically whenever I stir the grain. I can only assume that there are hot/cold pockets forming with the grain in the water. Furthermore, the digital thermometer is generally reading 10+ degrees compared to the analog thermometer built into the side of the mashtun. Basically, I'm not entirely sure which temp I should be reading. I generally ere on the side of caution and go with the digital since it's higher and I'm afraid of boiling the grain at too high a heat and releasing nasty tannins. I'm not entirely sure what I have to worry about if the grain is boiled slightly under 150 (the pot thermometer reads about 140).
I'm just curious if anyone else has run into this issue and has any suggestions for me. Thanks so much!