Firebat138
Well-Known Member
Can someone give me a basic difference... a luater has some sort of stirring mech? thanx... found the wiki, but need a lamens approach. 
mash tun vs lauter tun
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Lauter means to separate the grains from the wort, after mashing. So a lauter tun is simply the vessel in which that happens. In many cases, the functions of the mash tun and lauter tun are combined, and so a MLT (mash/lauter tun) is created.
Mashing is the process of mixing grains and water to make the wort, while lautering is simply the separation of the grains and wort.
Mashing is the process of mixing grains and water to make the wort, while lautering is simply the separation of the grains and wort.
SilverZero
Well-Known Member
When it comes to homebrewing, they're often the same thing. Mash tun is where you mash, lauter tun is where you lauter. I do it all in the same cooler! You'll see it abbreviated as MLT (mash-lauter tun) around here a lot.
(Edit - Dangit, Yoop. Sniped me again. )
(Edit - Dangit, Yoop. Sniped me again.
)Firebat138
Well-Known Member
so I have a mash tun, but when I am DRAINING it into a BUCKET, the bucket is my lauter tun? or they are one in the same...
I see that some lauter tuns, professionally, have mixing fins or blades... Do they run all the time... Thanx all
I see that some lauter tuns, professionally, have mixing fins or blades... Do they run all the time... Thanx all
Mashing="cooking" (conversion)
Lauter=straining(seperating wort from grain)
Lauter=straining(seperating wort from grain)
BBL_Brewer
Well-Known Member
You're over thinking it man. There are numerous ways to make a mash/lauter tun, but they all do the same thing. Grain and water go in, wort comes out. Just like making vegetable soup. Water and vegetables go into the pot, vegetable soup comes out.
Firebat138
Well-Known Member
lol... I thought I was... Thanx for the kick in the right direction... Knowing is half the battle as they say...
Its a little more like making a Stock. Water goes into a pot with a whole bunch of chicken parts, ya cook it up, and then strain out the broth with out all the chicken.
Your wort is a delicious sweet broth, but you dont want any of the stuff you used to make the broth in there, thats lautering
BBL_Brewer
Well-Known Member
That's true, I could have picked a better analogy. But, the OP got the point.
...
(Edit - Dangit, Yoop. Sniped me again.
That's why she has nearly 40000 posts...
Perhaps the confusion arose because for much of brewing history, on a commerical setting, it was more common to have separate vessels. This way the mash could be moved over to the lauter tun for sparging, and since the mash tun is now freed up, a new mash could be started. It is a very efficient way to get larger batches into bigger fermentors faster.
naderchaser
Active Member
This is something that has always confused and intrigued me as well. So on a large craft system like, say Lagunitas' new system, what is the difference between the mash tun and the lauter tun?
I guess I just have a tough time understanding how it would be more efficient to transfer work to another vessel when you could just mash and lauter in the same vessel, then transfer to primary after whirlpool, cooling ect.
Do they transfer the entire mash (grain and all) from the mash tun to the lauter tun, then sparge/drain? It may seem like a remedial question, but having never seen a large craft/commercial scale brewery in action....its a confusing concept.
Thnx.
When a separate lauter tun is used, the whole mash is transferred over and then sparging is done in the new vessel. If you have a combined mash/lauter tun and want to get another mash started you'd have to wait for the sparge to finish, then you have to clean the spent grain out, and then you could start another mash.
With separate vessels, you could start a new mash almost immediately. While you have the expense of two vessels, they can be better optimized to their single task and they are a time saver. On a commercial scale, time is money. The more mashes they can do the more beer they can make.
With separate vessels, you could start a new mash almost immediately. While you have the expense of two vessels, they can be better optimized to their single task and they are a time saver. On a commercial scale, time is money. The more mashes they can do the more beer they can make.
