A couple of questions.

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mtbfan101

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I figured I would post multiple questions to save some cyber paper. Here they are:

1) In John Palmer's book, he said to add your water to the grain--not the other way around. Why is it that whenever I see all grain brewers on youtube, they're always adding the grain to the hot water? Does it make a difference?

2) In a swamp cooler, a concept I have just dawned upon, does the water temperature reflect the temperature in the primary(in my case, a bucket). I have read on here that the primary does not normally exceed the water temperature. I feel bad about asking this but after searching the forum, I didn't find a "yes or no" answer.

3) Can anyone give me some good links, threads, or books to water chemistry? This sounds interesting to do a little reading on.

4) Let's say I have 168 degree strike water, and I am trying to get to a certain target mash temperature. How long would it take to extract tannins from the grain? How imperative is it to cool it down to the proper temperature range quickly?

5) Is it true that when you pour your beer onto starsan that it breaks down into nutrients for the yeast?

Thanks a lot,

Pat
 
1) I think it's easier to add your grains to the water. It's how I always do it. It doesn't make a difference as long as you don't get doughballs.

2) As long as you don't cover the thermometer with cold water, it should tell you what the beer temp is.

3) Can't help with this one

4) You won't extract tannins if your pH is below 7. It simply won't happen. You can boil grains at the normal mash pH of 5.4-5.6 and not get tannins. Research decoction mashes.
 
My answers are inserted in red.

mtbfan101 said:
I figured I would post multiple questions to save some cyber paper. Here they are:

1) In John Palmer's book, he said to add your water to the grain--not the other way around. Why is it that whenever I see all grain brewers on youtube, they're always adding the grain to the hot water? Does it make a difference?

I find it easier to pour the grain into the water. IMO it makes no difference.

2) In a swamp cooler, a concept I have just dawned upon, does the water temperature reflect the temperature in the primary(in my case, a bucket). I have read on here that the primary does not normally exceed the water temperature. I feel bad about asking this but after searching the forum, I didn't find a "yes or no" answer.

Your wort will try to rise in temperature during the height of fermentation. This is what the cooler is for. The water keeps the temperature from swinging as it would in the open air.

3) Can anyone give me some good links, threads, or books to water chemistry? This sounds interesting to do a little reading on.

I can't advise here.

4) Let's say I have 168 degree strike water, and I am trying to get to a certain target mash temperature. How long would it take to extract tannins from the grain? How imperative is it to cool it down to the proper temperature range quickly?

As was already stated PH is the determining factor here. I have heard that very high temps may be a factor. Some people let the wort cool over night and pitch the yeast the next day. IMO it is better to cool quickly but I really dunno.

5) Is it true that when you pour your beer onto starsan that it breaks down into nutrients for the yeast?

That's what I have heard. DO NOT FEAR THE FOAM!

Thanks a lot,

Pat
Click to expand...
 
1) It's all about the grains balling up. You can do it both ways, but I've found is easier to break up and stir with adding grain to the water. Also it gives you a chance to see how your system absorbs temps from the water. This can help you with hitting your target temps.
2) As long as you have enough mass in the surrounding water it will control the ferment temp.
3) Braukaiser.com - German brewing and more This has everything you need for brewing. It also has an excellent water calculator. Go to the Brew Science section and ask questions here. The water primer and the knowledge there can help you greatly.
4) Not sure what your concern is here. You add 168 degree water. Your mash is not 168.
5) No idea on this being yeast food. Doesn't matter as long as it isn't food for bacteria. :D
 
Great responses. I'm really thankful for the clarification in regards to the tannins. Okay, so here's a new question:
1) At what temperature does amylase denature? I'm under the assumption that it is above 170 degrees.

2) I watched a video of an all grain brewer who was saying that he mashed for 15 minutes and sparged for another 15 minutes. He said that in his experience, mashing for 60 minutes wasn't necessary and that he regularly gets 85% efficiency. Can anyone vouch for this?
 
mtbfan101 said:
Great responses. I'm really thankful for the clarification in regards to the tannins. Okay, so here's a new question:
1) At what temperature does amylase denature? I'm under the assumption that it is above 170 degrees.

2) I watched a video of an all grain brewer who was saying that he mashed for 15 minutes and sparged for another 15 minutes. He said that in his experience, mashing for 60 minutes wasn't necessary and that he regularly gets 85% efficiency. Can anyone vouch for this?
Click to expand...

Sounds really questionable to me! That goes against everything I have read and experienced,
 
4. To extract tannins you have to have mash pH over 7 and temperature over 170 at the same time. Since your mash should be acidic, in the range of 5.2 to 5.4 pH you cannot extract tannins and since your water does not exceed 170 you cannot anyway.

I have noticed that my wort goes from cloudy to mostly clear which indicates the starches are being converted to sugars in about 15 minutes but that depends a lot on how good your crush of the grain is. Since I mash in a nylon bag and don't have to worry about a stuck sparge, I can mill my grain quite fine. Coarser crushes take longer for the water to reach the center of the grain to wet it and thus take longer to convert. If your crush is really poor you might do better at conversion by mashing much longer.
 

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