How often you check temps on single temp mash?

My last AG I was never really at the temp I needed to be it seemed, so I am increasing the temp of my strike water a couple degrees. I got 73% efficiency so whatever. But I have a pale ale going in Sat and it calls for a 75 minute single temp infusion. Should I just wrap the cooler up once I mash in and forget it? Or should I check the temp every now and then?

petep1980 said:

My last AG I was never really at the temp I needed to be it seemed, so I am increasing the temp of my strike water a couple degrees. I got 73% efficiency so whatever. But I have a pale ale going in Sat and it calls for a 75 minute single temp infusion. Should I just wrap the cooler up once I mash in and forget it? Or should I check the temp every now and then?

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If you're confident that your system can hold the temps, and you've stirred it well at the beginning, no need to check it again.

I lose less than one degree in an hour mash, so I don't bother checking it after it's settled to the correct temp.

I find that the grain settles and there is a temp difference from top to bottom in my 10 gallon rubbermaid. I stir every 15 min and if the temp falls, I give it a shot of steam. Unless I'm busy getting other things ready.

I don't check anymore. I used to just leave the therm probe in the mash, but I typically lose less than 1F, so I stopped worrying about it at all.

I pour in the grains while stirring and then let the temp distribute for a couple of minutes. I take one temp reading to adjust if needed. Once you have your system down you you will rarely need to adjust anything.

Hey Ed thanks for crushing my grains fine and getting my order out the door same day. Should be here by tomorrow. Faster turn around than Midwest and at a better price, can't beat it.

Patrick

Okay, I'll raise my strike temp a couple degrees since I was off by a couple last time and wrap up the cooler and check at the end.

I keep a probe in the mash the whole time.

That's what I did. I did my first AG batch last weekend. Stuck the probe in through the top and let it sit in the mash. Closed the lid down tight. I am sure I might break the probe wire at some point but it seemed to hold on pretty well. I wanted to make sure I had some experience before I just went and mounted a thermometer in the side of the cooler. I missed my mash temp, but it held for the 90 minute mash I had. I lost two degrees near the end (75 minutes or so).

I never really messed with it, I figured opening the top would be more counterproductive than adding/stirring, etc. I could always just shake the cooler! 75% efficiency, or so it seems. I'm not complaining on my first attempt.

after I close the lid, I don't open it again until the time is up. Alot to be said for the coleman extreme coolers.

My Igloo Icecube drops about 1 degree over the hour, so after I close it I don't open it back up till I get ready for mash out.

Someday I will have to get a Coleman Extreme cooler. My Gott 48 losses 2-4 degrees over an hour (depending on head space) and I cover it with blankets. I'll check it at 30 minutes and do a small decotion if I want to raise the temp. Most of the time I want high attenuation anyway and I just stir it.

I usually check once after thoroughly stirring. If I preheat, the rubbermaid doesn't loose enough to worry about.

I check it once at the beginning, and sometimes once at the end. I usually lose a few degrees, but I don't worry about it.

Once you learn how many degrees off from the calculations to "calibrate" your mash tun cooler, you should be able to get close every time. If you are using a cooler, I don't know of anyone that has lost more than 1-2 degrees over an hour, so constant checking shouldn't be a problem.

By the way, why the long mash? Unless you are doing a really low temp like 146-148 or trying to get a bigger beer extremely dry and fermentable like a Trippel or Saison, a 90 minute mash is really just wasting at least a half hour.

I don't check at all - it stays the same throughout the mash. Keep in mind that every time you open the lid, you are releasing heat.

I am new to AG with my cooler and I have been checking on it about halfway through about 30 minutes. I check the temp, give it a stir and then leave it until time is up. I do this because my cooler and setup are new and I am not sure how it holds the temp. The first AG I only lost 1 degree. My second AG I lost about 4 degrees. Not sure what the difference was but my grain bill was about 4 pounds higher on the first one so maybe it held in the heat better. However, my efficiency was much better the second time around.

i drilled a small hole at an angle in the front of my mash cooler. after stirring i stick a long, cheap thermometer in the hole and i can check the temp. without opening the lid.

Brewsmith said:

Once you learn how many degrees off from the calculations to "calibrate" your mash tun cooler, you should be able to get close every time. If you are using a cooler, I don't know of anyone that has lost more than 1-2 degrees over an hour, so constant checking shouldn't be a problem.

By the way, why the long mash? Unless you are doing a really low temp like 146-148 or trying to get a bigger beer extremely dry and fermentable like a Trippel or Saison, a 90 minute mash is really just wasting at least a half hour.

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I was following the recipe! And the good news is that since my temp dropped to 147 for the majority of the mash it was a good thing I went 90 minutes!

It was my first AG and I wanted to follow the recipe so I could get an idea on how close I came. But I understand your point.. I will hit the temperature next time without a problem.

I am using a 70qt Coleman Extreme, it worked great. The good news is that I have found ways to improve what I am doing and that is really important.

Heineken said:

Not sure what the difference as but my grain bill was about 4 pounds higher on the first one so maybe it held in the heat better. However, my efficiency was much better the second time around.

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With larger head space and less mass in your mash you will loose heat substantially faster. A few deg F wont kill your mash, and like everyone else said once you learn how your specific mash tun works and holds heat you wont really need to check temp.

As for how to take a temperature reading, I just use a thermocouple with a thin wire and screw my mash tun lid on top of the thermocouple. I can take a reading without removing the top. Of course a thermocouple display can run $50-500 but then all you need is a number of probes and you get instant readings on temps without sticking your hands near hot water/mash.

I use to open it and check/stir often, maybe 2-3 times in an hour but don't do that anymore. Stir like mad, close the lid and forget about it. The last batch I did, I actually gained .5 degrees after an hour, how is that for heat loss?

I check after my initial stir and that's about it. If I'm making a beer that has significantly more grain than I usually use, I check it again after ten minutes to make sure my heat loss to the grain is what I was expecting.

I have a calibratable meat thermometer, and it goes through a piece of rigid foam that sits on the mash. I also cover the mash with a thin piece of plastic to limit evaporation losses. I lose 0-1F during a 60min mash, so I don't check during the mash anymore.

I'm an oven masher, I checked my temps ever ~15 mins the first few times using this process, it was consistent enough that I no longer check during the process. I do, however, take a temp reading at the end and log that just to have a data point in the event I have FG issues.

Today I didn't check it at all and I didn't open it for 90 minutes. A six degree fahrenheit drop. I did not cover it with blankets ether. It was over 100 out there again. Who cares when I get well over 90% efficiency anyway?