vorlauf question...

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tranceamerica

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Ok, I did my first AG last night. Light grain bill (7.5 pounds) and split pot stovetop boil, but AG none the less.

My "false bottom" is a vegetable steamer, so it's holes are a bit on the big side.

I vorlauf'ed like crazy, but still was getting grain pieces in the runnings. Finally gave up and dumped it into the brewpot. Not a lot of pieces, or large, but there none the less.

1) will this cause astringency in the final product?
2) what can I do next time - a braid or better false bottom? I really don't want to spend a ton of money on this...

TIA...
 
tranceamerica said:
Ok, I did my first AG last night. Light grain bill (7.5 pounds) and split pot stovetop boil, but AG none the less.

My "false bottom" is a vegetable steamer, so it's holes are a bit on the big side.

I vorlauf'ed like crazy, but still was getting grain pieces in the runnings. Finally gave up and dumped it into the brewpot. Not a lot of pieces, or large, but there none the less.

1) will this cause astringency in the final product?
2) what can I do next time - a braid or better false bottom? I really don't want to spend a ton of money on this...

TIA...
Click to expand...
Veggie steamers holes are a bit too big.

I think your beer will be fine if we're not talking but more than a 1/2 cup or so of grains.

For less than $45 you can make yourself a true mash tun using a cooler and some spare copper parts.
 
Dude, a braid setup is ultra-cheap and provides great results for a large number of us.

If you're talking like 10 husks/bits or something, you're probably fine. If there are enought to fill a few ladels full of bits - you might be in trouble but even then it's probably not as much as one would think. Not matter how much I vorlauf, I always end up with a bunch crap floating around the top of the boil. I try to get as many as I can, but eventually they either float up with the foam and stick to the side, or end up in the sludge at the bottom.
 
it was a lot of little pieces - I have no idea how much it'd be if it were seperated from the wort. I guess I'll look into the stainless braid.

a follow up question - it seems like everyone wants to get SS ball valves for this, but what's wrong w/using a brass valve from home depot?
 
You can even use a plastic valve like Denny it will make just as good a beer as the stainless valve :)
 
Mine's plastic as well. Actually - mine is just a copper tube shoved through a carboy stopper with a plastic clamp about halfway down the hose on the outside and a braid on the inside.
 
I made my Mashtun for about $35 using teh $20 50Qt Igloo and brass valve. You could even ditch the valve temporarily (or permanently) and run the hose out like mentioned above with a clamp to close it during the mash.
 
I use the brass valve as well but to be honest I wouldn't see any reason why you couldn't use plastic/pvc for this and it would be cheaper. I recommend a valve however, I think it just makes things easier, sure you can use a clamp but you can also just get a valve for a few bucks.
 
As others have said, the particles you had will probably not be an issue. Until you get a braid or manifold setup, you could use a fine strainer to catch the particles and husks as they exit the mash tun output tube.
 
When you say you vorlaufed "like crazy," how long did you vorlauf and what approximate volume did you circulate? It can be fairly important to start your runoff very slow and then gradually increase it as your filter bed builds.

However, I also agree that you are better off just ditching the veggie steamer and getting something better.


TL
 
TexLaw said:
When you say you vorlaufed "like crazy," how long did you vorlauf and what approximate volume did you circulate? It can be fairly important to start your runoff very slow and then gradually increase it as your filter bed builds.

However, I also agree that you are better off just ditching the veggie steamer and getting something better.


TL
Click to expand...

I probably vorlaufed all of the first runnings through, maybe even a bit more. W/the sparge, each time I probably vorlaufed a gallon. the vorlauf did help, but still had pieces. I'm going to visit home depot and get this thing hooked up...
 
What procedure did you use when you poured your vorlauf back in the tun?

You need to be gentle so you disturb the grain as little as possible.
 
CatchinZs said:
What procedure did you use when you poured your vorlauf back in the tun?

You need to be gentle so you disturb the grain as little as possible.
Click to expand...

I poured the vorlauf over a big spoon, so it was as gentle as possible. don't know if there was any channeling or not.
 

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