3rd Brew Day

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MI_Dogman

MI_Dogman

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Brewers,

I now have my 3rd brew day in the books, and my second all grain. Still need to work on the temps with my cooler. But, I was much more efficient and felt in control on this go around. I'm still stuck at 60% efficiency on the mash, but i believe it had to do with my temps. I came to the conclusion that I did not preheat my mash tun good enough. BECAUSE, I lost way more heat than I expected after adding my grain. Other than that, it was still really fun!
 
Ya, figuring out that drop in temp on the mash tun cooler takes some trial and error. Once I tried pre-heating my cooler with a couple of gallons of boiling water it seemed to help settle the temp drop down to about 3 degrees for the water I dumped in before I mashed.

Another thing that I've been trying lately is heating up my mash water a lot higher than what I think I will need. It is a ton less stressful to just let the mash tun cool down 3-4 degrees before I dump in the grains than the alternative...
having to rush to get it stirred in.

If you are still brewing in a colder climate like I am... try throwing a few beach towels or a sleeping bag over the cooler during the mash. That really helps to keep the cooler at a stable temp during the 60 minutes.
HTH
 
I find that a lot of new all grain brewers with low efficiency have a poor crush on their grains as the major cause. Many homebrew shops mill a bit coarse which helps to prevent stuck sparges (and sell more grain). Ask for your next bill to be milled twice an I think you'll find a bump in efficiency.

Also, I would suggest using a brew calculator to help you with your temperatures. Depending on the amount an temperature of your grains, you'll lose a fair amount of heat from your water when you mash in. A calculator can make your brew day much more accurate.
 
JLeuck64 said:
Ya, figuring out that drop in temp on the mash tun cooler takes some trial and error. Once I tried pre-heating my cooler with a couple of gallons of boiling water it seemed to help settle the temp drop down to about 3 degrees for the water I dumped in before I mashed.

Another thing that I've been trying lately is heating up my mash water a lot higher than what I think I will need. It is a ton less stressful to just let the mash tun cool down 3-4 degrees before I dump in the grains than the alternative...
having to rush to get it stirred in.

If you are still brewing in a colder climate like I am... try throwing a few beach towels or a sleeping bag over the cooler during the mash. That really helps to keep the cooler at a stable temp during the 60 minutes.
HTH
Click to expand...

^^^This. Keep detailed notes for all of your brews. Use those notes to help you predict and estimate your temps and volumes on your next brew.
Preheat your MT by heating your mash water about 5-6 degrees higher than your strike. Do you have a "good" thermometer?
 

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