Adding a mash pump

[fun4stuff]

I recently bought a digiboil to do BIAB indoors.

I’m already thinking of my next upgrade.

i know if i want to keep beating during the mash, then i need to stir or recirculate the mash.

Would i just need to buy a pump and recirculate mash from the bottom spigot to the top of the pot and gently disperse? I do not want to disrupt the grain bed?

anything else i need to know? Can anyone recommend a cost effective pump for this purpose ?

 

[bgmac]

If you want to go real cheap. Get one of these hot water circ pumps that is rated to 212F.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G305PK0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You will see lots of reviews and some videos on the amazon page from Home brewers.

I have been using one for about 2 years to recirc mash for 10 gallon batches and it works like a charm. I also use it to push the hot wort through a counter flow chiller and have had no issues.

Just get some 3/8 silicone tubing and a 3/8 hose barb fitting for your kettle.

 

[fun4stuff]

Cool, thanks

 

[RM-MN]

I recently bought a digiboil to do BIAB indoors.

I’m already thinking of my next upgrade.

i know if i want to keep beating during the mash, then i need to stir or recirculate the mash.

Would i just need to buy a pump and recirculate mash from the bottom spigot to the top of the pot and gently disperse? I do not want to disrupt the grain bed?

anything else i need to know? Can anyone recommend a cost effective pump for this purpose ?

What you know and what you think you know are not the same. I don't recirculate nor do I stir the mash and I'll bet that I exceed the mash efficiency you get anyway.

To need stirring the period that it takes for conversion must be longer than the period between times that you stir and at least longer between dough-in and the first stir. To need recirculation to maintain the mash temp during conversion requires a coarser crush which then reduces the mash conversion efficiency. Now to the real question, how long does it take for you to get full conversion because that is the only time that temperature control matters. If you mill very fine, conversion happens much quicker than you think and with that fine milling, recirculation becomes an exercise in futility as you battle with the fine particles wanting to clog the filter bag or screen. Take time on one mash to determine when the conversion is done using iodine to detect remaining starches in the grains.

 

[fun4stuff]

What you know and what you think you know are not the same. I don't recirculate nor do I stir the mash and I'll bet that I exceed the mash efficiency you get anyway.

To need stirring the period that it takes for conversion must be longer than the period between times that you stir and at least longer between dough-in and the first stir. To need recirculation to maintain the mash temp during conversion requires a coarser crush which then reduces the mash conversion efficiency. Now to the real question, how long does it take for you to get full conversion because that is the only time that temperature control matters. If you mill very fine, conversion happens much quicker than you think and with that fine milling, recirculation becomes an exercise in futility as you battle with the fine particles wanting to clog the filter bag or screen. Take time on one mash to determine when the conversion is done using iodine to detect remaining starches in the grains.

cool. That’s what i was wondering. I’ve been been doing BIAB with a 20 gallon pot for years. Full volume, no sparge. Never have recirculated. Efficiency usually 70-80%. Made good beer for the most part.

the enemy of good is perfect, right?

 

[bgmac]

RM-MN is right. Recirc is probably not necessary. Is recirc wrong? No, its just another process method option. I do it just for tighter temp control. Do I need tight temp control? Probably not but I recric anyway since I have the equipment and it works for me. I have been hitting a steady 84-85% efficiency over the last several brew days using the same grain bill.

Now that I am dialed in on my favorite house brew, I wont change the process, which includes re-circulation.

No worries of a stuck recirc, sparge or disturbing the grain bed with BIAB (Bag, not basket).

As far as stirring, I stir the piss out of every 15 minutes or so. Many large scale breweries have rotating stir arms in the mash tun that spin throughout the whole mash. Some don't.

To each their own I guess. That's the great thing about brewing, everyone has their process that could be done right hundreds or even thousands of different ways if you look at all the possible methods to brew a beer.

 

[stevehaun]

Why stir & recirculate?

 

[bgmac]

Why not. More interaction with the mash process. How about step mashing? Would be difficult to change the temp of the mash without a good stir or recirculating. How about mash out, again, changing the temp of the mash bed. If one chooses to do these things. Not saying they have to at all.

There are many ways to brew beer. Different processes, different styles, different preferences. Sometimes you find that one way works better in your process then another. Doesn't mean that someone else's method is wrong or unnecessary.

A closed minded brewer maybe missing out on a way to better their end product. Or discouraging others from trying a method that could turn their beer from good to great or add a layer that they enjoy doing.

No stir= Correct Method
No re circulation= Correct Method
Stirring= Correct Method
re circulation= Correct Method
BIAB= Correct Method
Separate mash tun= Correct Method
Open Fermentation= Correct Method
Closed Fermentation= Correct Method
No Chill= Correct Method
Chill= Correct Method

and on and on and on. Make sense?

 

[wilserbrewer]

the enemy of good is perfect, right?

I like this

Perfect also takes forever to perfect....

 

[stevehaun]

Why not. More interaction with the mash process. How about step mashing? Would be difficult to change the temp of the mash without a good stir or recirculating. How about mash out, again, changing the temp of the mash bed. If one chooses to do these things. Not saying they have to at all.

There are many ways to brew beer. Different processes, different styles, different preferences. Sometimes you find that one way works better in your process then another. Doesn't mean that someone else's method is wrong or unnecessary.

A closed minded brewer maybe missing out on a way to better their end product. Or discouraging others from trying a method that could turn their beer from good to great or add a layer that they enjoy doing.

I think you misunderstood my question. I understand stirring. I understand recirculating. I don't understand why you need to do both unless you have a stuck mash. I assumed you had a reason and was curious. There are many ways to make beer. I am not criticizing. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings.

 

[bgmac]

I think you misunderstood my question. I understand stirring. I understand recirculating. I don't understand why you need to do both unless you have a stuck mash. I assumed you had a reason and was curious. There are many ways to make beer. I am not criticizing. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings.

No hurt feelings. Just trying to point out the same thing from earlier in the post where someone was steering the original poster away from recirculating and or stirring.

I stir and recirc. Only recirc for a minute or 2 to get the heated water near the heating element infused into the grain bed and then stir it to help even it out throughout the bed. I only do that when I see the temp is low in the grain bed or I want to change it. Probably 4 or 5 times throughout the mash.

 

[cubalz]

Many large scale breweries have rotating stir arms in the mash tun that spin throughout the whole mash. Some don't.

No offense meant but I do not agree with this statement. At the brewery I work at, we have a typically laid out 50bbl brewhouse and after we transfer from the mixer tank to the lauter tun, we only stir just to disperse the grain in the first few minutes after the transfer. After that we absolutely do not stir unless the pressure gets too high on the grain bed. I do not know how you could possibly have the arms spin throughout the entire mash, the grain bed would never set and you would transfer a lot of crud and debris into the calandria. I am pretty sure that how we do it is standard practice in most breweries.

 

[bgmac]

No offense meant but I do not agree with this statement. At the brewery I work at, we have a typically laid out 50bbl brewhouse and after we transfer from the mixer tank to the lauter tun, we only stir just to disperse the grain in the first few minutes after the transfer. After that we absolutely do not stir unless the pressure gets too high on the grain bed. I do not know how you could possibly have the arms spin throughout the entire mash, the grain bed would never set and you would transfer a lot of crud and debris into the calandria. I am pretty sure that how we do it is standard practice in most breweries.

Most/All large breweries use mash agitators throughout the mash process to maintain uniform heat and when changing the temp for step mashing.

http://www.wmprocess.com/wm-process-blog/the-critical-role-of-mash-mixing-in-brewhouse-operations

The Importance of Agitator Design
Mash has a fairly thick consistency and natural convection cannot be relied on to conduct heat transfer effectively throughout the vessel. Without agitation, there is a very real risk of the mash being scorched when coming into contact with the heating surfaces.

The critical function of an agitator is to ensure uniform mixing and heating throughout the volume of the mash. This not only improves mixing efficiency, but also increases the conversion of carbohydrates and the yield of fermentable and non-fermentable sugars.

The agitator is designed to force the mash downward to move across the heating surface at the bottom, and then up the sides of the vessels. Of major concern for brewers is the amount of shear damage to the mash during this process. Today, most mixers use low shear impellers that run at relatively low speeds to limit the damage to the grain husks during mashing.

Mash agitators and mixers play a critical role in the mashing process. All large breweries use them, and many micro-breweries install them for the production of their craft beers.

Of the three main brewhouse operations, mash mixing plays the central role. A critical element of this process is efficient agitation of the mash. Brewers should not neglect the importance of agitators in mash mixing, and should engage a global supplier of agitators and blending systems to design and engineer this equipment for their brewing operation.