Any advantage with 2 mash tuns?

[Frenchtom]

So.....I had a small mash tun and decided to build a medium mash tun. I was about to sell the small mash tun when I realized that maybe I ought to keep it. Is there any advantage to mashing certain grains in one tun and remaining grains in another tun before combining their worts in the boiling kettle? What about mashing with a high temperature in one tun and a lower temperature in the other tun? I'm thinking there could be a whole bunch of possibilities but wanted to check here first before potentially wasting a whole lot of time.

Thanks,
Tom B.

 

[grassfeeder]

well, you're about 1 kettle away from brewing 2 beers at once!

 

[ten80]

PARTYGYLE brewing! More beer for less effort.

 

[BBBF]

So.....I had a small mash tun and decided to build a medium mash tun. I was about to sell the small mash tun when I realized that maybe I ought to keep it. Is there any advantage to mashing certain grains in one tun and remaining grains in another tun before combining their worts in the boiling kettle? What about mashing with a high temperature in one tun and a lower temperature in the other tun? I'm thinking there could be a whole bunch of possibilities but wanted to check here first before potentially wasting a whole lot of time.

Thanks,
Tom B.

What's your definition of small?

I started with a 2 gallon MLT. When I built a 5 gallon one, I stopped using the 2, except for a few times that I wanted to make a bigger beer. I haven't touched the 5 gallon, since I got a 10 gallon MLT, but I've started to use the 2 gallon one to make small batches of starter wort.

 

[kh54s10]

IMO you are unlikely to produce anything where you could truly tell the difference by doing 2 separate mashes and combining them.

The only thing that really comes to mind is more with time than separate tuns, some will add dark grains late in a mash schedule to avoid harshness associated with those grains. For instance something with a fair amount of roasted barley and or black malts will be less harsh, yet give you color and flavor, if you add them to the mash with maybe 15 minutes left.

Added: But it might be worth some experimentation, you may come up with the next great trend in brewing techniques.

 

[olotti]

You could brew a huge RIS by using the first runnings and initial sparges from both to really bump up your pre boil gravity. At least that's the only thing I can come up with.