I'm, eh, perplexed? This will probably be a long post, but please bear with me.
I started all grain the end of last year or the beginning of this year. I've brewed quite a few batches of all grain. I've read and read until I was so confused, I just went ahead and started brewing, figuring I'd sort it out as I went along.
My old set up was the cheap 48 qt rectangle cooler. I started with the stainless braid. Actually 2, teed together. I started using water calculators in Beersmith, but was ending up with way too much water. I figured that out, pretty quickly and thought I had a good process down for mash and sparge water. I batch sparge. I tried using 2 sparges, but now just use 1 batch sparge, no mash out.
I always missed my OG/SG and my brewhouse efficiency was all over the place, but never better than about 73%. Using the brewhouse calculator on brewersfriend.com. But, the final product was always tasty. I take good notes, and really thought my process was sound. But, 1 batch would be 63%, next batch 68%, 63, 71 etc. All similar grain bills.
Then, in my reading, I read many folks who taste their wort. So I tried it. Tasted like nothing but grain. Tried several different batches, always tasted like grain. I noticed large holes in my braid, so went to a CPVC manifold. Still tasted like grain, but seemed to clear my finished beer up. So used that for awhile. Then it came off during a mash. My mistake, but one I wouldn't make again. So went back to the stainless braid. Made 2 batches since the switch back to braid
Which, now, brings me to this post. Sorry for the long winded post.
Being fed up, I started over. My thought process was this: What haven't I been able to control in my brewing? 1st issue that came to mind is I get the grain crushed at my local brew shop. They have a cereal killer and are great folks. I've never seen them clean or adjust, but doesn't mean the don't. A few months ago I was asking him about the crusher and he loves it. It has ground thousands of lbs of grain. I asked about what setting, and he wasn't quite sure. So, now I own a cereal crusher, set to .033". Next up, I bought a square 58 qt Coleman Xtreme. Lastly, I built a new CPVC manifold, with stainless screws so it won't come off in a mash.
I read John Palmers section on designing a manifold. So I made sure it is about 2" away from the edge of the cooler sides, to prevent cascading down the sides of the cooler. I also put slots in only the lines that are parallel with the drain.
I am using Mash and Sparge water calculator on brew365.com. I use 1.2 Mash thickness. I just brewed 2 batches. My wort tasted SWEET. No taste of grain whatsever. Just delicous and sweet. I hit my OG/SG dead on or a bit over. I hit ~79.4% and ~78.5% respectively. I figure perhaps I just have a better handle on it, being my second time building my setup. What I don't get, is why now my wort tastes very sweet, with little to no hint of grain? I now crush my own. New style of Manifold. I am also still only batch sparging once, but have switched to a much slower flow rate during the sparge. My PH is around 6, no matter when i take it. Using filtered tap water. using cheapo strips, that I'm not sure about. Not sure what happened, but am definitely a happy brewer now.
I started all grain the end of last year or the beginning of this year. I've brewed quite a few batches of all grain. I've read and read until I was so confused, I just went ahead and started brewing, figuring I'd sort it out as I went along.
My old set up was the cheap 48 qt rectangle cooler. I started with the stainless braid. Actually 2, teed together. I started using water calculators in Beersmith, but was ending up with way too much water. I figured that out, pretty quickly and thought I had a good process down for mash and sparge water. I batch sparge. I tried using 2 sparges, but now just use 1 batch sparge, no mash out.
I always missed my OG/SG and my brewhouse efficiency was all over the place, but never better than about 73%. Using the brewhouse calculator on brewersfriend.com. But, the final product was always tasty. I take good notes, and really thought my process was sound. But, 1 batch would be 63%, next batch 68%, 63, 71 etc. All similar grain bills.
Then, in my reading, I read many folks who taste their wort. So I tried it. Tasted like nothing but grain. Tried several different batches, always tasted like grain. I noticed large holes in my braid, so went to a CPVC manifold. Still tasted like grain, but seemed to clear my finished beer up. So used that for awhile. Then it came off during a mash. My mistake, but one I wouldn't make again. So went back to the stainless braid. Made 2 batches since the switch back to braid
, the first one I kegged, somehow I ended up with grain in the keg. Again, my mistake.Which, now, brings me to this post. Sorry for the long winded post.
Being fed up, I started over. My thought process was this: What haven't I been able to control in my brewing? 1st issue that came to mind is I get the grain crushed at my local brew shop. They have a cereal killer and are great folks. I've never seen them clean or adjust, but doesn't mean the don't. A few months ago I was asking him about the crusher and he loves it. It has ground thousands of lbs of grain. I asked about what setting, and he wasn't quite sure. So, now I own a cereal crusher, set to .033". Next up, I bought a square 58 qt Coleman Xtreme. Lastly, I built a new CPVC manifold, with stainless screws so it won't come off in a mash.
I read John Palmers section on designing a manifold. So I made sure it is about 2" away from the edge of the cooler sides, to prevent cascading down the sides of the cooler. I also put slots in only the lines that are parallel with the drain.I am using Mash and Sparge water calculator on brew365.com. I use 1.2 Mash thickness. I just brewed 2 batches. My wort tasted SWEET. No taste of grain whatsever. Just delicous and sweet. I hit my OG/SG dead on or a bit over. I hit ~79.4% and ~78.5% respectively. I figure perhaps I just have a better handle on it, being my second time building my setup. What I don't get, is why now my wort tastes very sweet, with little to no hint of grain? I now crush my own. New style of Manifold. I am also still only batch sparging once, but have switched to a much slower flow rate during the sparge. My PH is around 6, no matter when i take it. Using filtered tap water. using cheapo strips, that I'm not sure about. Not sure what happened, but am definitely a happy brewer now.
