ParanoidAndroid
Well-Known Member
Please don't take this as me being a jerk because I'm really not trying to be...but how long does it take you to measure out a few minerals and add them to the water that you need to do it the night before to save time? If it is an issue, why not measure them out the night before (keep the measured salts in a small tupperware container) and add them right before you mash in.
I can't help with #2.
For recirculating, use a false bottom like the one Bobby sells and use a very slow flow rate after the pump. The valve on the kettle should be wide open. The valve on the outlet of the pump should be 25% open.
My wife gets home after I do with our toddler. I usually rush home to try and get to the mash in before they get there. Once they get there, I am helping get stuff out of the car, having to fend off the little one, and general chit-chat which gets me distracted. If I've mashed-in before they get there, I get a little break for family time. Even 5 minutes of extra time would be nice.
I'm assuming you'd save the time needed to "preboil", which can be considerable. I see no reason why you cannot add your mineral additions after the yeast/dex deox method when you're raising to mash temps. The goal is simply to get them well dissolved prior to doughing in.
As far as BrewtanB gallotannins go, I cannot find a scholarly article pertaining specifically to zinc chelation. I've been able to find information on almond, walnut, and hazelnut chelation of zinc. Zinc happens to be one metal that is highly variable based on the actual tannins being utilized with anywhere from 0-84% chelation based on nut tannins utilized ("almond tannins bound as much as 84% Zn(II), whereas the value for walnut tannins was only 8.7%; and for hazelnut tannins, no Zn(II) chelation took place at the levels tested."). If zinc is a major concern then you may want to put more research into this topic. I think that while zinc is a necessary micronutrient for living cells, I would suspect that insufficient zinc would manifest it's drawbacks in future generations. Most times the "symptoms" take a couple/few generations to manifest. With this in mind you may choose to use a couple generations in the normal low oxygen method with Brewtan B, and then (using a slurry culture) rebuild the yeast in a normal starter environment (DME, water, nutrients, oxygen) to build back in the micronutrients the yeast may have lacked over a couple fermentations. Or, use a yeast for a couple generations and then start new with a fresh lab yeast.
As h22lude said, a false bottom or possibly even just a torpedo (I think they're called) (i.e. a screen tube affixed to the inside of your drain port on your MLT) would be sufficient to keep the bag from getting sucked into the drain port.
thanks for the info!
The normal pattern would be:
Put water in kettle the night before (I'd like to add minerals here)
Wake up and pitch yeast/dextrose
Go to work and let the little guys de-ox the water
Come back home and mill grains/mash in