To heat or not to Heat.. that is my question!

[Man-O-Leisure]

Kinda 2 questions in one, but reading a bunch or recipes and info about brewing, i am totally unclear on whether or not the MASH is done over heat or not?

I mean, i see some people use coolers as MT so thats obviously not over heat, then others use stainless steel pots, which i assume are over heat?

Obviously the heat of the water will drop with the adding of the grains, and over the 60 minutes or so mash in, so are you all doing the mash over heat at say a low temp or something?

Also, other question, i am still i n the collecting or building of my system phase, for ease of brewing and also saving of money, what works out best/cheapest, gas or electric?

 

[freisste]

You heat the water to strike temp - some temperature above your mash temp which accounts for the grain cooling the water.

I personally BIAB in a stainless pot. I put it in my oven to hold temp for an hour.

 

[BlackGoat]

yeah, the idea is that whatever method you use, you want to hold the mash at a certain temperature. People use coolers because of their insulating properties. Those of us that BIAB in our kettles use a variety of methods to do this, I don't add heat and will wrap my kettle with some towels to add some insulation, and maybe add in a cup or so of heated water during the mash to adjust temp. There are folks that use heating elements with their BIAB setup to add a bit of heat to keep the temp stable, but I doubt many people actually will mash directly on an open flame just because it would be too difficult to control precisely.

 

[unionrdr]

I wrap my MT/BK in my quilted winter hunting coat to hold mash temp. Then dunk sparge with the bag to stir it & soak 10 minutes before adding sparge to main mash wort for total boil volume.

 

[Cyclman]

The answer is "yes." Some people direct fire their MT, some people add hot water when required, some people pull some of the mash water out, boil it, and add it back in to heat the mash up (called decoction).

Lots of paths to achieve the same end.

 

[Man-O-Leisure]

Thanks guys, so i guess, as ill be using a pot, if i just keep checking the temp. with a thermometer every 5-10 minutes or so then do what is necessary to get the temp. back up, then i'll be all good

 

[freisste]

I would personally recommend insulating or putting in the oven if it will fit. It's a lot easier and more hands off.

You will lose heat to opening and closing your pot, and you'll lose more my stirring (which you will have to do to get an accurate temperature).

To each his own. As was said there are many ways to the same end.

 

[dkevinb]

Thanks guys, so i guess, as ill be using a pot, if i just keep checking the temp. with a thermometer every 5-10 minutes or so then do what is necessary to get the temp. back up, then i'll be all good

5-10 minutes might be overdoing it. You'll let more heat out taking the lid off. I check my BIAB temp and stir every 15. I wrap mine in a hoody and I live in SoCal. Some people say 30. Some say leave it alone. It's certainly not going to drop very far in 5 minutes unless you're brewing on the tundra someplace. Wrap your pot in an old blanket, sleeping bag, towels, etc.

 

[Man-O-Leisure]

5-10 minutes might be overdoing it. You'll let more heat out taking the lid off. I check my BIAB temp and stir every 15. I wrap mine in a hoody and I live in SoCal. Some people say 30. Some say leave it alone. It's certainly not going to drop very far in 5 minutes unless you're brewing on the tundra someplace. Wrap your pot in an old blanket, sleeping bag, towels, etc.

Ah yeah probably should have explained that bit better.. i plan on having a thermometer installed on the pot so will not need to be opening at all to check the temp..

Where i live is much hotter that SoCal so i should be all good.. Guess ill only know for sure after my first brew!

 

[RM-MN]

Some of us who do our beers BIAB are experimenting with finer milling of the grains than most LHBS's will do and along with that we are trying shorter mash times. If you BIAB you are using more water for the amount of grains than in a conventional mash tun and that extra water helps hold the temperature nearer constant. Insulating the pot will help greatly if you feel the need to mash for the full hour (I'd recommend that for a starter batch) but I've been having good success with fine milling and a 20 minute mash. In 20 minutes I don't lose enough heat to notice on my thermometer.

 

[unionrdr]

I've found that the .039" setting on my gran mill rollers is fine for PB/PM BIAB that I do. A 10 minute dunk sparge & stir gives high efficiency for me. Less floury gunk getting through the bag too.