Brewing tonight question

Just bought a 10 gallon cooler to mash with and was wondering the expected temp drop when I add my grains?? I am on my phone so could not find the thread for it. Thanks

 

I lose about 2-3 degrees an hour on average with my round 10 gallon MLT. Depends on the total weight of the grain bill, ambient temp etc. don't forget to preheat the mash tun before adding your strike water.

 

I lose 1 degree per hour on my 5 gallon round and 2 degrees per hour on my 13 gallon rectangle... I would guess 1 to 2 degrees for an Igloo 10 gallon.

 

But is there a loss right when u add your grains???v say I want to mash at 150 what should my temp be to start so that when I add my grains i won't be too low

 

What is the weight/temp of the grain you are adding.....that will determine the temp loss at strike.

Also, how much water are you striking with?

 

I normally lose 15 degrees if the mash tun is pre-heated, 17 degrees if not.

 

It's a partial mash recipe that had bought last week and has about 6lbs of grain that is room temp (77 degrees) I need to mash at 148

 

Oh and probably 2.5 to 3 gallons of water

 

Your strike water temp should be 155-156 degrees.

 

In my igloo 10 gallon cooler ill heat my strike water to 10 degrees more than my mash temp. That way I don't preheat I just toss in then dough in my grains I hit my mash temp dead on.

 

This sounds reasonable...I would add the strike water at least 160...148 is a rather low mash temp which is fine, but you are at the lower limit with not much room to fail low....keep some boiling water on hand if you need to raise it some...148 is the lower threshold so be sure to make at least that....a few degrees higher is better than lower in this case IMHO.

 

Sonia there some math to this? Lbs of grain to loss of degrees???

 

I'd say no, since my 15 degree loss is pretty consistent whether I'm brewing a 5 gallon batch or a 10 gallon batch.

Honestly, you're just gonna have to wing it and take careful notes so you know what your equipment needs.

Cooling mash quickly is a lot easier than heating it up, so err on the side of too hot.

 

Yeah ill get my strike about 163 and toss in my grains( my normal batch is 10 to 12 pounds) and ill hit 152.

 

Sounds good thank

 

I always shoot for 160 to 165 on my strike water, reserving about 2 liters to heat or having chilled water that was boiled to cool as needed. I, also, preheat my mash tun with hot tap water to about 122. Pour the strike water in and check the temp and stir to cool if more than 10 above my mash temp, then dough in. Check the temperature in several spots to make sure that it is uniform and add the last 2 liters, heated up more if my mash is too low. Usually I'm within a degree up or down and don't need to add heat (benefit of living near the desert).