I've been brewing for the last year or so in a 15 gallon eBIAB kettle with recirculation. Overall, I'm very happy with the system. But I do get pretty low efficiency when doing higher gravity batches, and particularly anything with flaked grain additions. A typical NEIPA will get me something around 55% brewhouse efficiency, while a blonde ale can get as high as 80%. This inconsistency is annoying, since it is difficult to predict OG accurately. I'm also pretty tired of hoisting and squeezing the grain bag.
So, I'm toying with the idea of adding an external mash tun, that would simply be a kettle (or possibly even a bucket) with a false bottom and fittings at the top and bottom. I would heat the mash water in my current kettle, then recirculate it through the new mash tun and back into the kettle. During the mash, temperature would still be controlled by the PID and element in the main kettle. Then at the end of the mash, I could pour some sparge water into the mash tun as it drains into the kettle (I picture using a gravity return). I could also just leave it there draining during the boil to get everything out (unlike squeezing a bag which inevitably leaves a bunch of wort behind).
So it's basically just replacing the bag with a bucket and moving it outside of the kettle. I'm hoping that it would achieve the following:
-Increase efficiency and consistency of efficiency
-Eliminate hanging and squeezing bag of hot wort
-Increase clarity of wort (I know the benefits of this are debatable)
Has anyone ever done this, and if so, how has it worked out? Thanks.
So, I'm toying with the idea of adding an external mash tun, that would simply be a kettle (or possibly even a bucket) with a false bottom and fittings at the top and bottom. I would heat the mash water in my current kettle, then recirculate it through the new mash tun and back into the kettle. During the mash, temperature would still be controlled by the PID and element in the main kettle. Then at the end of the mash, I could pour some sparge water into the mash tun as it drains into the kettle (I picture using a gravity return). I could also just leave it there draining during the boil to get everything out (unlike squeezing a bag which inevitably leaves a bunch of wort behind).
So it's basically just replacing the bag with a bucket and moving it outside of the kettle. I'm hoping that it would achieve the following:
-Increase efficiency and consistency of efficiency
-Eliminate hanging and squeezing bag of hot wort
-Increase clarity of wort (I know the benefits of this are debatable)
Has anyone ever done this, and if so, how has it worked out? Thanks.
