If you're batch sparging, you don't need to mashout. Just sparge with however much water it takes to reach your desired pre boil volume, stir stir stir, drain the tun and get to boiling.
There is something I still can't figure out about mashing. The water for mashout, to get the temp up to 175 or so before sparging to stop the saccharification... is that amount of water included in the recommended amounts here? I just always end up boiling a couple extra gallons during the mash and using that for mashout. Is that the right way to do it? This water is never spec'd put when I have used Beer Smith, and so I really begin to wonder how most people do it when mashing in a cooler.
If you're batch sparging, you don't need to mashout. Just sparge with however much water it takes to reach your desired pre boil volume, stir stir stir, drain the tun and get to boiling.
Or if your tun is already at capacity, I drain first runnings right into the kettle with a low flame going, denature the enzymes quick.
If you're batch sparging, you don't need to mashout. Just sparge with however much water it takes to reach your desired pre boil volume, stir stir stir, drain the tun and get to boiling.
If you're batch sparging, you don't need to mashout. Just sparge with however much water it takes to reach your desired pre boil volume, stir stir stir, drain the tun and get to boiling.
What are the advantages of doing all grain versus malt extract? I did my first all grain a few weeks ago (it's still in the second fermentation stage and still very active)) so I haven't been able to drink one yet. It took all day, many pots and a lot of effort. I have been brewing for 15 years now and just want to know if it is worth being locked into an all day brewing process or just 3 1/2 hours with extract brewing.
I have been brewing for 15 years now and just want to know if it is worth being locked into an all day brewing process or just 3 1/2 hours with extract brewing.
I very rarely mash for more than 30 mins, often only 20 mins. The conversion happens quickly and as long as you crush on the fine side and don't have dough balls, there's no need to go longer. Makes for a shorter brewday if that's important to you. This has been discussed ad nauseum in other threads though.
Of course, but if someone is pressed for time and normally mashes for 90 mins, that might be one place to look for some time savings. I'm just presenting a different approach that also works.
Sure, but my experience is that you'll make a different beer that way.
If your brew pot isn't big enough for the volume required you will need to compensate by using more grain and know that your efficiency will be lower. (You will want to use the 1 to 1 1/4 quart per pound of grain for the mash and adjust your sparge water for the volume required)
Anybody have a good suggestion for a nice, simple, "hard to screw up" recipe for a first timer? Maybe something a little forgiving?
I expect the first time to go through some learning about hitting temperatures and volumes and I'm fine with that, but wouldn't mind if I got something drinkable out of it as well.
Anybody have a good suggestion for a nice, simple, "hard to screw up" recipe for a first timer? Maybe something a little forgiving?
I expect the first time to go through some learning about hitting temperatures and volumes and I'm fine with that, but wouldn't mind if I got something drinkable out of it as well.
Anybody have a good suggestion for a nice, simple, "hard to screw up" recipe for a first timer? Maybe something a little forgiving?
I expect the first time to go through some learning about hitting temperatures and volumes and I'm fine with that, but wouldn't mind if I got something drinkable out of it as well.
I've seen a lot of threads started concerning problems with peoples first all grain brews.
I would like to give a couple suggestions that might help improve the process for new AG brewers. Here are a couple common problems I've seen:
1. Low efficiency.
I have found that the most common thread here is not using enough water during mashing and sparging. All you need to do is figure 1 to 1 1/4 quarts of water per pound of grain for the mash and about 1/2 gallon of water per pound of grain for sparging.
I think some folks are concerned about too much wort volume when they are figuring how much water to use but if you want decent efficiency you have to use the correct amount of water.
If your brew pot isn't big enough for the volume required you will need to compensate by using more grain and know that your efficiency will be lower. (You will want to use the 1 to 1 1/4 quart per pound of grain for the mash and adjust your sparge water for the volume required)
If you have a large enough brew pot you will need to calculate the boil time so you will have the correct volume when completed. Some high gravity brews can take 2 hours or more to boil down to the correct volume.
2. Missing the mash temperature. (Usually low when using cooler type mash tuns)
To avoid this common problem there are two things I suggest:
1. Pre-heat your mash tun with hot or boiling water. This water is drained from the tun right before the strike water is added. Using this method will pre-heat the tun so not as much heat will be pulled from the strike water when added .
2. Heat your strike water about 2 or 3 degrees above your target temp, pour the water into the tun, and let the temp drop to your target. By the time you reach your strike temp, the tun should be conditioned and when the grains are mixed in you will hit your desired mash temp and it will hold longer.
I hope this helps for you first timers or even folks who are struggling with AG brewing.
As for mash tuns, I use a large rectangular cooler for 10 gallon or 5 gallon batches with a large grain volume and a standard orange round Igloo cooler for 5 gallon batches.. I drilled 1/4" holes, one one each side of the lid on the top/outside and filled the lids with spray in foam insulation.. Both mash tuns will lose about 1 degree per hour while mashing
My uninsulated coolers also lose 1 degree over the course of a mash. At least in my climate, insulating the lid gains you nothing.
My uninsulated coolers also lose 1 degree over the course of a mash. At least in my climate, insulating the lid gains you nothing.
Curious if anyone has encountered this before. Just did my first all grain with a new set up. Put altogether about 10 gallons of water through the mash tun. Only wound up with 3 gallons in the fermenter after completing the boil. I was in way too much of a rush so I may not have rinsed my mash good enough. How much water loss to grains is normal? I used a 9 lb grain bill.
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