cotton yarn in mash tun?

[Thakog]

Just did my 3rd AG batch last weekend, and I realized that I'm getting terrible efficiency (like in the 40's) on the smaller beers I've been brewing, because my stainless steel braid keeps floating up in the mash tun.

I'd like to tie the braid down with yarn or fishing line or something, but I'm not sure what it would do to my beer. Any thoughts?

 

[theredben]

Cotton/fishing line will not do anything to your beer. Have fun.

 

[Double_D]

Use butcher's twine. We use it for all kinds of stuff in the industry. Are you using a steel braind for a manifold? What's your mash/lautertun setup?

 

[Thakog]

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, it's a stainless steel braid- it was a washing machine hose that I cut the ends off of. My mashtun is a converted igloo cooler.

 

[Double_D]

I can't believe it floats. Especially under all that grain.. You could go on line and get a bazooka screen, they're rigid and made of fine mesh. Have you checked out the DIY forum? They have plenty of ideas to make killer manifolds.

 

[Thakog]

Yeah, I'm going to get a screen. I've made a mild and a berliner weiss with really low grain bills, that's where I had trouble. The belgian dubbel I made came out just fine, but there was enough grain to keep it in place.