First All grain Attempt coming up!

[jacobitti]

I have a newbie question regarding the strike water and the mash temp. My recipe calls for 20qts of water to be added to my mash tun at 174 degree. Then I am to steep the mash for 60 mins at 156 degrees. I have a SS Brewtech Insulated mash tun and my question is: once I add in the grain I assume the temp will fall, but not sure how much; do I wait until the temp is at 156 and then start the timer, or do I do I start out at what ever temp I get once I mash in and go from there?

Thanks in advance for any insight.....

 

[triethylborane]

I have a newbie question regarding the strike water and the mash temp. My recipe calls for 20qts of water to be added to my mash tun at 174 degree. Then I am to steep the mash for 60 mins at 156 degrees. I have a SS Brewtech Insulated mash tun and my question is: once I add in the grain I assume the temp will fall, but not sure how much; do I wait until the temp is at 156 and then start the timer, or do I do I start out at what ever temp I get once I mash in and go from there?

Thanks in advance for any insight.....

Yes, to answer your question, the strike water temperature will drop once it is added to the mash tun and when the grain bill is added to the strike water. Just a side note, add the strike water first, then add the grain.


Once you have added the strike water and then the grain to the mash tun, it looks about right off the top of my head for the mash temp to be around 156f. Once you have reached your mash temp or close to it, then begin the mash period for 60 min or however many mikes you have planned out. If anything, I tend to come in below my target mash temp so I can do small additions of hot water to get it as close to my target mash temp without going over.

You can quickly calculate this using

http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php

or

https://www.brewersfriend.com/mash/


With brewers friend, you can set up your brewhouse equipment profile which after some testing you can determine what effect the mash tun at your typical/average/ambient temp will be on the strike water and so on.

 

[BigCrazyAl]

To add to that, I'd recommend preheating the mash tun with a gallon or so of boiling water. It's easy to stir out a few degrees and much harder to add them. Don't ask me how I know this or how mad it made me.

 

[jalc6927]

Does it have a thermometer built in

 

[jacobitti]

Thank you everyone....

yes it does have a thermometer built in so I can manage the temp. I'll stop back and report once I get the batch done, Thanks again....