JuniperHill
Member
Hey Everyone,
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I've been priming myself on all grain brewing since I've only done extracts to this point. I get the general process (I think), but had a few questions and wonder if anyone has tried/experimented with different techniques.
1) Are there two-system false bottoms with a differing mesh/screen sizes to catch large and small particles? Is this necessary? I'm thinking of a large false bottom just slightly above a smaller screen size to catch finer particles, keeping the grainbed settled nicely.
2) Has anyone tried applying back pressure to an all grain system to increase the flow rate? I know this might not be necessary on a small scale, but I wonder if it could work on larger scales. Increased pressure in the tank will force the water (and anything else) through the opening. As long as it's filtered, I don't see why this couldn't work.
3) Has anyone tried to vorlauf using a pump, back pressure, or some method other than pouring the tea back to the top? I've seen this done on larger scales using a reciprocating pump, basically pumping the bottom back through a port near the top of the grainbed, but wonder if there's something around on a homebrew scale.
4) Has anyone tried adding sparge water from the bottom of the tank through a different port? I'm thinking you close off the tank and pump water up through the grainbed at the bottom, which could keep any particles from getting pushed downwards. Would this change/help anything or is it totally unnecessary?
That's it! I know everyone has there preferred way to go through the brewing process and that there are a lot of different ways to brew all grain. It's cool to hear how everyone decided on the way they currently brew--I'm always wondering if there was a reason behind the decision.
All the best,
Adam
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I've been priming myself on all grain brewing since I've only done extracts to this point. I get the general process (I think), but had a few questions and wonder if anyone has tried/experimented with different techniques.
1) Are there two-system false bottoms with a differing mesh/screen sizes to catch large and small particles? Is this necessary? I'm thinking of a large false bottom just slightly above a smaller screen size to catch finer particles, keeping the grainbed settled nicely.
2) Has anyone tried applying back pressure to an all grain system to increase the flow rate? I know this might not be necessary on a small scale, but I wonder if it could work on larger scales. Increased pressure in the tank will force the water (and anything else) through the opening. As long as it's filtered, I don't see why this couldn't work.
3) Has anyone tried to vorlauf using a pump, back pressure, or some method other than pouring the tea back to the top? I've seen this done on larger scales using a reciprocating pump, basically pumping the bottom back through a port near the top of the grainbed, but wonder if there's something around on a homebrew scale.
4) Has anyone tried adding sparge water from the bottom of the tank through a different port? I'm thinking you close off the tank and pump water up through the grainbed at the bottom, which could keep any particles from getting pushed downwards. Would this change/help anything or is it totally unnecessary?
That's it! I know everyone has there preferred way to go through the brewing process and that there are a lot of different ways to brew all grain. It's cool to hear how everyone decided on the way they currently brew--I'm always wondering if there was a reason behind the decision.
All the best,Adam
