Grant or no grant?

[kdbentz]

Im trying to understand the point of a Grant in my brewing process.....my LHBS has recommended I add one when I have them build me my new system but try as I might I just dont ubderstand what purpose it serves.......any help, recommendations or explanations?

 

[thatjonguy]

Grants act as a buffer zone to throttle the draining of sweet wort from the mash tun as it runs to the kettle. This keeps the grain bed from compressing and intact. It is also an open top vessel so gravity and clarity can be checked inline without having to dip the kettle.

I have seen them in 7 to 20 bbl brew length (batch size) micros be constructed of a 1/2 bbl keg.
I just throttle the outflow valve from the source. I assume you could do the same.

 

[kdbentz]

Ok so the main point of a grant might be increased efficiency and the ability to check clarity as you run off from your mash tun?

 

[thatjonguy]

Yes, although in my opinion completely pointless in a homebrew system. Unless you want it for a cool factor.

 

[kdbentz]

I agree.....why might it be more applicable in a larger system? Like the 7-20bbl system you mentioned?

 

[thatjonguy]

Micro brewhouses are generally a single tier system, the exception is the mash tun that is usually a combination vessel (MT/HLT) with the mash tun on top.

The mash tun gravity feeds into the grant so the pump does not collapse/compact the grain bed in the mash tun. The pump is hooked up to the bottom of the grant to fill the kettle.

In a home brew setup, it is usually emptied by gravity alone without any pump assistance.

It would be nice to have in a homebrew set up but I believe it is unnecessary on small scale. Unless you are brewing 30+ gallons at a time, just throttle the outlet valve on the mash tun to control the grain bed.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I used a grant with my BrewMagic system as a very effective plate chiller pre-filter. I would load my grant with rice hulls as the filter medium to prevent hot break and pellet hop sludge from making it's way into my chiller.

 

[oakbarn]

I have thought of using a Wort Grant because we do use a Pump to re cycle the WORT though a ChinChiller used as a HERMS (Hot water rather than Cooling) to maintain a MASH Profile. We were worried that the pump might compact the grain bed and also have paticles run through the pump. We do not have a grant and do not plan on one. We do have a Brewer's Hardware Trub Filter mounted AFTER the pump but before the ChinChiller. We can run the Pump full On and have never had a Stuck Mash Issue. We do use a little more fluid Mash but fairly close to the 1.25 qts per pound of grain. We always start with the 1.25. Prehaps we do not get stuck because we have a 2.5 gallon dead space in the 40 gallon MLT under the screen (Stout MLT) which may act as sort of an accumulator.

The main purpose of a Grant in a Home System would be to be:

1: Look Really Cool :fro:
2. Allow you to contol the Flow by Gravity out of the MLT before a Pump.

 

[GarageDweller]

its not that you need a grant, its that they want to sale you a grant. mo' $ mo' $

 

[Black Island Brewer]

As was said above, if you're using gravity to go from your mash tun to your boil kettle, a grant is unnecessary. But if you're using a pump to recirculate or to full the boil kettle, a grant can help ensure that you don't create a vacuum under your grain bed an risk compacting the bed and/or getting a stuck sparge. While you can regulate the floor rate by controlling the outflow of your pump (not the outflow of your mash tun or you risk getting cavitation in your pump) without using a grant, by using a grant you can more easily see your flow out of the tun, adjust your flow rate and pump accordingly, and avoid stuck sparges.
I personally don't use a grant, and when I've compacted my grain bed by pumping too fast, I just stir until it's free, vorlauf until it's clear and start again.

 

[Teromous]

I don't use a grant, but from the looks of it wouldn't it also help prime your pump if you're leaving all of your fittings in place?

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I don't use a grant, but from the looks of it wouldn't it also help prime your pump if you're leaving all of your fittings in place?

Only if you had a way to purge the line after the pump (like by opening the valve to your boil kettle). If there is any pressure in the hoses on the out-side, it won't easily flow from the in-side.

 

[Bensiff]

I've brewed on a lot of different homebrew setups over the years and have never seen the need for a grant. I think it is one of those things that a homebrewer has no need to emulate larger systems on and as my system has become more complicated I certainly have come to appreciate simplicity as I hate cleaning, part of me thinks fondly of my gas fired gravity system when compared to all the hoses and fittings of an electric single tier tri-clover system.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I'm going to go with the majority. If you want to see the wort put an inline sight glass in place. Then you can see the quality. If you want to be able to pull a sample then a tee off the pump works well. You can leave it closed but open the sample valve for hydro samples if the need arises. Those can be cleaned in place very easily with no extra work. A grant will likely need extra work to clean.

I think there are many places where a homebrewer can do well to mimic the pros but this is not one of them.