mashing Question

[Steven9026]

Hello all,
I just picked up John Palmers latest addition of how to brew. I noticed something in the all grain brewing section that brought up this question. I have been brewing since the early 90's and have been doing my mash by adding the water to my mash tun, stirring the grains into a whirlpool adding them slowly to the water. Doing this to prevent dough balls and making sure the grains are mixed well. In his book, unless I read it wrong, he states to add grains first and then add the water a little at a time while stirring. This is to prevent something that I can't recall right now from happening to the grain. How many of you use this method? That seems awful hard to mix and seems like it would be real pain not to get dough balls. Please let me know if it is a better way of doing it and why.

Thanks,

 

[Hammy71]

Most add the water first for the reasons you stated. I hold the bucket that has the grains under my arm and stir with the other.

 

[Steven9026]

Hammy,
been doing that myself.. just wondering if the other method was better for some reason.. I'm all about trying to make my beer better and learning anything that will improve it.

 

[samc]

Water first, allows you to preheat the mashtun and it is easier to mix up the grain. Palmer is great but that does not mean everything he says is the law! <g>

 

[Revvy]

Here read this thread....How long have I been doing it wrong? Especially read my answer and answer the questions that I asked him.....

And you'll see ultimately both ways work.

 

[smizak]

water first, allows you to preheat the mashtun and it is easier to mix up the grain. Palmer is great but that does not mean everything he says is the law! <g>

+1

 

[DrawTap88]

Both ways work. It all depends on which way you're more comfortable with.

 

[Steven9026]

Thanks for all the responses. Adding the water first has been working great for me. Glad to know that it doesn't make any difference.

 

[Steven9026]

Revvy,
I agree with you 100% .. I have always said, if it taste good and produces good beer, then it must be working ok. I was willing to change if it would produce a better beer.

 

[passedpawn]

Another option is to add grains, then pump strike water from under the grain (through the ball valve). That's what I do. I also do it this way for batch sparge additions.

This has the added effect of ensuring my screen is clear.

 

[winvarin]

I do water first ever since having read the July/August 2010 BYO article, the "Intro to Grain Brewing" article. I'd had a problem consistently hitting my mash temp. I followed the article's advice of putting the water in first, letting the tun and water settle to a consistent temp. Then I can stir, or add cold/hot water to get the water to a set temp above the temp of my grain. This has given me better control over my mash temperature. I have been hitting my desired temp more regularly.