Pros & Cons of the mashout - Fact or Fiction?

[MalFet]

Well right now I'm still controlling the flame by hand, no PID controller. So i will be sneaking up on the mash out temp. Is there a down side to adding additional time while the temp rises. Do most just start earlier like at the 45 minute mark?

It's still easier to control HERMS (in my opinion at least) because you don't have to worry about heat stratification like you do with a direct fire system. You know, in other words, where your temps are so long as you have even a little bit of agitation to move the water around. Plus, if you overshoot you can always just turn off the pump and bring the HLT back down. It's just another layer of distance between the heat and the wort.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend starting your mahout earlier unless you are absolutely sure you are done with conversion by that point. Most starches should have converted by 45 minutes, but the extra 15 minutes just gives you a little bit of insurance in case your crush is off, etc. The extra time certainly isn't bad, except to the extent that it's an extra fifteen minutes that you have to wait. The main thing is just to be consistent in your process.

 

[Snafu]

Awesome, thats the advice I was looking for. Hopefully i'll has this built in time for the next brew. Thanks!

 

[Snafu]

Well HERMS is complete, hello super clear wort & controlled temp mash's.

 

[Snafu]

Took the new HERMS out for a test drive this past weekend, OMG why I didn't do this sooner is beyond me. Made the mash so easy to control. Stabalizing the mash out temp only took about 10 mins and of course the fly sparge was controlled also. I also tried something new, instead of using my CPVC "H" pattern sparge arm do-ma-thingy, I just used a 2' section of silicone hose and just laid that on top of the grain bed. It dropped my efficiency down (like I wanted) close to 80%. I had been getting efficiency #'s a little higher than I wanted cause it was trowing off my ABV. Yeah, I know I could have scaled back the grain bill, but I'd rather keep it where I designed it. Or, like this past weekend, I wanted to make BM's Centennial Blonde and not make changes to the recipe, and have it still come out at 4%. Anyway, got off topic there, HERMS.... if your thinking of doing one, I absolutely suggest going for it. For me, it was the next logical step after gaining control of my fermentation temps with the chamber.

I do think I need to add a second pump to the system, to circulate the HLT water while I circulate the mash. I think it will be more accurate for the temperature reading on my dial thermometer on the HLT. I did give it several stir's while the mash was going on just in case the HLT water started to cool at the top.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Well HERMS is complete, hello super clear wort & controlled temp mash's.



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I think robby the robot is starting to get excited by your brew sculpture.

 

[Snafu]

Not so much a "sculpture" as it is controlled chaos. :rockin:

 

[VanHorneDog]

i saw a 10% jump in efficiency when i started mashing out. Probably helped with sugar extraction. We didnt change anything else at the time, we had just changed our crush a few batches before but were still in the 78-82% range, now we are hitting 88-92%.