Sorry to beat this to death but I have read yes and no so I am asking again. Doing a full volume biab, do you stir the mash? I understand about losing the temp by taking the lid off to stir, but still wanna know what is everyone elses brew day mash ritual please...
Stir the mash...?
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NothingRhymesWithCurtiss
Well-Known Member
Whether doing 5 gallon BIAB (roughly 7.5 gal mash) at home, or a 60 gallon batch at the brewery I work at, I always give the mash at least one stir 15 minutes in. If the temp seems to hold, I don't touch it after that. If the temp seems to be dropping, I will stir it for a minute or so, let it settle, check the temp again and determine if I need to add heat.
I hope that helps.
I hope that helps.
CKelly
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I've been doing at least 1 stir with my 5 gal BIAB brews. I've wrapped my kettle in insulation and found that taking 5 seconds to give it a stir once during the mash hasn't lowered my temp enough to make any impact. I average about 75%-80% efficiency usually and lose about 1*F in an hour mash (at least during these cold temp months)
BassElement
Well-Known Member
In my 2.5 gallon batches I stir every 20 minutes of a 60 minute mash (aka twice), doing a quick temp check while I'm in there (instant-read digital thermometer, thank you). I make sure my brew kettle is well wrapped in a heavy towel and find minimal heat loss from taking off the lid. So far all is good, will be curious to see how yours goes. Cheers!
jwalk4
Well-Known Member
I stir once with 20 minutes left to see if I can get just a little bit more grain exposure via agitation for conversion purposes.
I don't stir before that because I'm usually mowing the lawn or doing some other such chore to pass the time.
I don't stir before that because I'm usually mowing the lawn or doing some other such chore to pass the time.
i don't stir and get upwards of 85%. Milling fine for BIAB all the grain is exposed to the water and doesn't need stirred. i only mash for 30 minutes usually. Heat loss is not important if your grain is milled finely because the conversion happens rather quickly.
