Strike Temp

[dmcmillen]

fyi, my setup is a single tier, 2 pump system with hlt, mash and boil keggles so I'm normally brewing 10 gallon batches. Note that I brew in my basement (in the south) where I have fairly consistent temps.

My #1, biggest challenge, bar none, is getting my strike temp close. The way I have been working till now is to set up my mash tun with the grain in it, heat the mash water in the hlt to a calculated strike temp (circulating the water with pump as it heats), then pumping to my mash tun from the hlt. I circulate the water in the mash tun and stir to insure an accurate temp reading making sure that grain is not clumped around the thermometer stem. I have done a lot of batches this way and the results have been all over the map. I have all the formulas for calculating the thermal mass and strike temp. I haven't expected it to be exact but I would have expected to have more predictability from my setup by now.

I am going to start heating the mash water directly in the mash tun (while circulating, of course) and then add the grain to the water with the hope that I will get more consistency. Given that I know the water volume, grain mass, and grain temp I should be able to calculate the strike temp. Does anyone know the/a formula for this. I just want to get close so I can learn from my setup.

Thanks for any ideas here.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Why not just use a program like Beersmith to do the math for you?

 

[dmcmillen]

FirstAidBrewing - that's a great name. Does Beersmith make a distinction as to whether you're adding water to the grain or grain to the water?

 

[Izzie1701]

I used sparge pal but usually strike 4 dagrees warmer as I like to stir my grain in quite a bit. If I don't over heat I find the stirring drops it below my target temp

 

[InLimbo]

FirstAidBrewing - that's a great name. Does Beersmith make a distinction as to whether you're adding water to the grain or grain to the water?

From what I remember, I don't think it matters in the end. You can tell beer smith what the temperatures of your grain, water, tun, and the geometry of your tun. It's quite accurate.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

From what I remember, I don't think it matters in the end. You can tell beer smith what the temperatures of your grain, water, tun, and the geometry of your tun. It's quite accurate.

Correct, I think the default for grain is 70f. It then calculates the strike water to get mash temp based on the body you select and the amount of grain.

 

[Yooper]

I think it's easiest to put the heated water in the MLT at about 175-180 degrees, let it drop to the desired strike temp (about 11 degrees warmer than desired mash temp) and then add the grain.

There are several reasons why this works, but one is as simple as preheating the MLT. Even with my stainless kegs and HERMS, the metal "sucks" alot of the heat out of the water and without adding the water hotter and letting it drop to strike temps, I had temperatures all over the place.

As far as calculating it, I go with "about 11 degrees", but it really does vary a bit according to the size of the grainbill and desired mash temp and grain temp. That is a good place to start, though, and it's easy to add an ice cube if you're two degrees over (but not as easy to raise the temperature if you miss low!)

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Shameless plug. http://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/TestingO should be accurate as long as you preheat your mash tun.