So, I've been trying to figure out how just how "big" a five gallon batch I can get from a six gallon kettle. I do continuous recirculation in an eBIAB set-up together with a pour-over sparge and figure I can even do a partial boil and add more water at the end. With these thoughts in mind it all comes down to just how thick a mash I can create before the wort just won't recirculate anymore.
I mill my grain while heating/recirculating the water to 154F. My temp probe is in the T off of the pump, so I have to recirculate if I want to know the temp. The temp hits 154, I reset the temp to 150 for the mash, turn off the pump, take off the lid and put it in the kitchen sink, then carefully lower the grain bag into the kettle. I am a little worried that I have so much grain that it could overflow. With the bag fully lowered, I see no water at all above the grain, so I get my mash paddle and start to stir. I get a sticky mess, but still no sign of water. Jeez, just how thick is this mash and am I gonna have to add more water just to get started?
I lift the bag and find maybe a gallon of water in the kettle bottom. The SMH moment finally arrives. When I turned off the pump, I neglected to close the valve on the kettle. When I put the lid in the sink, it was lower than the valve and good old Mr Gravity was ever so quietly delivering my strike water to the drain.
The question: I happened to have three gallons of possible RO sparge water nearby at roughly 80F. I added almost all of it to the mash and turned the pump back on. The temp dropped to about 127F before beginning to rise again. I waited for it to reach 150F before setting the 60 minute mash timer. Question: Did I do any real damage here? I figure I rinsed some potential sugars down the drain because my numbers were lower than expected, but did I change anything else with this low temp mash?
I mill my grain while heating/recirculating the water to 154F. My temp probe is in the T off of the pump, so I have to recirculate if I want to know the temp. The temp hits 154, I reset the temp to 150 for the mash, turn off the pump, take off the lid and put it in the kitchen sink, then carefully lower the grain bag into the kettle. I am a little worried that I have so much grain that it could overflow. With the bag fully lowered, I see no water at all above the grain, so I get my mash paddle and start to stir. I get a sticky mess, but still no sign of water. Jeez, just how thick is this mash and am I gonna have to add more water just to get started?
I lift the bag and find maybe a gallon of water in the kettle bottom. The SMH moment finally arrives. When I turned off the pump, I neglected to close the valve on the kettle. When I put the lid in the sink, it was lower than the valve and good old Mr Gravity was ever so quietly delivering my strike water to the drain.
The question: I happened to have three gallons of possible RO sparge water nearby at roughly 80F. I added almost all of it to the mash and turned the pump back on. The temp dropped to about 127F before beginning to rise again. I waited for it to reach 150F before setting the 60 minute mash timer. Question: Did I do any real damage here? I figure I rinsed some potential sugars down the drain because my numbers were lower than expected, but did I change anything else with this low temp mash?
