Using propane, Recirc.

[radwizard]

I have just upgraded my hotside equipment and have done 2 brew's on it. My new kettle is a SS Brewtech 15 gallon with Brewhardware.com's spincycle whirlpool arm going into the upper pre-drilled hole. I have a pump that I have been using for post boil whirlpooling, and transfer. I put a thermometer above the spigot, because the SS Brewtechs whirlpool attachment did not work well for me. I do not have a false bottom.

So here is the issue, on my last brew I was getting a pretty big difference in reading between my SSbrewtech thermometer, and the portable thermometers I used checking the temp via open kettle. Previously I only checked the mash temp by sticking the thermometer down from the top of the kettle (reading the upper portion of the mash). I checked the thermometers accuracy following the brew and they were all cleared as being OK. During the mash I was not able to balance out the mash by stirring, and I felt that I would be losing to much heat in attempting to do a constant stir (no false bottom).

I am thinking now that it would be a good idea to recirculate during mash. I already have a pump, so it seems like it would be wise to at least have that option. I am using propane in my garage, and would be manually adding heat if needed during a recirculation. I think this would help me get better data on the mash, and hopefully a better product.

I am thinking about getting a biab false bottom (pizza rack type), and a brewhardware sparge arm going into the top of the kettle (through the lid).

Does anyone else do something like this? I have never recirculated - always stirred my mash and insulated the kettle well. Would the recirc. be continuous through the mash? Has anyone used the brewhardware sparge attachment? Does it make sense to recirc. without having an automated system?
Any tips or insight would be awesome! Thanks

 

[wilserbrewer]

Really depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. I’m all about simple and don’t believe mash temp is the holy grail to better beer.

I would try mashing a few degrees hotter and accepting a temp loss throughout the mash while simply insulating the kettle.

This way you simply walk away for an hour vs baby sitting the temp gauge all while overshooting and undershooting optimum....

Up to you really, personal preference how much you like to obsess.
Cheers

 

[RM-MN]

I agree mostly with Wilserbrewer, KISS. Keep it stupid simple. Don't go making a mountain from a molehill.

I go even further than Wilserbrewer, I mill my grains very fine and try to hit my mash temp, then only give it 20 to 30 minutes. From the experimenting I've done I've found that with my crush the conversion happens very quickly, too quickly for the recirculating and adding heat to have any effect. The extra time (the 20 to 30 minutes) is to extract flavors. Cutting the mash shorter is like dunking your teabag into the hot water and pulling it out immediately. You might get color but flavor is lacking.

 

[radwizard]

Cool. Thanks for the insight.
Since switching over I have been facing several issues I have not had to deal with in years.
The I think the biggest factor is I have more head space in the mash tun now. In my old kettle (10.5 G) it was always full, and now (15G) I have roughly a third of the kettle empty.

I think I am going to order a BIAB false bottom in case I need or want to heat in the future. It's pretty cheap and won't hurt in the process. It might be enough to leave very low heat on when doughing in. The one I would get would have 3 inch legs. Would that be enough to protect the bag from the heat? I am using a Wilser Bag.
Thanks again.

 

[wilserbrewer]

You can add low heat with constant stirring without a false bottom if you just need to bump the mash up a couple few degrees.

Once you add a false bottom you beginning to commit to recirculating as there is a volume outside the main mash. Once you go to recirculating your causing more heat loss that can be cured with auto temp control.

You can learn to manage it well in a simple fashion with a little patience.

Throwing more gizmos at BIAB can work great, but sometimes there are a few issues to troubleshoot.

Jmo, I prefer simple.