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re: Homebrewing: All Grain Mash Tun
Posted on 6/8/12 at 9:58 am to CarRamrod
Posted on 6/8/12 at 9:58 am to CarRamrod
So, got home, had a couple beers, and watched some video's on youtube on brewing all-grain.
I watched one video from a Virginia Tech guy (about 30 minutes long) that was very good at explaining.
So here is the technique from what i gather.
1. Heat water up to 170 (depending on your recipe). Pour water into your mash tun (in this case 10 gallon round cooler). Put on lid, let the cooler heat up a bit, then drain back into the pot. Add some 5.2 ph stabilizer.
2. Add grains to mash tun (doughing in). Pour water in slowly, stirring constantly to avoid clumps. Once added, your temp should be about 154 degrees. Let sit for an hour.
3. While sitting, heat up some sparge water (about 3 gallons depending on your recipe).
4. Drain mash tun slowly into a pitcher, and keep recirculating into your mash tun until your wort extract is clear. (has a german name for the process, i forgot what it is). Be careful when pouring back to not disturb grain bed.
5. Once your extract is clear, drain into brewpot very slowly. Once the water gets down to the top of the grain bed, add sparge water (should take about 30 minutes to an hour).
6. Once complete, measure your pre boil gravity. Then brew as normal.
I bolded the sections i have questions on.
1) Is the PH stabilizer necessary? or is this mainly for "bad" water? Do yall use it?
2) All the videos i've seen, show adding water to your mash tun first, then adding the grains. However, in how to brew, and complete joy, they say to add the grain first. Does it matter?
3) What temps should the sparge water be? below 170?
4) All of the videos i've seen, either a manifold or SS filter was used. What are the benefits of a false bottom over the other 2 options? Better grain bed stability?
ETA: Also, how much sparge water is typically needed? I have a 5 gallon old brewpot, and would rather use that, than buy a new one if i don't have to.
I watched one video from a Virginia Tech guy (about 30 minutes long) that was very good at explaining.
So here is the technique from what i gather.
1. Heat water up to 170 (depending on your recipe). Pour water into your mash tun (in this case 10 gallon round cooler). Put on lid, let the cooler heat up a bit, then drain back into the pot. Add some 5.2 ph stabilizer.
2. Add grains to mash tun (doughing in). Pour water in slowly, stirring constantly to avoid clumps. Once added, your temp should be about 154 degrees. Let sit for an hour.
3. While sitting, heat up some sparge water (about 3 gallons depending on your recipe).
4. Drain mash tun slowly into a pitcher, and keep recirculating into your mash tun until your wort extract is clear. (has a german name for the process, i forgot what it is). Be careful when pouring back to not disturb grain bed.
5. Once your extract is clear, drain into brewpot very slowly. Once the water gets down to the top of the grain bed, add sparge water (should take about 30 minutes to an hour).
6. Once complete, measure your pre boil gravity. Then brew as normal.
I bolded the sections i have questions on.
1) Is the PH stabilizer necessary? or is this mainly for "bad" water? Do yall use it?
2) All the videos i've seen, show adding water to your mash tun first, then adding the grains. However, in how to brew, and complete joy, they say to add the grain first. Does it matter?
3) What temps should the sparge water be? below 170?
4) All of the videos i've seen, either a manifold or SS filter was used. What are the benefits of a false bottom over the other 2 options? Better grain bed stability?
ETA: Also, how much sparge water is typically needed? I have a 5 gallon old brewpot, and would rather use that, than buy a new one if i don't have to.
This post was edited on 6/8/12 at 10:01 am
3
Posted on 6/8/12 at 10:05 am to BugAC
quote:
1) Is the PH stabilizer necessary? or is this mainly for "bad" water? Do yall use it?
No, but I think it can help.
quote:
2) All the videos i've seen, show adding water to your mash tun first, then adding the grains. However, in how to brew, and complete joy, they say to add the grain first. Does it matter?
This is to pre-heat your mash tun so when you dough in your mash temp won't drop drastically.
quote:
3) What temps should the sparge water be? below 170?
I think 170 is a good start but be sure not to just pour directly on top of the grains with that 170. everyone I see uses some sort of bowl or Tupperware to distribute the water around the grains more evenly.
quote:
4) All of the videos I've seen, either a manifold or SS filter was used. What are the benefits of a false bottom over the other 2 options? Better grain bed stability?
There's a $10 stainless screen on Homebrewfinds.com I just bought one of them for my boil kettle to strain some of the trub.
This post was edited on 6/8/12 at 10:18 am
Posted on 6/8/12 at 10:10 am to BugAC
Couple of things then I will answer the questions below. That list of steps is really vague and generalized. Mashing at 154 will be fine for some beers, but not all beers are mashed at that high of a temp. Also starting with 170 is high in my opinion as well. Your brewing software will give you a better number and I use a formula since I have given up my software for the time being.
You will need much more than 3 gallons of sparge water unless you start with a lot of mash water, regardless of your recipe.
Ok now onto your questions.
1. 5.2 is not necessary per say however, starch converts better at 5.2 pH so if you want to just take that factor off the table then use 5.2. I didn't for a long time but will use it all the time now.
2. Personal preference. If you are going to use a large spoon, I would suggest adding the water first. I have a mash paddle so it really doesn't matter either way for me. I typically add water first.
3. 170 is where I sparge
4. For me the SS filter didn't work at all, but my cooler is one of the tall round ones, and I hear that the SS filter works better with a rectangle cooler. A false bottom is more permanent in my opinion. Once again that is personal preference probably.
You will need much more than 3 gallons of sparge water unless you start with a lot of mash water, regardless of your recipe.
Ok now onto your questions.
1. 5.2 is not necessary per say however, starch converts better at 5.2 pH so if you want to just take that factor off the table then use 5.2. I didn't for a long time but will use it all the time now.
2. Personal preference. If you are going to use a large spoon, I would suggest adding the water first. I have a mash paddle so it really doesn't matter either way for me. I typically add water first.
3. 170 is where I sparge
4. For me the SS filter didn't work at all, but my cooler is one of the tall round ones, and I hear that the SS filter works better with a rectangle cooler. A false bottom is more permanent in my opinion. Once again that is personal preference probably.
Posted on 6/8/12 at 10:36 am to BugAC
quote:
1. Heat water up to 170 (depending on your recipe). Pour water into your mash tun (in this case 10 gallon round cooler). Put on lid, let the cooler heat up a bit, then drain back into the pot. Add some 5.2 ph stabilizer.
What I do is I heat up about a gallon of water and throw it in the mash tun and close the top before I start heating my strike water. That warms up the mash tun plenty. I dump it prior to adding my strike water.
quote:
1) Is the PH stabilizer necessary? or is this mainly for "bad" water? Do yall use it?
I didn't when I lived in BR. I do now that I live in Nola, but our water is shite down here.
quote:
2) All the videos i've seen, show adding water to your mash tun first, then adding the grains. However, in how to brew, and complete joy, they say to add the grain first. Does it matter?
I've read you want to slowly add water to the grain to avoid super heating some of the grains, but I always add my water first and then the grains. Never had a problem.
quote:
3) What temps should the sparge water be? below 170?
Depends on your grain bill size and current temperature and mash tun properties like insulation and starting temp. For a standard ale on my setup, say a 5.5% beer, my strike water is usually around 164-165ish. Depends on what you want your mash temp to be.
After a few beers you'll get the hang of your equipment and learn how much heat loss and whatnot you experience.
quote:
4) All of the videos i've seen, either a manifold or SS filter was used. What are the benefits of a false bottom over the other 2 options? Better grain bed stability?
I have always used a SS braid as my screen. Not the prettiest, but it works. I am looking at getting a false bottom, however, as sometimes the braid is near impossible to get clear wort from because I smash it with my mash paddle.
quote:
ETA: Also, how much sparge water is typically needed? I have a 5 gallon old brewpot, and would rather use that, than buy a new one if i don't have to.
Depends on things like boil-off rate and pre-boil volume.
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