49 replies to this topic

[3rd party JKor]

Grains to water...and, yes, doughballs are real live things.

[zymot]

Strike water into mashtun, let it sit for 10-20 minutes to preheat the mashtun.Then the grains get stirred in. If you use a water:grain ratio of about 1.4:1, the doughballs are easy to deal with.My grandfather fought in WWI, he said you found doughballs on the doughboys. At least that is what I remember Gramps told me.zymot

[Stuster]

Water to grains for the common reason of milling the grains straight into the mash tun. I do underlet the water though which means I get very few doughballs.

[MtnBrewer]

Switch hitter...

No a switch hitter only bats right or left handed for any given at bat. I do both.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

This thread desperately needs more poll.

[Deerslyr]

Grain to water... this would have been a good poll.

[realbeerguy]

Preheat MT with 1 gal hot tap water, spill, do water to grains, just wetting grains, no splashing. Minimal dough balls, even temps.

[Thirsty]

I heat strike water 28 degrees higher than desired mash temp. Pump from HLT to tun drops it 12 degrees, fill tun, then dump in 1/2 grain, stir, rest of grain stir, cap the tun and wrap with water heater jacket. Usually balances to within 2 degrees. 30 minutes in, kick on the HERMS.

[djinkc]

My motor and mill sit directly on the MT. Underlet through the manifold with water that is 13 - 15df above my intended mash temp. Then the mill setup gets hung on the wall for another day.

Edited by dj in kc, 13 June 2009 - 09:41 AM.

[denny]

Grains to water.I find that you get more doughballs if you go water to grain.BrewBasser

+1. "Enzyme shock" is a not a worry....

[Frogman]

Add one more, Grains to water https://www.brews-br...tyle_emoticons/default/headbang.gif

[Pseudolus]

I like to add about 1/2 the water to the empty tun and then start mixing in grains and keep the mash real loose. I stir hard to break up all dough balls. Then add more water and then the rest of the grains. Stir again breaking up all dough balls and then top up with whatever water is left for my strike amount.I would think adding water on top of all the grain would make it harder to break up all the dough balls.

That's about what I do. Some of this, some of that, stir, lather, rinse, repeat.

[DaBearSox]

Grains to water b/c I use my strike water to preheat my mash tun.

+1I used to do it the other way around but then I found that I gained a few percentage points in efficiency when i switched...probably because of the dreaded dough balls

[chuck_d]

No a switch hitter only bats right or left handed for any given at bat. I do both.

What if they bring in a new pitcher in the middle of the at-bat? It happens.

[zymot]

+1. "Enzyme shock" is a not a worry....

Is this regarding our natural tendency to (incorrectly) think of the enzymes that convert starches to sugars as something living and if exposed to to much heat they will be "killed""Oh no! My mash has been at 174° for 15 minutes, my enzymes are cooked!"If so, that prompts the question, "What does it take to render these enzymes ineffective?" Can they be heat up to 175° then cooled down to 152° and start to convert starches to sugar? Can they be permanently "killed" off?To be honest, this mentality is what inspired my process. Add water tot the tun, allow everything to settle down to the strike temp calculated with no offset for tun heat absorption. i.e. the basic Palmer formula, the Promash strike calc using 0.0 Thermal Mass, etc. Then add the grains and stir it all up.I think a proper understanding of "cooking" enzymes is relevant to developing a practical process.zymot

[3rd party JKor]

Sure, the enzymes can become denatured. The hotter the temp, the faster they'll become denatured. But at typical strike temps I don;t think they're becoming denatured very quickly. Mash in is a pretty quick process, it's not like the grain is sitting at 165 for half an hour.

[MolBasser]

Is this regarding our natural tendency to (incorrectly) think of the enzymes that convert starches to sugars as something living and if exposed to to much heat they will be "killed""Oh no! My mash has been at 174° for 15 minutes, my enzymes are cooked!"If so, that prompts the question, "What does it take to render these enzymes ineffective?" Can they be heat up to 175° then cooled down to 152° and start to convert starches to sugar? Can they be permanently "killed" off?To be honest, this mentality is what inspired my process. Add water tot the tun, allow everything to settle down to the strike temp calculated with no offset for tun heat absorption. i.e. the basic Palmer formula, the Promash strike calc using 0.0 Thermal Mass, etc. Then add the grains and stir it all up.I think a proper understanding of "cooking" enzymes is relevant to developing a practical process.zymot

174 degrees for 15 minutes=B amylase dead.Yes they can be permanently killed off. Alpha amylase is a bit more heat tolerant, but Beta amylase is a wus.BrewBasser

[boo boo]

I add grains to water. I think I get more accurate control of the strike temp this way with my single infusions. I generally aim for a few degrees above my required strike temperature, then take a reading in the cooler before adding the grains. I'll stir a bit and keep taking the temperature until it's come down to exactly where I want it. I find it's much easier for me to overshoot a bit on the strike water and wait a couple minutes for it to lose a few degrees before adding grain in order to hit my strike temps rather than to try to make it up with boiling water if I come up short.Aside from that benefit, I think it's just much easier adding the grains to the water than the other way around. I can mash in in less time, more effectively and more consistently that way.

Yup, me too.

[chuck_d]

To be a little more technical about it. Enzymes don't "die" but are "denatured". They aren't alive so they can't be killed, but when their shape gets broken due to heating or chemical or other processes they usually cannot restore their original shape and so will no longer work.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

To be a little more technical about it. Enzymes don't "die" but are "denatured". They aren't alive so they can't be killed, but when their shape gets broken due to heating or chemical or other processes they usually cannot restore their original shape and so will no longer work.

Ah - the good ole intertubes e-penis posturing. Oh you guys...