103 replies to this topic

[Brauer]

...translate pretty close to 5.2 at mash temp.

That doesn't matter. You want a pH at room temp of 5.2-5.4.

[Steve Urquell]

Wow, that's bizarre.  I wonder why it works like that for you?  For me, stirring does nothing but make me lose heat when I open the cooler to stir.  I've tried constant mash recirculation, too, and found no difference.

I don't know but I've grown to accept it. I occasionally want to be a lazy brewer and have mashed w/o stirring every so often, always with the same results. All the variables remain constant--same maltster, JSP crush, RO water, pH almost always 5.3.

do you think that perhaps you aren't mixing enough in the beginning?  are you checking to make sure there are no dough balls or anthing?  are you finding any part way through when you do the additional stirring?

Yep, I add my strike to the tun, allow it to stabilize to temp, then slowly stir in the grain. I never have doughballs at all due to the speed of stirring. That last mash at 60%, following a few 82-90% ers was horrifying. The high percentage mashes were with floor malted bopils though and that stuff rocks. The 60% was Rahr PIls. I've used ~10 bags of it over the years and it usually yields 72-82% for me.

[3rd party JKor]

What's your temp loss over the course of a typical mash?

[Steve Urquell]

I add boiling water as needed to keep it in range. If not, I can drop 3-4 degrees with stirring 2-3X

[positiveContact]

I add boiling water as needed to keep it in range. If not, I can drop 3-4 degrees with stirring 2-3X

 

that shouldn't really kill your efficiency as far as i know.

[3rd party JKor]

If he DIDN'T stir, localized cold spots around the edges of the cooler might take the mash out of conversion range.  If only a 1" layer around the outside of the cooler were to drop below conversion range, that would probably equate to 10-20% of the mash volume.  I could see that having a big effect on efficiency.

[Steve Urquell]

If he DIDN'T stir, localized cold spots around the edges of the cooler might take the mash out of conversion range.  If only a 1" layer around the outside of the cooler were to drop below conversion range, that would probably equate to 10-20% of the mash volume.  I could see that having a big effect on efficiency.

Good stuff JKor. My best efficiency has come from multi-step infusions. 134F for 20mins, 140-144F/30 mins, 158-160F/30mins with lots of stirring and hot water added to raise temps.

Edited by chils, 15 April 2014 - 01:08 PM.

[matt6150]

Chils, maybe I missed it but what kind of cooler do you use? I too usually stir once about half way though just for fun really. But my cooler seems to hold really good heat. I never seem to loose a single degree.

 

Edit: Oh and I usually get 82% efficiency.

Edited by matt6150, 15 April 2014 - 02:52 PM.

[Steve Urquell]

I use a 48 qt Igloo ice cube, Matt. SS braid with a SS spring inside it. I open the lid quite a bit, checking pH and such.

Edited by chils, 15 April 2014 - 03:16 PM.

[3rd party JKor]

I use the 50-qt Iggloo Marine ice cube.  I was doing single infusions in it before I converted it to a HERMS.  I saw about the same temp loss.  3-4 degrees per hour and even higher when I was mashing outside in colder weather. The final straw for me was when I lost 8 degrees from my mash when I was brewing outside on a cold, windy day.  I switched to indoor brewing and eHERMS after that event.

[MyaCullen]

I use the 50-qt Iggloo Marine ice cube.  I was doing single infusions in it before I converted it to a HERMS.  I saw about the same temp loss.  3-4 degrees per hour and even higher when I was mashing outside in colder weather. The final straw for me was when I lost 8 degrees from my mash when I was brewing outside on a cold, windy day.  I switched to indoor brewing and eHERMS after that event.

I am not allowed to brew in the house

[Steve Urquell]

I use the 50-qt Iggloo Marine ice cube. I was doing single infusions in it before I converted it to a HERMS. I saw about the same temp loss. 3-4 degrees per hour and even higher when I was mashing outside in colder weather. The final straw for me was when I lost 8 degrees from my mash when I was brewing outside on a cold, windy day. I switched to indoor brewing and eHERMS after that event.

I keep boiling water on the stove and give it a shot as it drops. Prolly doesn't make a big difference after 30 mins but it keeps me happy. One of these days I'll visit my old job at the trailer shop and fill ilthe lid with low density, dichloridiflorormethane propelled expanding foam.

Edited by chils, 15 April 2014 - 06:25 PM.

[denny]

I keep boiling water on the stove and give it a shot as it drops. Prolly doesn't make a big difference after 30 mins but it keeps me happy. One of these days I'll visit my old job at the trailer shop and fill ilthe lid with low density, dichloridiflorormethane propelled expanding foam.

 

You have a standing invite to come and brew at my house.  I want you to see what I do and how it compares to what you do.  It would be highly interesting!  So, the next time you're in Oregon....

[Steve Urquell]

You have a standing invite to come and brew at my house.  I want you to see what I do and how it compares to what you do.  It would be highly interesting!  So, the next time you're in Oregon....

Thanks for the invite. Now which way is Oregon? Hang a left at Missouri?

[Brauer]

i figured grain absorption was pretty much the same for everyone.

It is, with a little natural variation between grain lots, if you get complete conversion. Brewers with low conversion efficiency will lose more water to absorption because there is more mass left in the tun and less sugar/# extracted to increase the wort volume. Dead volume should be consistent for an individual tun, no matter the batch size. 0.1-0.12 gallons/# is a typical range of absorption after near-complete to complete conversion. I see 0.12 gallons/# absorption.

Since I still have my brewing shit all over the first floor of the house I might as well measure deadspace tonight with just water.

 

I have 3/8" tubing on the outside so I'm getting a decent siphon.

I never lose siphon, either. I do stop the flow, briefly, when I start to see bubbles in the line, near the end.  Then I open the valve and drain the last cup or so of wort. I think 3/8" line is what I have, too.  The dip tube is an ~4" piece of scrap copper tubing I found on the ground near a construction site on the inside, which is probably about that ID, too.

[positiveContact]

The dip tube is an ~4" piece of scrap copper tubing I found on the ground near a construction site on the inside, which is probably about that ID, too.

 

i'm starting to suspect brauer is actually a homeless guy who homebrews under a bridge. 

[Brauer]

i'm starting to suspect brauer is actually a homeless guy who homebrews under a bridge.

I like to think of myself as resourceful, but I'm probably just cheap.

[denny]

I like to think of myself as resourceful, but I'm probably just cheap.

 

"Pragmatic", dude...the word is "pragmatic". 

[positiveContact]

I like to think of myself as resourceful, but I'm probably just cheap.

 

no - i just think it's funny that you probably make some of the better beer around here and are one of the most well versed in brewing and brewing science but you also use scraps found on the ground to do your homebrewing.  i don't have a problem with it.  we are probably at a similar level of cheapness

[Brauer]

no - i just think it's funny that you probably make some of the better beer around here and are one of the most well versed in brewing and brewing science but you also use scraps found on the ground to do your homebrewing. i don't have a problem with it. we are probably at a similar level of cheapness

I remember when I found that piece of copper, thinking,"that's just what I need!" I also have boxes of old lab equipment that I got for free when my company went bankrupt. Lots of that gets/will get repurposed in my and friend's breweries: flasks, stir bars, hemocytometers, pumps, regulators. My working brewery probably cost me about $100, thanks to gifts and hand-me-downs. I'm probably a middle of the road brewer, though. When I entered competiotions, I scored in the high 30's, but I might have been hurt by preferring beers at the low end of (or below) the gravity range for a style. That might be wishful thinking. I might be a better brewer now, than then, and I like to think that I brew 2 or 3 styles pretty well, but I don't make "wow" beer styles and when I tried to make them, I didn't make them very well.Cavman is more of an artist and I'm a technician. I can get it right if I work at it.