Basic assumptions:
I batch sparge.
I generally drain off all my first runnings before adding sparge water.
I mash in a Coleman Xtreme cooler, so I have no way to directly heat my mash to mash out temps.
I only have one kettle and burner, so I must have my sparge water out of the kettle before I can start heating the first runnings.
Over the past few months (the cold months, incidentally...) I've been noticing lower than expected FG's, as if my wort was more fermentable than I was expecting.
I began to wonder if my temps were dropping significantly enough during runoff that it was causing my fermentability to change; ie, the temp of my first runnings were going low enough to create a more fermentable wort during the time they were drained off and before they went back into the kettle (after the sparge water was dumped into the tun) and were heated to temps high enough to denature the amylase enzymes?
Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon? Is there a better way, given the limitations in my system as noted above?
My most recent batch, I drained about 2.5 gal of first runnings as fast as I could, then put my (essentially boiling) sparge water into the mash tun, then put the limited first runnings to the flame. I then drained about a gallon at a time, incrementally adding this to the kettle, until I reached full boil volume. No word yet as to whether this has affected my FG (it's bubbling away behind me now...)
I checked some additional temperature points this past brew, and found that the 2.5 gals of initial run had dropped from the mash temp of 156*F to ~ 150*F by the time I put it in the kettle and set it to heat. My mash settled to right about 170*F after the addition of my near-boiling sparge.
I have considered whether or not I should insulate the bucket I sparge into as well...
I batch sparge.
I generally drain off all my first runnings before adding sparge water.
I mash in a Coleman Xtreme cooler, so I have no way to directly heat my mash to mash out temps.
I only have one kettle and burner, so I must have my sparge water out of the kettle before I can start heating the first runnings.
Over the past few months (the cold months, incidentally...) I've been noticing lower than expected FG's, as if my wort was more fermentable than I was expecting.
I began to wonder if my temps were dropping significantly enough during runoff that it was causing my fermentability to change; ie, the temp of my first runnings were going low enough to create a more fermentable wort during the time they were drained off and before they went back into the kettle (after the sparge water was dumped into the tun) and were heated to temps high enough to denature the amylase enzymes?
Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon? Is there a better way, given the limitations in my system as noted above?
My most recent batch, I drained about 2.5 gal of first runnings as fast as I could, then put my (essentially boiling) sparge water into the mash tun, then put the limited first runnings to the flame. I then drained about a gallon at a time, incrementally adding this to the kettle, until I reached full boil volume. No word yet as to whether this has affected my FG (it's bubbling away behind me now...)
I checked some additional temperature points this past brew, and found that the 2.5 gals of initial run had dropped from the mash temp of 156*F to ~ 150*F by the time I put it in the kettle and set it to heat. My mash settled to right about 170*F after the addition of my near-boiling sparge.
I have considered whether or not I should insulate the bucket I sparge into as well...
