It will still be beer?.

[HomeDrewBrew]

So i brewed Bm Centennial Blonde with the sub of Centennial for Williamette and was excited to use my Mash Tun 36qrt cooler for first time instead biab.
So i crushed (4lbs 15.7oz) grain i think a good enough crush not to powdery and husks in tack,This is for a 3.5Gallon batch.
I didnt know how much heat loss i would lose from tossing strike water(4.70Gal) in cooler so i was set on 8dg above strike temp(152) for a 149 Mash in.
But that ended up being only 4dg loss tossing strike in cooler,So from 160F down to 156F i had to cool down to 152.so i added cool water and got down to 152 added grains and gave a stir then shut lid..
Well after 15mins i wanted to check temp and stir it up i was at 146!!!
A 6dg loss after adding grains??!.
I was at loss so i just added some boiled water maybe a couple litres and got it up to 148 so i just left it for remainder of mash.
45mins later I checked and it dropped to 144...I could not think how i could be losing so much heat!
It was time to do 10min sparge with 1.80Gal 170F as per beersmith i did however bring it down to 1.50 cause wanted to compensate what i put in extra during mash.
So i had roughly 6.5gal in to kettle with a 1 1/2 gal boil off,hit fermenter with 4.75 said and done and my gravity after pitching uso5????!!!!

I have been getting consistant 75%-80% Effieciency with Biab and my victoria mill.
So with this batch and beersmiths esstimate 1040 OG i rolled in at 1030.Under 60% efficiency.
It didnt go as smooth as i wanted but it will just be a tasty light blonde ale i hope.

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

Supossed to be sub Willamette for Centen.

 

[BierGut]

You should've hit it with some DME or corn sugar to boost the gravity. Wrap blankets around your MT next time to help insulate.

 

[vincentAlpha]

It'll still be beer but perhaps a bit drier than you were expecting (that is a good recipe, don't think there is much you could do to NOT make it taste good ), the temp drops are a bit weird. Were you making sure your probe wasn't in hot/cold spots for each measurement? I suppose you could always insulate your cooler more, might have one that is just crap for keeping in heat. I'd suggest you boil up a few gallons of water, put it into the tun and close the lid. Let it sit for ~10-20 or so then feel around for hot spots, might be the lid is not insulated (or very poorly) and that is easy enough to fix with spray foam insulation. If it is the whole unit that is bad for insulation then assuming you haven't modified it I'd maybe see about swapping it for a better one, otherwise get friendly with spray foam insulation.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

I also trust the numbers (water volume and temp), then wait 10 minutes after dough-in, stir again, then take the temperature. The grain saps quite a bit of heat, but you need to make sure you stir it well after the grain warms.
I have to add about 3deg to my strike temp to compensate for a cold cooler. I also cover my cooler lid with a blanket to minimize heat loss through the lid.

You can change your post title from a ? to a statement. Yes, it will still be beer. The ancient Mesopotamians didn't have thermometers and hydrometers (or even hops) when this hobby first started. It might not wow you, but it's a learning process.

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

Ya it was an eye opener for sure!
Im gna try the things mentioned and giverrr another go again.
I like the process of it, it does seem like extra work and if i can get it to stable temp and efficiency up beyond biab then ill b happy and more convinced.
Thanks for the reply's all!

 

[doug293cz]

Out of curiosity, what motivated you to switch from BIAB to three vessel? Not trying to start a debate, but there must have been something about BIAB you didn't like?

Brew on

 

[hanuswalrus]

I usually add my grains when my water is about 10 degrees higher than what I am aiming to mash at.. for example, if I'm planning to mash at 150, I'll wait till my strike water hits 159-160, then add my grains. The last 5 batches, this has worked perfectly for me.

 

[chudsonvt]

I think part of the problem could also be that it is a 36 qt for a 3.5 gallon batch. I use a 20 qt, and do not have that problem, doing 5 gallon batches (usually use about 4 to 4.5 gallons for my mash). You could try filling the cooler to preheat the whole thing and then drain what you don't need before adding gains. Or brew 10 gallon batches! lol. If you do want to use a cooler and do 3.5 gallon batches, you might want to get a smaller cooler. With my setup, I actually put in about a quarter of my strike water, add grains then add more water until at my target. I find this also helps in adjusting the temp because I can raise the temp of my water/mash as I add it or add cold water. However, I am definitely leaning toward the mash tun being too big. Just my person opinion... I hope it is helpful...

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

Out of curiosity, what motivated you to switch from BIAB to three vessel? Not trying to start a debate, but there must have been something about BIAB you didn't like?

Brew on

My neighbor gave me a spare 36qrt Coleman cooler he had kickn around so i wanted to see if it would hood temp better than the turkey fryer pot.

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

I usually add my grains when my water is about 10 degrees higher than what I am aiming to mash at.. for example, if I'm planning to mash at 150, I'll wait till my strike water hits 159-160, then add my grains. The last 5 batches, this has worked perfectly for me.

Thats a great idea!,i will have to try it next time.
Thanks

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

I think part of the problem could also be that it is a 36 qt for a 3.5 gallon batch. I use a 20 qt, and do not have that problem, doing 5 gallon batches (usually use about 4 to 4.5 gallons for my mash). You could try filling the cooler to preheat the whole thing and then drain what you don't need before adding gains. Or brew 10 gallon batches! lol. If you do want to use a cooler and do 3.5 gallon batches, you might want to get a smaller cooler. With my setup, I actually put in about a quarter of my strike water, add grains then add more water until at my target. I find this also helps in adjusting the temp because I can raise the temp of my water/mash as I add it or add cold water. However, I am definitely leaning toward the mash tun being too big. Just my person opinion... I hope it is helpful...

Good point,mash in with less water and add if needed to hit desired strike.

 

[feinbera]

Regarding temp... it'll just take you a while to get a feel for how to hit strike temps on your system. A strike temp calculator will help... but you'll still have to fudge the temp it suggests by a couple of degrees to hit your target on the head. Keep careful notes of what you were trying to hit, how hot the calculator suggested, how much you fudged by, and what temp you actually hit, you'll dial it in in no time.

Although, as many other posters suggested – stir the heck out of it, then leave the thermometer in for a few minutes to let the temp equalize throughout the mash tun, before reading the temp!

Regarding efficiency... it's unclear from your post, but, are you draining the first runnings and then adding 1.80 sparge water to a "dry" mash tun before draining a second time? Or are you just adding the sparge water straight to the mash and only draining once? If you're only draining one time after adding both mash and sparge water, you'll probably see improved efficiency if you drain, add sparge water, stir, rest for 10 minutes, and drain again. If you're already doing this, my apologies for misunderstand your post.

 

[Owly055]

So i brewed Bm Centennial Blonde with the sub of Centennial for Williamette and was excited to use my Mash Tun 36qrt cooler for first time instead biab.
So i crushed (4lbs 15.7oz) grain i think a good enough crush not to powdery and husks in tack,This is for a 3.5Gallon batch.
I didnt know how much heat loss i would lose from tossing strike water(4.70Gal) in cooler so i was set on 8dg above strike temp(152) for a 149 Mash in.
But that ended up being only 4dg loss tossing strike in cooler,So from 160F down to 156F i had to cool down to 152.so i added cool water and got down to 152 added grains and gave a stir then shut lid..
Well after 15mins i wanted to check temp and stir it up i was at 146!!!
A 6dg loss after adding grains??!.
I was at loss so i just added some boiled water maybe a couple litres and got it up to 148 so i just left it for remainder of mash.
45mins later I checked and it dropped to 144...I could not think how i could be losing so much heat!
It was time to do 10min sparge with 1.80Gal 170F as per beersmith i did however bring it down to 1.50 cause wanted to compensate what i put in extra during mash.
So i had roughly 6.5gal in to kettle with a 1 1/2 gal boil off,hit fermenter with 4.75 said and done and my gravity after pitching uso5????!!!!

I have been getting consistant 75%-80% Effieciency with Biab and my victoria mill.
So with this batch and beersmiths esstimate 1040 OG i rolled in at 1030.Under 60% efficiency.
It didnt go as smooth as i wanted but it will just be a tasty light blonde ale i hope.

I'm confused??? Why wouldn't you expect significant temp loss when adding grains? I generally lose 8-10 deg F depending on the amount and temperature of the grain......... Your temp loss sounds completely normal to me.........


H.W.

 

[HomeDrewBrew]

Regarding temp... it'll just take you a while to get a feel for how to hit strike temps on your system. A strike temp calculator will help... but you'll still have to fudge the temp it suggests by a couple of degrees to hit your target on the head. Keep careful notes of what you were trying to hit, how hot the calculator suggested, how much you fudged by, and what temp you actually hit, you'll dial it in in no time.

Although, as many other posters suggested – stir the heck out of it, then leave the thermometer in for a few minutes to let the temp equalize throughout the mash tun, before reading the temp!

Regarding efficiency... it's unclear from your post, but, are you draining the first runnings and then adding 1.80 sparge water to a "dry" mash tun before draining a second time? Or are you just adding the sparge water straight to the mash and only draining once? If you're only draining one time after adding both mash and sparge water, you'll probably see improved efficiency if you drain, add sparge water, stir, rest for 10 minutes, and drain again. If you're already doing this, my apologies for misunderstand your post.

Ya,I just added the mash water for an hour then drained to kettle then poured sparge water over grains in cooler stirred then let sit for 10mins.
Thanks