Mashing and Buring the Grain?

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earthwormgaz

earthwormgaz

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Hi,

After my first woeful try at brewing using a pan on the hob and a greenhouse thermometer that only went up to 50 degrees, and a tea towel, I wanted to try again and do it properly.

So, the guides seem to have a bucket with a heating element in it that's used to heat the water and grain and mash it.

The thing is, if the grain is against the heating element, won't it burn it?

Also, is it any easier to get the right temperature with this type of set up than it would be on a stove?

Thanks for any help lads!
 
Hi Earthwormgaz

For mashing it is best to place the grain and liquor into an insulated vesel were it will maintain its temp at about 66 deg C. This can be achieved in various ways dependent on you budget but a common method is using a cooler box. If you use the search facility you should find various threads on it.

Hope that helps

A
 
Okay, so this here is similar to what I was on about ....

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=9899

He's got a heating element in a bucket. So, the idea is to heat that water to 66 degrees then throw the grain in?

Or is that just a way to boil lots of water to put in the cool box you mention, with the grain?
 
Your grain doesn't go into the boiler and shouldn't be in contact with an element. What you need to do is to heat up a sufficient volume of treated water to somewhere in excess of 80°C, pour not quite all you need into your coolbox mash tun and then adjust the temperature by adding boiling or cold water until you've got the volume that you do need at approx. 76-78°C, and then mix in your grain.

Adding the grain will knock the temperature down, usually by about 10°C, and then you might need to fine tune the mash temperature by mixing in a little more hot water, or stirring with the lid off until it has dropped slightly, then put the lid on and leave it alone, usually for 90 minutes.
 
Oh right, bogger that then, I'll just use a massive sauce pan on the hob again.

It seems to me the cool box for mashing, and a proper way of sparging rather than through a tea towel are the bits I really need to improve on then!

I'll get a cool box and something for sparging then!

Ta lads!
 
Gaz,
Launching into all grain brewing as a first attempt, is not impossible, but perhaps there are better ways to easy in slowly ;)
My suggestion would be a nice quality kit, or maybe a spot of extract brewing, do a search, lots of info.
I produced some very nice beer in the early days with extract brews. :D You do have more control and choice with AG, but some very nice beer as I said can be achieved with minimal time and equipment, depends what you want to do.
AG, is not rocket science, but needs a bit of knowledge, planning, care and equipment. :)
Don't take my advice though, if you fancy its have a go.
Good luck
S
P.S. just seen the post from BB about the new sponsor, have a look at their web site, there is a write up on the above three ways of brewing, which may help you a lot :D
 
I disagree: I jumped in at the deep end and started with AG brewing. The equipment cost was a bit higher, but not significantly so. With the amount of quality websites and advice on forums like this it's not hard for a newcomer to make a good AG brew with a little research and preparation beforehand.
 
WelshPaul said:
I disagree: I jumped in at the deep end and started with AG brewing. The equipment cost was a bit higher, but not significantly so. With the amount of quality websites and advice on forums like this it's not hard for a newcomer to make a good AG brew with a little research and preparation beforehand.
Click to expand...

I agree, with the help of you good folks and a couple of kit brews. I jumped into AG, building all my own kit for the grand cost of nought but a coolbox.
All you need to know is here on this site, if you cant find the answer with a search, a question will bring a few suggestions your way.
All of which i have found to be accurate and helpful. Great bunch of brewers on here.
Try it, what can go wrong.
Bob
:cheers:
 
earthwormgaz said:
Yeah, I tried kits a couple of times, I want to get the AG set up going now I think.
Click to expand...

I probably bore the other members to tears with this but I was going to suggest biab also.

If you want a cheap and easy route into AG brewing then seriously consider this method.

I've posted this link before to show the process, there's a few pics that show the process fairly well I reckon. The only thing not shown is dropping the grain bag into the boiler and securing it to the lip of the boiler with string (otherwise weight of grain drags it all in) this is the only bit I find a ball ache the rest is easy.

See what you think viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13457&hilit=gail+porter
 
use a bungee cord .. thats what i use and i always have the bag in from the start .... just have a false bottom in there to stop it catching on the bottom :thumb:
 
Interesting, so I could get a big bag (it looks like that cheese cloth kind of stuff on the pictures?), and put that in my insulated mash tun/cooler box ... then I can lift the bag up and sparge it with boiling water? Is that about the measure of the process?

I could actually just use my existing cool box at that, since I wouldn't need to drill holes in it for a tap.

I'm going to Wilkos at lunch, so I could get a big cheese cloth or something. Might a pillow case do?
 
I read up some more, so boil in the bag is actually quite different to traditional brewing that'll I'll have read about in my brewing book, and doesn't need sparging as a separate step.

Interesting ...
 
could use these .... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Muslin-Bags-S ... 4a98eb0dd3 .. seller sells smaller quantities if req. If u wanted to use ur mash tun then u could .. i just use one big pan for everything ... mash , sparge with 2l boiled water over grains then boil .. last brew (AG3) i aimed for 23L @1035 and got 23L@1038 - happy :D

this is my brewery :lol:


IMG_0141 by jinxy72, on Flickr

not saying its the best method or the worst .. but it works and personally i dont have the option of 3v system due to lack of space

the link i posted above has all the info ull need about biab .. shows various different ways to achieve different results ... ie large batches etc
 
earthwormgaz said:
I read up some more, so boil in the bag is actually quite different to traditional brewing that'll I'll have read about in my brewing book, and doesn't need sparging as a separate step.

Interesting ...
Click to expand...

You do everything in one vessel, heat up water to strike temp, add grain to bag and mash, then boil with your chosen hops ect.

I don't sparge but start with total volume of water used. You still need to work out losses from your set up but once you've gone through the routine a few times any issues will be ironed out.

No need to use a pillow case, the bags can be bough on ebay.

I don't really think sparging lends itself to this method though others may disagree, don't use boiling water if you do though that would be too hot.
 
jinxy72 said:
use a bungee cord .. thats what i use and i always have the bag in from the start .... just have a false bottom in there to stop it catching on the bottom :thumb:
Click to expand...

I did get some bungees but too small, so I now use them to secure the sleeping bag around the boiler.

I might have to get one that'll fit around the top of the boiler to secure the bag. :cheers:
 
homebase sell seperate ones ... bout £3 for one big enough .. i know expensive for one but worth it and should last for ages ... re : boiling water .. i just boil a kettle full (1.7L for my kettle) and let it cool to sparge temps .. if u lift the lid it cools pretty quick to temp .. then i pour this over the grains as they drain . I also allocate this water into my totals for the batch. I tend to mash with 24L, sparge then make upto 30L (depends on grain bill) for the boil. took a couple of times to work out my figures.. but i allow 4 L for the boil loss :eek: :shock: :eek: :shock: (90 min boil) and this works out right . My last batch (AG3) was the first time i got all my figures right :lol:
 

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