Upgrading My Beer Making Stuff

[VonMessa]

Ok so my manifold keeps getting plugged up in my mash tun.  I think j am going to go with a false bottom instead. This will mean adding water volume to my mash. The books say a quart a pound, will it make a difference if there is a gallon or two below the mash. I do recirculate my mash through a HERMs so I need good flow. Though Herr beir ubermeisters?

Make your slots a bit wider.

I use rice hulls in EVERY mash.  They are cheap.  The only time I have a stuck sparge is when I brew pumpkin beer (which I did on Sunday)  The pumpkin "strings" get stuck.

As for the mash ratio?  Use Beer Smith or ProMash.  There is a field where you can input lauter tun deadspace and it will take that into consideration when calculating the recipe 

[dirtdart]

No way...beer smith does that...excellent.  Someone introduced me to that a while ago.....

I think the picks of the manifold are earlier on in the thread B.   I believe my best call is a false bottom....

[VonMessa]

No way...beer smith does that...excellent.  Someone introduced me to that a while ago.....

I think the picks of the manifold are earlier on in the thread B.   I believe my best call is a false bottom....

False bottoms seem to work better on taller, cylindrical mash tuns.

Seriously, try making your slots in your manifold a teensy bit wider, or make more of them (if you have the room)

Also, I'm not kidding about the rice hulls.  A pound per 5-gallon batch makes all the difference in the world and they are less than $1.50/lb. 

[dirtdart]

And they are neutral in flavor, I will have to read up more on it.  I am running batch two of my scotch ale next week, I am upping the peated barley to 3/4 of a lb and going to secondary ferment with roasted red ouk chips, probably 3 oz. 

[VonMessa]

And they are neutral in flavor, I will have to read up more on it.  I am running batch two of my scotch ale next week, I am upping the peated barley to 3/4 of a lb and going to secondary ferment with roasted red ouk chips, probably 3 oz.  

Completely neutral.

1 lb/5-gallon batch.  I buy them in a 55 lb. bag.  Mine has lasted a year, so far.

No special instructions, just add them in the mash tun with the grain bill.  Just make sure you tell your brewing software that you are using them in the mash so it can adjust the amount of water for when you dough-in as they will absorb some water, just like the grains.  BeerSmith even has them in the inventory already.  Some guys say to pre-soak them but I have tried both ways with no apparent difference (except that it is easier to just throw them in with the grains)

They are a must when using wheat or rye in the mash, but I throw them in every batch I make because they are dirt cheap and a stuck sparge on a 15-gallon batch really sucks  

Also, 1 qt./lb seems like an awfully stiff mash.  You want enough water to make sure  that you get complete conversion, but not too much that you dilute the enzymes to a point where they wont convert the starches.

I also stir my mash a few times even though I also use a HERMS system simply because I want to make sure that there aren't any dough balls that are not getting converted.  I turn the pump off for a minute and use a mortar mixing paddle from HD or Lowes, etc. on my electric drill.  It works like a charm but go slow as you have the potential to make an epic mess (do not ask me how I know this)  

I would try dialing your system in a little better (enlarging slots, adding more slots, using rice hulls) before spending any time or money on shiny things that say Blichmann on them  

I have had the same setup for about 5 years now and I consistently get about 72-75% total brewhouse efficiency. I do not think I can get any better unless I fly sparge (I batch sparge right now) which would require a taller basement (so I can gravity feed) or another pump, or unless I go with an electric HERMS and automate it.

[dirtdart]

I am with you on the shiny stuff, my crap is home made and proud....  I will try enlarging my slots and seeing how that pans out. 

The other thing I need to get hot on is exploring beersmith a bit more. 

Since I am limiting the size of my "brewhouse", I use my HERMs coil as my wort chiller as well it works ok, even better when I drop ice into my mash tun and use it as a well for my chiller.  Getting a freezer full of ice ready for the project is not too bad.  It also chills the wort down about 5 minutes faster. 

I will post some recent pics this weekend.  <S> 

That reminds me, you want to make/sell me a mill?  I had to use a blender last time, some dude brought me a ton of unmilled grain....

[VonMessa]

I am with you on the shiny stuff, my crap is home made and proud....  I will try enlarging my slots and seeing how that pans out.  

The other thing I need to get hot on is exploring beersmith a bit more.  

Since I am limiting the size of my "brewhouse", I use my HERMs coil as my wort chiller as well it works ok, even better when I drop ice into my mash tun and use it as a well for my chiller.  Getting a freezer full of ice ready for the project is not too bad.  It also chills the wort down about 5 minutes faster.  

I will post some recent pics this weekend.  <S>  

That reminds me, you want to make/sell me a mill?  I had to use a blender last time, some dude brought me a ton of unmilled grain....

I wish someone would bring me a ton of grain...  I use 50 lbs every time I brew.

The blender might be a contributing factor, you could be chopping the husks too much.  A case where rice hulls would save the day  

I'll see if I have time, I've got a ton of crap going on.  Getting ready for http://www.punkinchunkin.com/   

[dirtdart]

New Manifold.  50% Larger with slits 1/16 wider.  



Black smudges are whats left of the barcode tags.... the sand off with some wed/dry.

Next on deck is version 3.0 of scotch ale.  I have jacked the peated barley to 1 Lb and the Oak chips to two oz..... lets see what happens  

[dirtdart]

On a side note, my two device system is working well.  I will post some pics next time I brew for other space challenged folks. 

[zack1234]

Sinners!

[Penguin]

(Image removed from quote.)

New Manifold.  50% Larger with slits 1/16 wider.  

(Image removed from quote.)

Black smudges are whats left of the barcode tags.... the sand off with some wed/dry.

Next on deck is version 3.0 of scotch ale.  I have jacked the peated barley to 1 Lb and the Oak chips to two oz..... lets see what happens  

You know there's plenty of beer down at the cornerstore, right?  Just get it from there

Nah, I'm just messing with you.  However, it seems strange that you changed 3 variables at once (slit width, peated barley, oak chips) in what is a it's root a chemistry experiment.  Why not one at a time in tiny batches?

-Penguin

[Nefarious]

My newest creation... Well, it's been bottle conditioning since Memorial Day. I tried one the other morning (Before you ask, I am currently working night shifts.) This is shaping up to be a great beer. I plan on celebrating with it at Christmas!

[dirtdart]

Nice Nef... One day soon I will get to where I can control my fermentation temperatures.  I just bottled a wicked IPA some guy dropped off.  The dry hopping was 6 oz. I lost a lot more than I expected to the the trub and skim from the dry hopping.  5.5 into primary yielded 5 into secondary, but then only 4 into the bottling bucket... with no filter, lots of loss.  My six year old daughter and future head brewmaster ran the racking cane. 

What software are you using to make your labels?

[dirtdart]

You know there's plenty of beer down at the cornerstore, right?  Just get it from there

Nah, I'm just messing with you.  However, it seems strange that you changed 3 variables at once (slit width, peated barley, oak chips) in what is a it's root a chemistry experiment.  Why not one at a time in tiny batches?

-Penguin

Well, the slits were made larger because my pump is magnetic and does not have the draw necessary to move the thickness of the fluid I needed moved, so it is a minor thing, will have nothing to do with the final product. 

As far as the peating and chips, the amount sounds like a lot, but it is really not that much.  The last time I used the peated barley, I could not taste it whatsoever, so I doubled it, while playing with the other grain levels to keep it in parameters (thankfully some DUDE hooked me up with som stuff that helps me do the math stuff)..... 

[Nefarious]

What software are you using to make your labels?

Photoshop.