Brew day questions

cnelsonplumber · Mar 9, 2014

I had a bit of a brew day today and I must admit I was a bit rusty.

Anyway, following a number of years of producing some mediocre beers, I have decide to knuckle down and do better.

The first question I have is:

1. I did an iodine test for the first time ever today and the starches were all converted after 25 mins can this be right? I let the mash run for an hour just to be sure.

I am a bit of a die hard fly sparger (after spending what seems like my entire life making something that will spin fairly consistently at 0.75 ltrs min) and then breaking it :doh:

I decided to have a go at Batch sparging, which I made a 'pigs ear, of. Never mind, PH was good so if the lights were dim in the West Midlands this afternoon, it was because of the extended length of my boil to get the gravity back up. It is quite possible that this mild is now nearly a bitter :rofl:

2. Next question is how long does every one rinse for when batch sparging - I went for a 15 min first rinse and 5 minute second rinse. The jury seems to be out on this, but I did think my efficiency was down on what I get from Fly sparging by some way.

nobyipa · Mar 9, 2014

i test after an hour so cannot answer that one
but like me stick with fly

using a drilled out washing up bowl that does not break [but doesn't have the fanciness off a rotating sparge arm
but is always under control with the taps etc

:drink:

pittsy · Mar 9, 2014

Hi Chris , 20 odd mins seems very fast . I've read around 45 mins in an ideal mash temp ,grain,liquor ratio etc but that seems too quick . Did you have any grain etc in the mash ph test sample i've read sometimes this can give false readings or something ( not sure ) .
I batch sparge , i would advise giving the mash a mix around 10 mins before draining ( you should leave it to stand for 10 mins if stirred before emtying) and each refill wants a nice stir and around 10 mins rest then repeat . Doing this will increase your efficiency , i get around 78/80% efficiency but i also step mash which also increases efficiency too . Hope it tastes good . Mark.

cnelsonplumber · Mar 9, 2014

Thanks for the reply Mark, I thought I was a little fast!

The test sample was bright as a button (no bits) as I use a HERMS and I can get a clear circ. from stirring in about 5 mins.

I will take your advice and stir a little more next time as the mash efficiency I achieved (74%) mucked the numbers up a bit. :?

beermaker · Mar 9, 2014

I'm a fly sparger too - nothing too fancy though, have a full bore 15mm lever valve with a pipe that sticks out over the mash tun and goes into a 90Âº elbow and a 15mm - 22mm reducer to raise the size to 22mm. On the end of that, I have a watering can sprinkler rose. And that's all folks! Works a treat!

That said, I couldn't find the stupid rose today so floated a plastic plate on top of the mash and ran onto that and worked just as well.