First Brew in the New Rig- A Few Questions

[Econwatson]

Hi All,

I have recently completed my new rig and today was the first brew on it. It is an internal RIMS system.

I've got a few questions about how the first brew went:

1. First, my malt pipe was almost overflowing because of the size of the grain bill. It was an IPA with 6 kilos of grain so I am assuming that normally I won't be using so much grain. However, it caused my mash to be very dense, and I'm not sure how this will have affected the mash? I was expecting an OG of 1.061 but only got 1.053 which is quite disappointing.

2. I also noticed another phenomenon. During mash-out The outside wort temperature was much hotter than the internal, so much so that the external temperature was about 85 and the malt pipe temperature was reading only about 70 or so. Is this a problem that has resulted because of the density of the mash? Should I perhaps increase the flow rate of my pump or cut more holes in my malt pipe? Or should I just wait until the mash reaches 79 regardless of external temperature?

I will probably think of some more questions but this will hopefully give me something to work on for a start.

Many thanks for your help in advance!

 

[pittsy]

Hi liquor to grain ratio is important , i would say yes to why you had lower efficiency . How did you sparge ? Using a Rims (i have herms) i would of thought you would want it a little watery to help with heat transfer . What ratio did you do ? at least 2.5 to 1 but i think i'd want 3 to 1 . Be careful reaching 79c , 76c is enough . 80c upwards increases the risk of tannins from the mash .
How are you controlling the temp , manual or automated .

 

[Econwatson]

Hey mate, thanks for the response.

I have never actually sparged before, is this a bit of a given when using a RIMS system or a malt pipe?

Going for manual control with the RIMS at the moment, I was still within the 60cs during my mash and applied no heat during it. I want to get a mash controller but can't really be bothered building one.

I can't offer any insight on the liquor to grist ratio I am afraid. Is there an equation for calculating this?

 

[pittsy]

How much grain was there , and how much water did you use in the mash tun . Did you then drain it and then refill it with fresh water and after a short rest then drain again ? Or just emptied liquor and throw grains away ?