Grain Hopper? Making Mashing In Easier?

[Wez]

I need to find a way to make doughing in easier, i'm using around 13 or 14kg grain per brew and the way the brewery is set up with the tun directly underneath the HLT on a shelf makes it a right PITA - i'm thinking of some sort of grain hopper using domestic guttering and maybe even running the mash liquor down this to mix everything together on the way into the tun.

What are your thoughts? Anyone have the same problem and have a good solution?

 

[Aleman]

A lot of commercial breweries use exactly the same method, and it works for them. The only Issue I would see would be the temp loss as it runs down the 3-4 feet of guttering to plop into the tun.

A much simpler option is to under let the mash. Simply put the dry grist into the mash tun and then pump/drain the Mash liquor into the outlet of the mash tun. A few stirs with the brewery paddle once all the liquor is run in sorts it out with temperature distribution. And you have seen how I deal with that sort of grist weight in my brew day vid . . . . stop being a wuss and just get on with it :lol:

 

[Wez]

Cheers A, re underletting - any difference in temp loss to tun/grain V's douging in?

 

[Screwy]

Cheers A, re underletting - any difference in temp loss to tun/grain V's douging in?

On my system - Stainless MLT. Had underlet from the start until I wanted to fine tune my beers for competitions and found achieving desired attenuation to be a problem. Required strike temp was higher than necessary due to tun losses. Enzymic activity begins quite quickly with some highly modified malts and some conversion was occuring while the temperature in the mash was equalising. Lowering mash temp reduced body, but fermentation still didn't reach the level of attenuation according to yeast company specs for each particular strain. The answer was in underletting to an empty tun and allowing 5 min for equalibrium then dropping the grist into the tun to dough in. Dry beers suit my personal preference but for comps I want to be able to dial in FG, taking into account grist bill, mash temp and yeast strain. Further control was gained by doughing in at a lower temperature then raising the temperature of the mash to the required sacc temp, thus never having malt in contact with liquor higher in temperature than the desired mash temperature. Now I mash in to achieve a pseudo protien rest at 52°C for 10 min before stepping up to sacc temp.

Screwy

 

[EskiBrew]

i'm thinking of some sort of grain hopper using domestic guttering and maybe even running the mash liquor down this to mix everything together on the way into the tun.

That's the way my local micro does it - you have to get the water flow rate right though otherwise you end up with too much water in the MT before you have all the grain in.

I've yet to try underletting - will do when I get my HERMS setup

 

[Frisp]

Cheers A, re underletting - any difference in temp loss to tun/grain V's douging in?

On my system - Stainless MLT. Had underlet from the start until I wanted to fine tune my beers for competitions and found achieving desired attenuation to be a problem. Required strike temp was higher than necessary due to tun losses. Enzymic activity begins quite quickly with some highly modified malts and some conversion was occuring while the temperature in the mash was equalising. Lowering mash temp reduced body, but fermentation still didn't reach the level of attenuation according to yeast company specs for each particular strain. The answer was in underletting to an empty tun and allowing 5 min for equalibrium then dropping the grist into the tun to dough in. Dry beers suit my personal preference but for comps I want to be able to dial in FG, taking into account grist bill, mash temp and yeast strain. Further control was gained by doughing in at a lower temperature then raising the temperature of the mash to the required sacc temp, thus never having malt in contact with liquor higher in temperature than the desired mash temperature. Now I mash in to achieve a pseudo protien rest at 52°C for 10 min before stepping up to sacc temp.

Screwy

So in summary pre heat your MT and dump the grain in and continue underletting to complete doughing in?