Hot Liquor

[m_rawdin]

When heating the Liquor to the right temperature is it best to heat all that you are going to need for the whole batch or just heat what you need for the mash then heat what you need for the sparge afterwards?

 

[geetee]

Depends on the size of your HLT and how much you want to heat.

For my 40 litre batches I start of mashing with about 25 litres and my HLT is only a 33 litre boiler so I heat approx 30 litres. Once the mash is under way I then refill with water from the Combi boiler and heat a further 25 - 30 litres for the sparge to approx 78°C.I know this only takes 20 -25 minutes so I don't start heating until half way through the mash

I find that the combi boiler saves loads of time and if you do try to heat 50 60 litres all in one go from cold it takes much longer. (Some of the microbreweries can take 12 - 16 hours to heat 1200 -1500 litres from cold, a timer is essential!)

Don't forget to stir the HLT if you can as the water tends to be hotter near the elements so before you check the temp stir first.

 

[keat64]

Probably best to heat more than you require.
I did my first ag last week and messed up with the mash temp.
I only heated what I needed so subsequently ran out and had to boil a kettle in haste.

 

[m_rawdin]

I have a 100 litre HLT so I can heat all I need in one go which is the way I was thinking of doing it. I have a combi boiler too so that will cut down on the amount of time I need to heat the HLT.

 

[ManseMasher]

I tend to do all mine in one go, not least because of the water treatment side of things. I prefer to treat one lot rather than bothering to work out how much is needed for 30l, then 24l, and so on.

 

[RichardM]

Probably best to heat more than you require.
I did my first ag last week and messed up with the mash temp.
I only heated what I needed so subsequently ran out and had to boil a kettle in haste.

It looks to me as if you heated less than you needed