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Slid

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This is actually about trying to do step mashes in a Grainfather.
Sunday I fancied using the MJ20 Bavarian Wheat for the first of a small number of beers with this yeast, Also on the list are a Roggenbier and a Dunkelweisen but first off was a Weissbier. Dead simple recipe:

Pale Malt 3kg
Wheat Malt 2.5kg
Flaked Oats 200g

Huell Melon 30g at First Wort.

Fancy bit was dough in at 37C, then up to 42C for 10 mins and some other stuff.
Made no odds what the rest of it was because stepping the temp up to 42C made a great load of gunk stick and burn on the bottom of the GF. Fortunately my unit cut out fairly pronto. It routinely cuts out at ~ 82C post sparge, on the basis of a tiny amount of gunk. Or just because it can?

So, frantic messing around, pumping wort out and into one FV, putting the Grain Basket into another, cleaning the GF, scrubbing for about 10-15 mins with a green scouring thingy, whilst straining as much wort through sieves etc. Then re-float the mash by pouring the wort down the centre pipe via a funnel. Managed to get it up to mashing temps at least and then carry on as per usual.

69% BH efficiency (ugh) but at least have almost 24L of beer fermenting in the FV.

Guess what? Same thing happened last time I tried anything fancier than than single infusion mash at 65C on the damn unit (the one that cuts out every time someone so much as makes toast in the same kitchen). And it was a wheat beer, with a "protein rest" at 55C.

I was out and about today, picking up groceries, and as my raspberry wheat beer experiment went well, bought another 3.1kg of frozen raspberries. That should learn it:rolleyes:

Maybe it could "learn" me not to try anything fancy with a dodgy GF, albeit Sunday was #121 with the damn unit.
 
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Sounds like a right load of arsing about...
I got a Weissbier on with that yeast now...I had a day trying to keep the lid in the fv and constantly mopping up..
That is interesting. The yeast marks on the FV are 3L higher than the wort line. I pitched quite high at ~26C I think and it was 22-23C on the thermometer I keep on top of the fermenting FV.
 
I picked the yeast for summery brewing because of its high temps tolerances. It is 20C plus upstairs all the time here. Bolton Lancashire, not Lanzarote.
 
Sounds like a right load of arsing about...
I got a Weissbier on with that yeast now...I had a day trying to keep the lid in the fv and constantly mopping up..
Excellent improvisation by weighing down the lid Clint! That tickled me! 😂
 
Added 2.45kg of frozen raspberries in 3 paint straining bags on Thursday morning. The raspberries were left overnight to defrost a bit. Some airlock activity by the evening. This should bring the amount of the final bottling volume up a bit, too.
 
My GF has never cut out, is it the fruit additions that are causing it? Surely the melon and raspberries would be better as a late addition to the boil? Why does mashing in at a low temperature cause stuff to stick to the bottom?
 
My GF has never cut out, is it the fruit additions that are causing it? Surely the melon and raspberries would be better as a late addition to the boil? Why does mashing in at a low temperature cause stuff to stick to the bottom?

I think the grain dust must wash out and stick to the boil plate with lower mash temperatures. Don't know if anyone else has had similar issues with an all-in-one recirculation mash system.

The fruit additions are a bit of a red herring as I added the raspberries several days into the ferment!
 

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