Overnight mash on a grainfather?

[MashBag]

Is anyone doing this?

 

[Agentgonzo]

Is anyone doing this?

No. Just you. You weirdo

 

[MashBag]

No strickly true, but very very funny.

 

[fluketamer]

why would it be different than overnight mash in any vessel?

 

[pilgrimhudd]

I often do it in my Klarstein.

 

[MashBag]

why would it be different than overnight mash in any vessel?

Cos I cannee see how you can do it with the GF controller?

 

[The Baron]

I get it you are using a GF controller as mentioned in previous threads

 

[MashBag]

.. And it doesn't do overnighters it seems. Shame, not a bad controller.

 

[The Baron]

I always thought it did from info I had read on previous posts

 

[MashBag]

I think something might be getting lost in translation.

"Overnight mash" might mean different things to different people. I am going to try this definition...

"Mash completes normally, overnight, ready for boil with your first coffee of the day"

So I think the options are..

A) Cold holding.
Run the program and the first few steps cold hold @20c for 6/7 hours, then run the mash steps, the temp raises (obvs) to be ready for boil the following morning. Mash completes ready for boil with your first coffee.
Pass.

B) Hot holding.
Mash at say 67-68 and then just hold that for hours overnight.
Fail.

C) Delayed start.
Have yor strike water ready to go. This is GF "delayed start" which doesn't really count to my mind.
Fail. No mashing is entered into

D) The bodge.
If the controller is clever enough to continue after power failure (many are not) its possible to start the program and then interup it with a mains timer....which turns out back on later and the controller resumes. Mash completes ready for boil with your first coffee.
Pass.


Have I missed any options?

 

[Agentgonzo]

A) Cold holding.
Run the program and the first few steps cold hold @20c for 6/7 hours, then run the mash steps, the temp raises (obvs) to be ready for boil the following morning. Mash completes ready for boil with your first coffee.
Pass.

I think this is probably your best option. The GF will automatically run the pump during the 20c step though. You don't need it to run the pump, but it won't really do much hard running it.

You may want to crush coarser/use-rice-hulls/do-something-else though, just to make sure you don't have a stuck mash. The recirculation is important to raise the temperature of the whole grain bed, not just the bit at the bottom by the heater. If the mash is free-flowing enough then the recirculation will do this for you. If it's not and you get a stuck mash, or pockets where the mash liquor doesn't flow through that part of the grain, it won't heat up enough.

I normally give it a decent stir in the first 5-10 mins and that makes the flow through the grain bed good enough. Obviously this isn't an option for you if this is pre-coffee. You may need to do some experimentation, but a decent stir on the cold side after maybe 30 mins or so (just before you go to bed) may work. I'm not sure what causes the stuckness of a stuck mash, but it might be the grain swelling as it absorbs water (or it might not be, it might be starch etc which is different at different temperatures) so cold stirring after the grain has absorbed the water may help, or may not. You may need to try it out and let us know!

I normally set the delayed start so that it's ready to mash in when I get up in the morning. If your proceedure works, I may be able to have it do it overnight and be able to make beer in my sleep! Nice idea!!

 

[peebee]

I've had this conversation recently, it was with ... hang-on, I'll find it in a minute ... Ah! It was with ... err? You?

Anyway. Don't use it with me phone (the BT connection used to be lousy). Don't use it with the Internet (ever since they mucked up the software ages ago). All been fixed for eons but got out of habit of using it in any other way but "stand-alone" (works fine). Have one of those Grainfather GCAST Bluetooth bridge devices ... works fine too so can control it from GF web site (if I can remember how to do it). That's WiFi.

Don't trust this overnight mashing malarky. Brew in the evening: Mash for hour or two like normal. Lift basket, heat kaboosh up to 75/80C, switch off, and heat to boil next day then stick in no-chill cubes and try not to forget to ferment it for too many months. Actually, I never forget to ferment the output, but frequently forget to have something ready to start brewing in the first place. Fortunately, I've a good emergency stock of Sam Smith's.

 

[The Baron]

Similar to what i do PeeBee in fact I have just mashed and heated to 85c then covered and will boil in the morning.
I also used to mash late evening then cover with duvets blankets etc and then boil early morning the only thing is you do get a really good Eff so need to take the grainbill into consideration when doing this

 

[MashBag]

I regularly make beer in my sleep. It's not a nice idea - it's superb.

But I don't think we have a way forward with a GF controller.
A) cold holding. Lowest temp is 30c. That temp needs research & testing - I wonder want effect it will have on the grain.

B) hot holding, isn't running the same mash program and is probably a lot of leccy.
C) isn't.

D) nobody seems to know, so again a test.

Tbh I don't have a good feeling about the GF overnighters.

 

[Agentgonzo]

B) hot holding, isn't running the same mash program and is probably a lot of leccy

I have an insulated jacket on my grainfather. When holding the mash temp in the mid 60s, it uses 4% power. That's on I think a 2kW element. So simple sums.
4% x 2kW x 10 = 0.8kWh which is about 25p? So not as bad as you think. Chuck a blanket over it and you'll probably get it down to any 15p.

 

[Agentgonzo]

D) nobody seems to know, so again a test

I've definitely had the controller restart after a power loss... But I can't remember whether I had to click "yes" on my phone to get it to restart, which will obviously interrupt your beauty sleep/coffee.

It'll be simple enough to test out though

 

[MashBag]

Can't be interupting the beauty sleep

 

[The Baron]

I regularly make beer in my sleep. It's not a nice idea - it's superb.

But I don't think we have a way forward with a GF controller.
A) cold holding. Lowest temp is 30c. That temp needs research & testing - I wonder want effect it will have on the grain.

B) hot holding, isn't running the same mash program and is probably a lot of leccy.
C) isn't.

D) nobody seems to know, so again a test.

Tbh I don't have a good feeling about the GF overnighters.

have done a couple of brews where I have set the system to mash through the night by setting to its max of 3 hours x 3 times so it mashed for 9 hours. Not sure of the Leccy though

 

[MashBag]

I would venture you & I both have a braumeister. I recognise that method. Works like a charm.

I have been sleeping through brewday for years.

 

[MashBag]

This was a call to the GFers.

I am making a brau-father 20/20.
A grainfather controller on a braumeister kettle. The best of both worlds. Best connected controller with the best kettle.

Still waiting for a couple of parts, before testing starts and trying to get ahead of the game.