Strike heat, the beginning.

[Sozzled Sab]

Hi everyone
My first question on the forum is suitably the start of the brewing process.
I seem to have difficulty achieving the start of mash temperature after adding the grain. I always preheat my mash tun and make sure the grain is at room temperature but have found I have to have the mash liqour at 80'c to achieve correct start of mash temperature.
So my question is will this high strike heat affect the grain? I don't make strong beer so the grain bill is not large.
Look forward to your advice.
I

 

[Stevieboy]

That's what I do - heat to 80, transfer to mash bin and stir in grain. Mash temp ends up around 65 to 70 - good enuff. Insulate bin and smoke **** for an hour....

 

[Sozzled Sab]

Thanks, that's exactly what I do.

 

[crowcrow]

Same here. For 20 litre into the fv, I start with 23 litre in my Klarstein mash Tun/boiler - with temp set to 73c. Stirring in around 4kg of grain brings mine for to 67c.

so if you start with a smaller volume of water or a larger amount of grain, you'll need a higher temp to start with.

 

[The Baron]

I would do the same for BIAB but have never found a big drop in temp with my all in one system so just set to the mash temp required

 

[Rodcx500z]

I set the brewzilla at 70c mash in then set to 68c for a 65-66c mash and bob is is your aunty fanny

 

[Clint]

Yeah..water at around 80c gives a mash temp in the ballpark. I don't smoke **** for a hour.

 

[micklupulo]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but this bang on topic for me at present. I use a very old Electrim bin and have had difficulty maintaining a steady mash temp partly because the thermostat is not great. I am about to do a brew with 4.2 kg of grain and mash in 16 litres in a utility room where the ambient temp is likely to be about 10°C. I was thinking that this time I would try a higher strike temp then turn off the power and leave. Obviously I would bring the grain inside the previous night to get up to say 15°C and wrap the boiler in insulating material. I have found a strike water calculator and few this data in which produces 72° as the answer. I do not doubt others' experience but am puzzled by the difference of 8° suggested. Would appreciate advice!

 

[micklupulo]

FED this data in! Predictive text again!

 

[Clint]

I think unless you can bring it to mash temp and hold it with a reliable heater you may have to chance it . See what happens at 72c...at the worst case you'll need a kettle or so of boiling water to bring it back up. I've done this loads of times and it doesn't harm it.

 

[Sozzled Sab]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but this bang on topic for me at present. I use a very old Electrim bin and have had difficulty maintaining a steady mash temp partly because the thermostat is not great. I am about to do a brew with 4.2 kg of grain and mash in 16 litres in a utility room where the ambient temp is likely to be about 10°C. I was thinking that this time I would try a higher strike temp then turn off the power and leave. Obviously I would bring the grain inside the previous night to get up to say 15°C and wrap the boiler in insulating material. I have found a strike water calculator and few this data in which produces 72° as the answer. I do not doubt others' experience but am puzzled by the difference of 8° suggested. Would appreciate advice!

Since posting this thread I have experimented with my last two brews and now weigh out the grain the night before and put it on a shelf above the hot water tank. I then mash in at 74'c and get pretty close to 66'c with only small adjustments needed. I use a picnic box mash tun and this works for me.

 

[Clint]

I would add that when using a picnic box type tun and no heat regulation even with lots of stiring you can still find temp variations in the mash. As long as I'm a degree or so to where I want I'm not bothered as the equipment I use can't achieve such accuracy without adding heater, thermostat and maybe recirculation pump. I'm not interested in doing that at the moment so it is what it is...

 

[micklupulo]

Thanks guys for prompt help. Topping up with hot water from a kettle seems far preferable to trying to regulate via the element. I had not thought of the airing cupboard either to warm the grain which would hardly degrade overnight so might give that a go too. I do not intend to upgrade the equipment so these tips to get the most out of what I have are most welcome.

 

[SilverShadow]

I usually heat my kettle pot (on stove) to around 72'c, then add my grain as BIAB

I've usually found the temps drop around 4-6'c After grain addition, so I gently heat it back up to around 70'c. Then one final stir, put the lid on and insulate with towels. After 70 mins it's somewhere around 64'c, so I'm relatively happy with it

I'm still a relative 'broob' (ie, brew noob), so all bets are off as regards better ways to do this!