Brew stand opinions

[czubak]

Here is the initial test fire. 1/2" main line and 1/4"ID high pressure flex lines running low pressure and a massive low pressure fisher r232 regulator. Seems to put out a great controllable flame. Will see what a 7 gallon boil time is maybe tonight, I need to run some cleaner through the system before I brew anyway.

http://youtu.be/zyKTe51GVBg

[czubak]

Brewed a Hop Slam IPA Saturday and an Amber Ale Sunday. Everything worked really well, I am very pleased. I need to tweak my beer smith equipment, my FG were a about 5-7 points low and I didn't want to boil more off and end up with less than 5 gallons.

Changes to the system. Lower the rear fuel rail as it's to close to the burners for my comfort and future furnace valves for automation. Next may be running a natural line to the garage. I suspect I used a little over a half a tank of propane which isn't bad, but I would like an unlimited supply. As much as I would like to brew on my patio or other places, I doubt I do. Wind really does a number on the flame I noticed.

[czubak]

Also, to keep my mash temp at 152 as cold as it was this past weekend I wrapped the MT in a blanket and used the burner on ultra low and slowly recirculated it throughout the 60 minute mash.

Is this a good, bad or negligible method? And how could I (or should I) account for this in Beer Smith?

[Matt F]

I wrap my mashtun with the silver bubble wrap stuff they sell for water heaters. Works well. I don't direct heat but have seen others that do. You just don't run it all the way to the bottom of the keg handles.

I run my mash through a copper immersion chiller in my HLT for a HERMS setup. I turn on the pump at the start of the mash and let it run the entire time. The infamous Tasty McDole does the same thing. To adjust mash temp I just adjust the temp in my HLT. Holds the mash temp spot on the entire time. Control of the mash temp is the thing I like most about my system. It does not make things any faster by helps a lot with consistency.

[czubak]

I wrap my mashtun with the silver bubble wrap stuff they sell for water heaters. Works well. I don't direct heat but have seen others that do. You just don't run it all the way to the bottom of the keg handles.

I run my mash through a copper immersion chiller in my HLT for a HERMS setup. I turn on the pump at the start of the mash and let it run the entire time. The infamous Tasty McDole does the same thing. To adjust mash temp I just adjust the temp in my HLT. Holds the mash temp spot on the entire time. Control of the mash temp is the thing I like most about my system. It does not make things any faster by helps a lot with consistency.

Thanks Matt

I will probably do the wrap material to keep from having to mess with the burner as much. Glad it doesn't hurt to recirculate it. I was surprised how easy manual temp control was, had a couple stuck sparges. Nothing some opening of the pump valve didn't clear up.

[Matt F]

If you are looking for ways to keep efficiency high, I find a slow sparge helps me. I usually run around 30 minutes for 5 gallons and up to an hour for 10. Probably a little long but works for me.

[czubak]

If you are looking for ways to keep efficiency high, I find a slow sparge helps me. I usually run around 30 minutes for 5 gallons and up to an hour for 10. Probably a little long but works for me.

Yeah I ran it really slow. Still working out my efficiency #'s.

I think my first 10 gallon will be a simple SMaSH since I have 50# of 2-row and 2# of hops at home

[DrPaulsen]

Several of us run continuously recirculating mashes (RIMS or HERMS), with good success. The only effect I can see is maybe slightly quicker conversion times, slightly darker wort from oxidation, and ridiculously easy control of the mash temp.

[DrPaulsen]

For what is worth, I fly sparge fast with food results. I typically get ~90% sparge efficiency with 10-15 min sparges for 6-11 gal batches. I've sparges much slower but didn't see any quantitative or qualitative differences in the wort. A brewing textbook (maybe the one by Michael Lewis) indicates that sparge speed is a function of how quickly the remaining sugars will go into solution. From my experience, I'd say that happens really quickly.

[Matt F]

I am going to speed up the sparge on my next batch and see how it goes. If I can hit what I am shooting for I will take the time savings. Thanks Lee.

[czubak]

I dialed my equipment in on Beer Smith last night so I hope to be hitting my numbers with my next batch.

[czubak]

Added 2 of these to my brewstand to control the pumps without having to plug/unplug. It was easier and cheaper than building and mounting a box to the stand also. Yes I need to paint my stand I need to relocate the rear support that holds the gas lines to give me more room for future furnace valve automation.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DF ... UTF8&psc=1

[Matt F]

I have a two prong remote outlet like that one I picked up at Menards for around $5 after Christmas was over. I suppose many people use them for Christmas lights. I use it to run my pump during brew sessions. I also use it to run my keg/carboy washer. Basically it is great for anything that just needs a switch. Plus remotes are cool.

[czubak]

Did my first 10 gallon batch this past weekend. System is 100% dialed in now and worked great. Hit my numbers perfectly.

Next step is fitting a furnace valve on the MT and automating it. Once that is done, tear it all down for some high temp paint. Unsure which will come first.