Brew F*ck Up...

[Sammus]

Every time I brew I seem to screw something up...this time, many things.

First time fly sparging (except last time, but that was an exceptionally bad effort so I choose not to count it). Cant get the flow rates right. Either ones closed or theyre too fast or something. I end up sparging my 19L in about an hour, but half that time one of the ball valves was closed so it was really a pretty dodgy effort.

Tonight I set up a new chiller which didnt want to work. So while the worts cooling down itself I'm sitting there cleaning, sanitising and setting up my old chiller. Then after about a minute of running the pump wondering why the f*ck nothing is coming out the end I realise the kettle valve is closed and my new chiller probably wouldve ended up working fine. Now its all set and I walk away for 10 minutes, come back and the hose poped its head of the fermenter and left 6L of cooled robust porter over my laundry floor. On top of that I was unco at getting the flow rates right (again) and it ended up in the fermenter at 27C.

On the plus side it's my highest efficiency yet... 76%, but I only have 22L oh well... I'm sure ill get good at it one day

S

 

[Kai]

One trick I found useful with adjusting flow rates when fly sparging, prop a dipstick up inside your tun (I put a stick thermometer in the corner of my esky). You can keep an eye on the gradations to easily see if the tide is going in or out.

 

[Screwtop]

One trick I found useful with adjusting flow rates when fly sparging, prop a dipstick up inside your tun (I put a stick thermometer in the corner of my esky). You can keep an eye on the gradations to easily see if the tide is going in or out.

I do a similar thing, I adjust the outlet valve on the HLT for .5L per min, then adjust the outlet valve on the MLT at the same rate. Check after 15 min, if the level is up in the tun then crack open the MLT valve a bit more. Compaction of the grain bed usually slows the rate of flow anyway so the outlet from the MLT needs to be opened a tad more about every 15 min.

90 Min is fine for a fly sparge and don't worry too much about the extra water, as long as the sparge water is running slowly through the grain with minimal disturbance all is OK. If your seeing an increase in efficiency then there is no need to be concerned.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

Fly sparging and chillin sound like a lot of work

And possible areas for stuff up

Batch and no chilling here

Cheers

 

[Sammus]

yeah I normally batch sparge.. Ill probably go back to it too. I use a HERMS to maintain my mash temp (mash tun is insulated with thick aeroflex but still manages to lose about 8C over an hour - even after I added a few layers of camping mat to it) so I figured since the grainbed is nice and set I'd try and fly sparge to keep it that way.

And as far as no chilling goes... well lets just say I'm paranoid when it comes to botulism. I don't care what everyone elses experiences are! no more talk of no chill

 

[Steve]

yeah I normally batch sparge.. Ill probably go back to it too. I use a HERMS to maintain my mash temp (mash tun is insulated with thick aeroflex but still manages to lose about 8C over an hour - even after I added a few layers of camping mat to it) so I figured since the grainbed is nice and set I'd try and fly sparge to keep it that way.

And as far as no chilling goes... well lets just say I'm paranoid when it comes to botulism. I don't care what everyone elses experiences are! no more talk of no chill

8 degrees over an hour :blink: holy crap thats terrible. I'd be looking for a new mashtun.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Sammus]

yeah it is new... its a converted keg and has about an inch thick layer of aeroflex over it plus the base plus the lid, then about another inch of camping mat over the collar (I noticed it was getting quite hot - that improved the temp stability a bit). My herms cost me next to nothing and using it the temp is stable to within about .5C for as long as I want it to be... so Ill just stick with that.

 

[Kai]

Fly sparging and chillin sound like a lot of work

And possible areas for stuff up

Batch and no chilling here

Cheers

Ever tried it? It can be as complicated or as easy as you like. I just run a hose from my HLT to the top of my mash tun, open up both taps part way and keep a couple inches of hot liquor on top of the grain bed. Easier than batch sparging in my experience.

 

[Sammus]

Ever tried it? It can be as complicated or as easy as you like. I just run a hose from my HLT to the top of my mash tun, open up both taps part way and keep a couple inches of hot liquor on top of the grain bed. Easier than batch sparging in my experience.

I did that the first time I tried it and ended up getting through my sparge water in about 20mins and got my worse efficiency ever. So this time I was messing around checking flow rates and making sure everything is fine and dandy, but it really just introduced more complications... I think ill organise the plumbing on my brewery a bit better and get the hang of doing everything else without thinking, then Ill start flying.

 

[Kai]

Interesting, I was impatient with my fly sparges too and would rip through them in 15-20 minutes. I'd still end up with the same efficiency as when I batched though, around 70%.

 

[Tony]

I like batch sparging.

If you have a HERMS, you must have a pump. It only takes 10 minuites to set the bed once you have re-filled the tun and given it a good stir to wash out all the sugars.

Then just pump it to the kettle as fast as it will come out.

No need to wait 90 min.... bugger that.

My sparge takes 10 min to re-circ to clear and 10 to the kettle.

And i have been getting between 78 and 83% efficiency consistently.

I use the same as you, a converted keg but mu insulation doesnt sound as good. I just use some 1nch thick camping foam type stuff wrapped up in silver duct tape.

I only get 2 or 3 deg drop over an hour in winter without the HERMS running and it holds steady with it circulating.

Have you got it outside, or in a breeze. I didnt loose 8 deg when i used it un-insulated. ??? It shouldnt be that bad.

cheers

 

[Sammus]

Nah its indoors... I'll have to test it again, it must've just been a temp inconsistency in the mash.

 

[SJW]

Fly sparging and chillin sound like a lot of work

And possible areas for stuff up

Batch and no chilling here

Cheers

I'm with u Cortez

 

[yardy]

I'm with u Cortez

same here, i'm getting 80% to 86% efficiency.

Yard

 

[Tony]

fly sparging always gave me inconstant results and numbers due to channeling ect.

at least with the batch sparge, you already have all the sugars washed out and you dont have to worry about water in grain at the end faling to low in gravity and extracting tannins due to higher pH

I typicly get 1.075 to 1.080 initial runnings and around 1.030 from the batch sparge

cheers

 

[johnnymax]

Well, I always fly sparge now. I tried batch sparging a couple of times, but the efficiency SUCKED! :angry:
When I brew a session beer (4.5 to 5.5 %) I average over 90% brewhouse efficiency. Now the bigger the beer the thicker the grain bed and my efficiency goes down (but always above 85%). A couple of things I do to get better efficiency is:

1) I sparge real slow. When I brew I brew all day. I sparge for about 2 1/2 hours, but I brew abut 38 at a time. The slow sparge keeps it from channeling and washes through the grain more evenly and I have a false bottom that covers the entire bottom of the grain bed.

2) I always mashout by heating the mash up to 77c and the water going in the top is 82c
The higher temp lowers the viscosity and you can get more of the sugar out of the grain and the hotter water going in cools as it slowly goes through the grain bed down to the desired 77c

3) I crack my grain a little finer and I usually add a hand full of rice hulls to prevent sticking.

Now I have never has a stuck mash...... well, unless you count the time I forgot to put in the false bottom.

You have to be careful of leaching out tannins, but I have never had that problem.....