Cocked Up A Bit, Need Some Advice

[brad81]

Hey all,

I'm putting together a Fat Yak (cascade only, KK didn't have any nelson sauvin) and I've set up a recirc as you can see in the pic.

Problem I've encountered is that whilst jiggling the copper ring to sit underneath the grain (I have the holes pointing up) the bag slid into the yet to be wort and I have a bit of grain floating around outside of the bag. Now I'm not sure if I need to rectify this as I think the grain would be pulverised by the 90m boil. I'm sure a few of you have encountered this at some stage and I am looking for some advice/tips/experience on this potential issue.

Cheers,

Brad

 

[glenwal]

I've done this a couple of times. A kitchen strainer will help get the grain out.

 

[brad81]

I've done this a couple of times. A kitchen strainer will help get the grain out.

Thanks Glen. Did you do it before the boil, or when you're scooping off the hot break?

 

[breakbeer]

I'd definitely get it out with a strainer

I had a few floaties that I didn't remove & they clogged up the lil brown pump real quick (easily fixed though)

 

[Punkal]

If you boil the grain husks you will get a few tannins released into the wort these had a harsh bitterness to them that is not great but if its only a few grains it will not be to bad. Basically get them out before the boil and you will be fine.

 

[GalBrew]

Hey all,

I'm putting together a Fat Yak (cascade only, KK didn't have any nelson sauvin) and I've set up a recirc as you can see in the pic.

Problem I've encountered is that whilst jiggling the copper ring to sit underneath the grain (I have the holes pointing up) the bag slid into the yet to be wort and I have a bit of grain floating around outside of the bag. Now I'm not sure if I need to rectify this as I think the grain would be pulverised by the 90m boil. I'm sure a few of you have encountered this at some stage and I am looking for some advice/tips/experience on this potential issue.

Cheers,

Brad

A tad off topic, but out of curiosity what exactly have you got attached to your recirc inlet on the underside of the pot lid? :beer:

 

[Fourstar]

A tad off topic, but out of curiosity what exactly have you got attached to your recirc inlet on the underside of the pot lid? :beer:

that would be his copper recirc arm they discussed jiggling in the OP.

 

[brad81]

Thanks for the advice, looks like I'll be extending the brew day by about 20mins to get them out before the boil.

A tad off topic, but out of curiosity what exactly have you got attached to your recirc inlet on the underside of the pot lid? :beer:

It's a copper coil I bought from the BGS, used a pipe bender to angle the inside up and straight. Then drilled about 15-20 5m holes into the coil (facing up). I have a stand inside the pot which keeps the bag off the bottom. I then jiggle the coil to the bottom of the bag and keep the grains moving around inside the bag (theoretically anyway <_< ). I'll put a pic up later when I've cleaned up.

 

[GalBrew]

that would be his copper recirc arm they discussed jiggling in the OP.

Yeah, I got that bit. But what sort of holes/slits and how many does it have? How far down into the bag is it shoved? What is it's diameter? I ask as I am trying to work out the best way of doing this myself. Seems to be either a ring or a stick? Does it even make a difference?? Again sorry for hijacking the post.

Too late! Thanks Brad!

looks like a nice setup. I may have to copy you......

 

[glenwal]

Thanks Glen. Did you do it before the boil, or when you're scooping off the hot break?

A bit of both. Got most of it out early, but missed some and got the remainder out with the hot break.

 

[brad81]

Thanks again Glen!

I hammered out the end of the coil then folded it over and hammered it flat again, I used concrete as a workbench and it seemed to do the trick.

Action shot attached bringing it up to mash out temp.

 

[JDW81]

If you boil the grain husks you will get a few tannins released into the wort these had a harsh bitterness

:icon_offtopic:

That is not necessarily true, but sound advice as unless you're doing a decoction it is best to avoid boiling grains.

Tannin extraction is more dependent on pH than temp, hence the desire to keep pH down whilst sparing to avoid said tannin extraction. Boiling grains in a decoction mash doesn't extract tannins as you manage your mash water to keep the pH low enough to prevent this from happening.

 

[Bribie G]

If you boil the grain husks you will get a few tannins released into the wort these had a harsh bitterness to them that is not great but if its only a few grains it will not be to bad. Basically get them out before the boil and you will be fine.

I recently had a "bag slip" and ended up with a fair amount of grain in the wort, about half a kilo, which had to be boiled but ended up ok apart from stalling the urn and I had to complete the boil using my over the side heater . As mentioned, decoction boils the crap out of a lot of grain anyway. The tannin thing is mostly a pH issue, I've read.

Definitely best avoided, however.