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Fat Bastard

Brew Cvlt Doom
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Goddamn stuck mash.

The pump drained under the bag and I've now got a burned element and boy oh boy is the mash stuck. I'm currently draining the bag via the mash tun, and it looks like it's going to take an hour or more to drain to the holding tank so I can inspect the element. If it doesn't taste too bad and the element is ok, I might stick the ss mesh screen over the bag rest to create a false bottom (done this before and it works, but adds more cleaning), dump the contents of the bag in and proceed with the brew as usual. If not, I can kiss goodbye to 8 kilos of Perle malt.

I was only stepping from 55 to 66 when this happened and caught it pretty quick, so I'm hoping I can save it.

I think I'll have a beer while the bag drains. Arrrgh!
 
Goddamn stuck mash.

The pump drained under the bag and I've now got a burned element and boy oh boy is the mash stuck. I'm currently draining the bag via the mash tun, and it looks like it's going to take an hour or more to drain to the holding tank so I can inspect the element. If it doesn't taste too bad and the element is ok, I might stick the ss mesh screen over the bag rest to create a false bottom (done this before and it works, but adds more cleaning), dump the contents of the bag in and proceed with the brew as usual. If not, I can kiss goodbye to 8 kilos of Perle malt.

I was only stepping from 55 to 66 when this happened and caught it pretty quick, so I'm hoping I can save it.

I think I'll have a beer while the bag drains. Arrrgh!

'I hate that yeeeeaaaahhhhh' - Rodney Rude

Seriously though, nothin worse than a stuck mash. Always happens to me when ive got the least amount of time to dick around fixing it too.

Got an entire day by yourself to make beer? BEST MASH EVER....
Got exactly 4.5hrs to knock out a double because the missus wants the lawns mowed, and the house cleaned? Stuck mash every time....
 
Protein rest + electric element = burnt shit.

Been there. For future brews I'd recommend doing a thicker mash for the protein rest then use boiling water to get up to 62 degrees for a sacch rest, then the starch flour isn't going to be a problem when you ramp up to dex rest using the element. :icon_cheers:
 
Protein rest + electric element = burnt shit.

Been there. For future brews I'd recommend doing a thicker mash for the protein rest then use boiling water to get up to 62 degrees for a sacch rest, then the starch flour isn't going to be a problem when you ramp up to dex rest using the element. :icon_cheers:

been there, done that. I havent noticed any bad flavours from starch burnt on the element.

+1

or just go straight to sachh. temp and forget step mashes.

;)
 
The element doesn't look too bad at all! Wort tastes ok too.

DSC_0001-3.jpg


Slipped the false bottom in over the bag rest. Let's make some beer!

DSC_0003-2.jpg


I think the issue is in the protein rest, but not so much the element. The bag gets choked with protein and it sticks. Doesn't seem to be an issue with smaller grain bills, but I had this problem with the last IPA I brewed. If I need to ditch the bag, so be it!
 
Mash has gone according to plan. Just about to drain the tun to a holding vessel so I can remove the grist.

I'm gonna be so busted when Mrs ******* gets home. I'm supposed to be cleaned up and relaxing by the time she gets here, instead I might be starting the boil!
 
Only started the boil just then. Longest brewday ever.

The sparge got stuck. Wasn't expecting that as the mash drained quite nicely. I'm using some pre crushed grain from a different source to my usual, so I wonder if that's the culprit? Surprisingly everything else is going to plan, managed to hit my pre-boil volume and gravity. Worst case scenario is I have 23 litres of beer. Mrs ******* rang to see if I was done and was it ok if she went shopping for a couple of hours instead of coming straight home, so I'm not even going to get a punch in the clockweights!

Anyone else have any trouble with Perle sticking? I think I had this problem with it last time I used it, although it could be a function of the size of the mash (9kg total in 27 litres of water) too. What's the solution? Rice Hulls?
 
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