Mashout

[sam]

Hi,

I want to add a mashout step to my program, but am a little confused. Should the HLT water be at 75-82C, or is that the temp that the grain should be at to denature the enzymes?

I batch sparge, but have plenty of space in my tun (50L). Could I make my mashout step by adding water to increase temp before taking first runnings, and then collect the wort after leaving to sit for 10min?

Its begining to sound alright to me.

Sam

 

[SJW]

You are on the right track Sam
For about 6kgs of grain u will need about 10 litres of water at about 91 deg C that will get the mash up to about 76 deg C. and hold it thee for 10 mins then drain, recirculate, sparge ......ect.....ect.....ect

 

[AndrewQLD]

Hi Sam

What SJW says is spot on.
I have a question for you now, is your 50 lt tun a s/s keg and if so how did you insulate it??

Regards
Abdrew

 

[RobW]

You are on the right track Sam
For about 6kgs of grain u will need about 10 litres of water at about 91 deg C that will get the mash up to about 76 deg C. and hold it thee for 10 mins then drain, recirculate, sparge ......ect.....ect.....ect

Is 91oC a significant temperature for mashout (in terms of tannin extraction etc) or can you use water at 100oC?

 

[sam]

Thanks for the response SJW, all makes good sense.

Regarding my mashtun, yes, it is a SS 50L keg. It has had the entire top cover removed (including the handle top bit), so it resembles a large pot. At the moment (only done 3 brews in it) I use primative insulation, 2 cotton doublebed doona covers around the sides and a foam hiking mat underneath the tun with a aluminum foil lined wooden lid. Its not an attractive option and leaves a few gaps. However it holds the heat pretty well, my mash volume is around 18L, and only drops a couple of degrees over an hour.

But, planning to upgrade insulation very soon. I was thinking about using some high density foam, similar to hiking mats but a bit thicker hopefully. It would be easy to work with, hold heat well, easy to clean.

Any ideas would be appreciated by myself and Andrew.

Thanks,

Sam

 

[wessmith]

Sam, a suggestion for insulation that I have used on several vessels - aluminised fibreglass. This is approx 50mm thick and has a perforated aluminium thick foil on one side. Just wrap it around the vessel and seal with the proper foil tape. You can also edge the whole wrapping with the foil tape as well before sealing the whole thing in place. A pic of my HLT shows the insulation in place. You can get this stuff from any insulation specialist company or try aircon installation companies - they use it for insulating duct boxes etc.

Wes.

 

[sosman]

Is 91oC a significant temperature for mashout (in terms of tannin extraction etc) or can you use water at 100oC?

It is the grain bed temperature that is important. I generally work out my volumes so that I can add boiling water to reach 75 after mixing. That is nominally 5-6 litres for my batch sparging for 23 litres.