Third Ag Quick Question

[churchy]

Hi guys getting the hang of AG now just in the middle of my third AG a German wheat beer Heffe weisse.Just a quick question when I was heating my mash water up to 73c when I tipped my grain in the mast tun the temp dropped to 60c, I am after a strike temp of 66c.So I added a liter of boiling water to get the temp up, managed to get 67c I put some towles around the tun to insulate a bit better and the temp kept climing to 68c so I took the towles off and took the lid off to try and decrease the temperature which helped.Is this normal for the temp to drop off when the grain is poored in and then rise again? is this why you must keep a eye on whats going on to get a consistant mash temp.



Thanks Andrew

 

[boingk]

Did you stir well to ensure the mash wash an even temperature? Where is your thermometer located?

 

[churchy]

I'm still 20minutes away from my first drain and I have the temp at 66c now.My thermometer is about two thirds of the way up on my 40gallon round sports cooler, is this a little high should I relocate it lower.Does it matter where it is, won't the water be the same temp?


Andrew

 

[boingk]

Bottom line is that its not a crisis - at 68' the worst you'll get is a mash thats a bit more dextrinous than you'd punted on. Now its cooling to 66 and so on, you're set. I don't think theres much of a problem at all really.

As you do your mashes you'll get a better idea of what water temp you need to put in to acheive a given mash temp. Kinda like getting used to driving a certain car, knowing what the best range to change gear is for a given situation.

- boingk

 

[crundle]

If there was nothing else but water in the tun, then the temp should be fairly constant throughout, but once you add grain, there are going to be cold spots, sounds like maybe there was one around the thermometer, hence the need to stir well to try to even out the temperature before reading the thermometer.

If you calculated your strike temperatures correctly in the first place, then the addition of another litre of boiling water will only mean as boingk said, that it will be a bit more dextrinous.

Crundle

 

[Screwtop]

I'm still 20minutes away from my first drain and I have the temp at 66c now.My thermometer is about two thirds of the way up on my 40gallon round sports cooler, is this a little high should I relocate it lower.Does it matter where it is, won't the water be the same temp?


Andrew

Here's the rub, it only matters to you where your thermometer is mounted. Make beer and adjust your mash temps to suit the results. Every system is different, and mash temps are different when read at different places in the mash, usually hotter toward the top of the liquid. So relax, if this beer doesn't attenuate as it should according to the yeast you are using, then adjust the mash temp next time.

You need to record the temp of your grain, strike water and the resulting mash temp to get used to the temp drop for your equipment.

Cheers,

Screwy

 

[PostModern]

You need to record the temp of your grain, strike water and the resulting mash temp to get used to the temp drop for your equipment.

For any given ambient temperature. Mash performance will change too with different DP of malt, batch to batch, brand to brand...

 

[churchy]

My mash out water got a bit hot 85c I'm using a infa red hand held thermometer to read the water in my klt before tipping into mash tun, waiting on a glass thermometer in the post.Should be more accurate then.Anyway back to my brew.



Andrew

 

[raven19]

My mash out water got a bit hot 85c I'm using a infa red hand held thermometer to read the water in my klt before tipping into mash tun, waiting on a glass thermometer in the post.Should be more accurate then.Anyway back to my brew.

How is it going considering it is still toasty warm outside (struggling to get the energy to go food shopping!)? That will effect temps a little as per PoMo's comment.

I use a glass thermometer & electronic probe both at 2 to 3 different locations in my rectangular mash tun. I generally take an average based on the slightly different readings produced.

2c.