Mash and Boil for 250.00

[Beer-lord]

Perhaps this may interest some of you.

[Kealia]

My local LHBS is carrying this now may just pull the trigger it gets cold in NE Ohio in the winter. Been lurking in the background on this thread, I want to go electric now that I am almost completely done with the basement remodel and clearing shelves and painting the floor on the mechanical side of basement, I can put an old piece of countertop from kitchen remodel on some shelving right next to a sink, would also mean no carrying 8 gallon fermenters from garage into the basement I have a Turbo 500 boiler I have been using with Inkbird controller for strike water since summer, since I have 13,15 and 25 gallon pots, still weighing converting these. Just up in the air on cost vs 220v controls and elements (have a couple electrical engineers in Homebrew Club) over plug it in and brew.

If you are still planning to get one Williams Brewing has it for $259 through tomorrow.

[Kealia]

Perhaps this may interest some of you.

I'm not even going to watch this yet. I know some people have put center drains with recirculating pumps and other mods in place, but like mashani I am hoping to simplify.

[berryman]

I did a full volume 2.5 last night but changed from Red X because I don't have it yet. Did a Cascade PA SMaSH and have done this before a few times in 5 gal. the regular way I have been using the M&B.
5 lbs 2 row. 4.250 strike mashed @ 151 and did a mash out as per mashani method. My final numbers were lower then expected, 2.5 in the fermenter @1.048 and I did have to tip a little to get the full 2.5.
My thoughts on this method - it is faster and easier, didn't use my pump or hoses and gravity into the LBK, so had none of that to clean after. I believe you should have the mats in the bottom or a bag when doing it this way as I did have a lot of fines that passed though without a solid grainbed like a thicker mash would have.
Edit: something else that might of changed the game. I got the 2 row at my LHBS, the girl filling in for the owner was very nice and helpful but I asked her not to mill the grains but she misunderstood and did it, they do a good job of milling but not maybe the way I do it, not sure if that was a difference there IDK.

[berryman]

I got a little scorching on this one but a all night PBW soak and it wiped right out with a paper towel or soft sponge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kealia]

Nice. PBW saves the day again!

[Beer-lord]

Barkeeper's Friend will work too and make the stainless look like new! I had a small scorch on my BoilCoil and it took it right off.
Your kettle still looks new to me.

[Banjo-guy]

I did a full volume 2.5 last night but changed from Red X because I don't have it yet. Did a Cascade PA SMaSH and have done this before a few times in 5 gal. the regular way I have been using the M&B.
5 lbs 2 row. 4.250 strike mashed @ 151 and did a mash out as per mashani method. My final numbers were lower then expected, 2.5 in the fermenter @1.048 and I did have to tip a little to get the full 2.5.
My thoughts on this method - it is faster and easier, didn't use my pump or hoses and gravity into the LBK, so had none of that to clean after. I believe you should have the mats in the bottom or a bag when doing it this way as I did have a lot of fines that passed though without a solid grainbed like a thicker mash would have.

I’ve been using a 5 gallon paint strainer bag (like like when I used to stove top biab). For my last brew I secured the bag by using the MB’s clips. It didn’t fall or touch the element.

The MB holds temperature so well with its double walled construction that I might cover the whole thing with a sleeping bag after mash-in, turn it off and walk away for an hour.

[berryman]

I layer a couple of these on the bottom of the basket to give it a finer filtration, not because of the sparge, but because I'm trying to keep stuff from getting through the holes and onto the burner. It is a lot easier to clean if nothing burns on it. I weigh them down with some stainless steel table knives. But they would help slow down the sparge too.

http://www.amazon.com/INCHANT-Silicone- ... B0798HP416

I am wondering about that with my poorer numbers last night. When I pulled the basket it was drained in less then 5 mins. and takes me well over 1/2 hour to sparge the way I have been doing it. Maybe the mats slow it down a lot more. How long does it take yours to drain?

[mashani]

It depends on how many mats I layer. If I layer about 3 of the mats or if I layer 2 of them and have a more gummy grain bill (wheat/rye), it can take up to 20-30 minutes for it to drain all the way. I normally have to tip the basket on it's side near the end to get every bit out of it. (it can prop up in there sideways and still be self supported).

Note that I stir it after it heats to the "mashout" temp with my mash paddle, and then wait for it to heat back up to the "mashout" temp again after that and stir again before I pull the basket. So the full "mashout" takes 15-20 minutes before I'm pulling the basket.

I do get some stuff on the bottom still but normally nothing that doesn't just wipe off. The only big scorches were mashes that actually got kind of "stuck" with lots of wheat/rye that clogged up my silicon mats on the way through, I had to actually poke at them with my mash paddle to move them out of the way to open back up the "regular" holes in the basket so it would drain the rest of the way. I think that just let a bunch of the gummy stuff glop on through there.

Also remember that when you are doing a thin mash your mash PH adjustments needs to be different. You are using proportionally a lot more of whatever PH water your water is then if you did a thick mash. It needs to be adjusted because of this. Beersmith does a good job figuring it out if you plug in your water and then add the water required to the recipe (if using the BIAB profile it figures out the right amount to add more or less on its own, it's just a matter of dialing it in if it's not quite right by tweaking the profile).

BTW, if someone does decide to ferment in the thing, this looks like it would work as a cheap solution as far as temperature control. Someone posted it on the Facebook Mash & Boil forum.

https://ballandkeg.com/temperature-control-loop.php

[berryman]

Note that I stir it after it heats to the "mashout" temp with my mash paddle, and then wait for it to heat back up to the "mashout" temp again after that and stir again before I pull the basket. So the full "mashout" takes 15-20 minutes before I'm pulling the basket.

Yes I did it as per your FB post on it.

Also remember that when you are doing a thin mash your mash PH adjustments needs to be different. You are using proportionally a lot more of whatever PH water your water is then if you did a thick mash. It needs to be adjusted because of this. Beersmith does a good job figuring it out if you plug in your water and then add the water required to the recipe (if using the BIAB profile it figures out the right amount to add more or less on its own, it's just a matter of dialing it in if it's not quite right by tweaking the profile).

On this, I had .125 acidulated malt (2 oz) I didn't add that in on the grain bill, was at 5.4 @15 mins like I usually have and most of the time I add .250 on 5 gal batch. I was just a little under my final volume and had to tip a little. I am going to try this again the same way with same ingredients but do my own milling this time. I know this system will work and would be easy for a small batch. Just going to use different hops for a different beer this next time.

[Banjo-guy]

I brewed a lower bitterness IPA last night. I wanted to try some of my Azacca and Mandarina hops that I have hugh amounts of from the ‘“fire” sale 6 months ago. I didn’t go for hugh additions but everything was added in the last 15,10,5,0 minutes except for a small Columbus bittering addition. I also whirlpooled at 160 degrees. I had a little citra in the hop mix. I’m going to dry hop the same mix of hops post fermentation.

Batch size was 3.5 gallons,
The grain bill was:
3# Maris Otter
3# Irish Stout Malt
1# Munich
5 oz C40
3 oz wheat malt

I used Nottingham that I plan on fermenting at a low temperature. I started at 58 degrees and will keep it at 62 and will bump it it up towards the end of fermentation.
The mash temperature was 152.

I was excited to use my new ph meter for the first time. The mash ph was 5.21 which is lower than the predicted 5.32 from both BeerSmith and Bru’n water. I very happy with 5.21 mash ph and didn’t adjust the ph.

For my last 2 brews I’ve used a 5 gallon paint strainer bag the way I used to use when brewing with the biab method. I didn’t use the grain tube at all. The bag doesn’t fall in to the MB because it is stretched over the handles tightly. The bag is suspended over the heating element and doesn’t touch it. This works really well.

I didn’t double crush the grain the way I use to when stove-top biabing. I missed my OG and post mash gravity. The OG was 1.058 and it was predicted as 1.061. I’ll take that. I mashed out at 170 for 10 minutes.

It was 28 degrees outside where I was brewing, I wrapped the MB in a sleeping bag for the whole process and the boil was strong.

I splashed the near boiling wort it into a 5 gallon keg and after chilling it to 58 degrees hit it with oxygen for about 45 seconds. I was worried about hot side oxidation from splashing the almost boiling wort into a keg but I honestly don’t know if that’s something to even worry about.

Tha MB is fun and easy to use. Clean-up is so much easier than when I use the Zymatic.

[mashani]

I was worried about hot side oxidation from splashing the almost boiling wort into a keg but I honestly don’t know if that’s something to even worry about.

I've tried really hard to get HSA by doing various stupid things. Alas, I have always failed. So I think you have no need to worry about it. I think if it actually happens, it's only in places that pump hot wort through hundreds of feet of pipe. I think any oxygen worries at our scale happen only post primary fermentation.

[Kealia]

That's been my experience as well.

I may or may not have received mine on Friday. A large box was quickly taken from my sight and will be hidden away until Christmas morning

[berryman]

I think tomorrow will be a crazy brewday and put both me and the M&B to the test. A young friend of mine that likes my beers and craft brew but doesn't brew himself wanted to do a beer with me and paid half. Instead of putting a recipe together I told him to pick one out from MoreBeer This what he picked out. https://www.morebeer.com/products/7-dea ... llons.html I am afraid it is going to come in way higher then the 1.070 - 1.075 at based on their 70% efficacy. I tried to explain to him that it will have a higher ABV then intended and he said all the better, so going with it as is. Will see what happens.