Mash and Boil for 250.00

[mashani]

It will probably be ok as long as your not pulverizing the crap out of your grain like some of the BIAB types do to try to get into the 80+% range.

I was just worried that since I'm stirring it 4-5 times and disrupting the grain bed that small stuff will get down there and bake to the burner without using them. I do get some of whatever flour I've gotten down there still even with the mats.

You probably will get more kettle trub then with your thick mash though if the grains don't compact as much as they are in your thicker mashes, because they have more room to float/move around in. My grain bed really only compacts after I mashout and pull the basket and it drains. Otherwise with the full volume its been pretty loose, and very easy to stir with the mash paddle.

[Banjo-guy]

Where can you buy the silicone steamer mats? Could someone post a link or the product name. I would like to buy them.

[berryman]

It will probably be ok as long as your not pulverizing the crap out of your grain like some of the BIAB types do to try to get into the 80+% range.

I actually opened my mill up more with the M&B, I still get some fines but doesn't seem to bother. I have been getting 75-77% the way I have been doing it and that is good enough for me, but think I can do better. But I like to try new things and why I want to try a full volume small batch and see what that does and compare, and sounds easier.

[bpgreen]

Where can you buy the silicone steamer mats? Could someone post a link or the product name. I would like to buy them.

These are the ones I bought.

[Banjo-guy]

Where can you buy the silicone steamer mats? Could someone post a link or the product name. I would like to buy them.

These are the ones I bought.

Thanks! I bought something similar from Amazon.

[mashani]

These are a lot cheaper. It's what I'm using. I've been layering 3 of them now, I started with 2, but 3 is better. The more you layer, the harder it gets to pull the basket though. They come in a pack of 6, you need to trim them slightly to get them to fit, and you have to weight them down somehow or they will float and be useless.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078Y ... UTF8&psc=1

[mashani]

So, I just brewed me a Brown Porter. I'm sure it's going to be good and Icky (if you've been around you will get the joke LOL)

It was for 3.5 gallon kettle target volume (to get 3 gallons into fermenter without trub):

5# Pale Malt
12oz English Brown Malt (65L toasted pale malt)
4oz Simpsons Medium English Crystal (60L, but its more malty and less caramel then American 60L).
4oz Simpsons DRC Malt (double roasted crystal, its like a more Englishy special B and 120L or so, dark fruity)
4oz Simpsons Roasted Barley
1/4oz 6.6% Northern Brewer FWH
1oz Styrian Goldings (Slovenian Fuggles) @20

I mashed it at 154, using the same methods I have been using. I used the water calculations right out of Beersmith with the Mash & Boil equipment setup I did, and with a 3 gallon version of the BIAB mash profile. I did my mashout at 172.

I ended up with 4.5 gallons of 1.044 temperature adjusted wort. That something like 82% mash efficiency.

That was more volume post mash then I intended to end up with, so I have to tweak something in my profile a bit, or I mis-measured my up front water volume. I expect the second, since it seemed to be a bit more full then I thought it would be.

So I had to boil more then 60 minutes, but boiled down to 3.6 (3.5 after shrinkage) it will be 1.056 OG when it's done.

Because my mash efficiency was more then I expected my porter is a wee bit out of style on the strong side of the OG range, 5.3%ish or so.

But ABV will be in range, since I did a somewhat full body mash.

I should end up with around 32 IBUs.

I'm no chilling it again, and will pitch S-04 (full pack) when it's cool tomorrow night.

I discovered that I forgot to switch the M&B back up to 1600 watts for the boil, but it brought it to a boil just fine with only the 1000 watt element. I noticed about half way into the boil and flipped it to 1600 because I had a lot of wort to boil off to hit my volume.

I don't know if my crazy high efficiency was due to the excess water volume or just that I'm getting better at getting my mash PH right, or I just got lucky.

This was the most grain / biggest beer I've done so far in it.

[Kealia]

I'm learning that icky can be good.

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[mashani]

One good thing about no-chilling right in the Mash and Boil, and using my "Mini Cooper" fermenters, is that I can just do this and have instant oxygenation.

It looks and smells really good too. As you can see unless I shrunk the picture too much, I'm getting really clear wort out of the thing even though I'm breaking the rules of "chill fast to get break out and get clear wort". It's been that way for every batch I've done. I've got plenty of break/trub at the bottom of the kettle below the spigot when I'm done.

IMG_0070 (002).jpg (75.11 KiB) Viewed 824 times

I will have to find another way in the summer, it would take forever cool down if ambient temps were 70 instead of 60 due to the insulating properties of the Mash and Boil.

I saw a really nice wort chiller posted on the M&B facebook page, but it cost 70% of what I paid for this thing.

I might just go get a USAPlastics winpack and roll with it Aussie style in the summer. I've got plenty of silicon tubing to rack into a container.

[berryman]

Well here goes, I am going to take the BORG or atleast the ones that follow this M&B thread on a new journey tomorrow. I have been using .30 strike water since I have been using the M&B (38.4 oz per lb) and with good results. I am going to do a 15 lb brew and am going to try around what the original amount was in the directions at .37 (47.36 0z). I will do every thing else the same as far as recirculating though-out the mash and see what the numbers bring. I am guessing it will still come in good, but I want to know. If I can hit my pre boil number or a little above I will be happy. I want 1.075 pitching on 5.5 gals.

[berryman]

So far so good on this, projected 1.063 pre-boil and got 1.064 on 6.5 .


This is at 15 lbs but I see no reason you couldn’t go more then 16 on this unit


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[berryman]

Recirculating system, the temps held good and only turned it on 3 times during the mash today.




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[berryman]

Brian is right on picking up the basket with that much grain, that about killed this old man. I was looking and right above where I brew is a steel i beam that supports my house, hmm a little electric winch off that would be handy, harbor freight here I come.



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[berryman]

Have so many homegrown whole hops in this, I cleaned out and use the grain basket as one big hop spider, it won’t keep the fine stuff out but works with home grown hops
This batch had a combination of pellet and whole 7 oz in the boil and will dry hop later.




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[Kealia]

7oz of hops? Watch it or Beer-lord will start imposing a hop tax on you. Or show up at your door with a pint glass.