Mash and Boil for 250.00

[mashani]

It sounds normal to me too. This also can happen with German Ale/Kolsch yeast. It's not just the grain bill that does this, the yeast comes into play too. As in you can get loads of sulfur with some types of yeast even with regular pale malt and such.

The good news is that it goes away and then you are left with a beer that seems "crisper" then one then if you had used a yeast like S-05 or Nottingham in it.

I tend to leave these types of beers in the fermenter for 3 weeks even though they are often "done" long before that, because that also helps get rid of a lot of the sulfur up front.

[mashani]

I've brewed 6 AG batches since I got the Mash & Boil. It will be 7 before the week is over.

Apparently I like it. I haven't been brewing that many AG batches in a year normally, and some of those just big batches to split up and use in multiple PMs later.

[Kealia]

That's cool to hear. Sometimes we just need to shake up routines a bit. When I went from BIAB to a "traditional mash tun" it reinvigorated my brewing, too.

[berryman]

That's cool to hear. Sometimes we just need to shake up routines a bit. When I went from BIAB to a "traditional mash tun" it reinvigorated my brewing, too.

And you are right on this. I have been brewing more lately then I did when I first started. I think this unit isn't for everybody, but if you want to play and experiment a little, you can make some good AG beer with it. It is not perfect but everything can be worked around to get it the way you want it and is easy to use, some may have higher expectations, but for a all in one electric system at $300 it is hard to beat. And a lot of different ways can be used.

[mashani]

I came in expecting it to NOT be a robobrew or grainfather or such, and just a more simple piece of equipment, and planned on using it to simplify making 3 gallon AG batches BIAB style except without having to baby sit as much. For me simple is good. The more things that can go wrong, the more things to fiddle with, the more things to clean, all of that to me is "blah".

So, for what I was looking for, it does very well.

I still wish it was shorter/fatter, but I'm able to deal with it.

I think it's really cool all the mods people come up with the recirculate, pump, etc., but really I'm not interested in going there right now.

Maybe if I get "bored" with it later LOL.

[mashani]

Oh and I might be nuts, but I think our old friend Rodger (Gymrat) got one of these. That or someone named Roger who lives in Kansas on FB has also cloned his dog.

[berryman]

Oh and I might be nuts, but I think our old friend Rodger (Gymrat) got one of these. That or someone named Roger who lives in Kansas on FB has also cloned his dog.

Ha Ha I was just going to PM you on that, one and the same....

[bpgreen]

Oh and I might be nuts, but I think our old friend Rodger (Gymrat) got one of these. That or someone named Roger who lives in Kansas on FB has also cloned his dog.

Ha Ha I was just going to PM you on that, one and the same....

Is he in the FB Mash and Boil group?

[mashani]

Yes, he just posted there today about 7 hours ago.

[mashani]

FYI, if you do a step mash in this thing. It's easy, as you can imagine.

But if you use BeerSmith and pick it's step mash schedule for say a Pilsner beer using old school (not so highly modified) Belgian pilsner malt and some flaked rye like I just made, its step timings are based on the idea that you can raise the temp from say 97 to 122 (acid rest to glucan/protein rest) over a 15 minute time, which would in effect make the 98 degree 15 minute acid rest really a 20-25 minute acid and also start the glucan rest during part of that temperature increase, so as to extend the glucan rest longer then the 15 minute combined protein/glucan rest at 122 it then assigns. And the protein rest is also then later extended when you heat to the sacc step over the next amount of time... I hope that makes sense, because that's effectively what it's designing for you.

Well this thing heats the water a lot faster then BeerSmith thinks you can (or assumes you can control). Even at 1000 watts.

So, if you do steps, I would suggest you possibly extend each step before any Sacc. steps in BeerSmith by an extra 5 minutes or so before firing it up.

The other choice would be to just dial it up one degree at a time and baby sit it for that long but that seems silly, it's easier just to actually extend the actual steps and walk away and do something for a while the enzymes have a party.

So anyways, yeah I not only actually just made my 7ths AG batch this year now, but I actually step mashed it too.

I've gone totally mental.

[Banjo-guy]

I ran my 3rd brew on the Mash And Boil yesterday. I used the timer function to preheat my strike water and be ready after I woke up. This brew was a NEIPA. I need a beer for a party that’s coming up. 100 years old! The birthday girl won’t be at the party.

I reset my Beersmith equipment profile to match what Mashani is using. He seems to have dialed it in and we are both using it as a small batch biab machine, I missed my preboil gravity by a large amount. I must be milling differently that Mashani because I’ve been low on all three brews. I think I’ll change the efficiency to 72%. If I remember correctly he’s got it at 83-85%.

I forgot to kick in the 1600W setting for the first 30 minutes of the boil so my boil off was a little less and my post boil gravity was even further off than I expected. I ended up at 1.051 vs the expected 1.067.
I don’t mind a session NEIPA. I’m not a fan of beers over 6.5 ABV so It should be fine.

This thing is fun to brew with! Clean-up is easy too.

I don’t use the volume markings on the MB, I marked off a dowel in 1/4 gallon markings using accurate additions of water.

[mashani]

To make sure we aren't comparing apples to oranges...

My MASH efficiency has gotten that high. (post mash/pre-boil temperature adjusted OG). It's also been lower, but the last 5 batches it's been in the 80s somewhere.

By the time all things are said and done, and it's boiled/chilled, and put into the fermenter after the 1/2 gallon of kettle loss and loss to fermenter trub, my actual BREWHOUSE efficiency with those 80s for mash efficiency around 73-75%.

Basically I'm hitting what BeerSmith thinks I should be hitting.

Are you adjusting your mash PH based on you source water, the grain bill, and what BeerSmith calculates your mash PH adjustment needs to be based on those things? I've been trying to target 5.2-5.4, and the closer I've been getting to 5.2, the higher mash efficiency I've been getting with these thin mashes. Its calculations are pretty accurate, if I adjust to hit 5.3 I end up somewhere in that range, so that's what I've been sticking with.

My crush is whatever MoreBeer and AIH sent me, it's not pulverized to flour, but it's fine enough that some of it will get past even my double layer of mats and the bottom of the grain pipe. I didn't ask for a double crush from either.

[bpgreen]

I've made two batches with the M&B. One was a partial mash and the other an all-grain batch. I was going to make another when I realized I didn't have an empty keg and remembered how much I dislike bottling.

Usually the hiss and gurgle when a keg finishes is a bit dismaying, but when it happened last night, I was happy, because it meant that I'll be able to test the M&B with my recirculation pump this coming weekend.

[Entropy_Brewing]

Hello everyone! I've been involved in the conversations going on over on the FB page for the Mash and Boil, and Berryman invited me over here to check things out. I've had my M&B for about a year now and have done about 18 batches on it. I bought the unit originally to do small BIAB batch as test batches for my big 15gallon system, but found it was so easy to use I just kept going with 5 gallon batches. I have 3 young ones running around the house, so the ability to set up in the kitchen or back patio to brew has been a huge plus for me. I started off doing a standard mash with the "pour over" sparge during the mash, then installed a 12v brown pump and made an attempt at recirculation with limited success. I then stole the chugger pump off my big system hoping I could regulate things better in terms of flow rate. Having the larger pump and valve did seem to help some, but I still felt like I was constantly screwing with the flow. I was either flowing too much and risking overflowing the basket, or not enough and the grain bed would start to go dry. I brewed with a friend that had the robobrew rig, and it hit me exactly what was the purpose of the center drain pipe and was impressed as to how much easier it made the brew day. I decided to take matters into my own hands and build my own drain pipe set up. I used mostly off the shelf parts with a little machining required. With 2-3 handfuls of rice hulls and the drain pipe mod, I feel like I've greatly simplified my brew day, and picked up efficiency in the process. I can now set me pump at about 50-60% flow, and just let it run the entire mash without messing with it. I notice mash temps are also more stable now (fluctuate 2 to maybe 3 degrees) and I'm getting about 83% mash efficiency. Here are a couple vids of the set up, one showing the parts and other of a brew day with the drain pipe mod installed.

[Beer-lord]

Welcome to the Borg and thanks for sharing your brewing experience.