Mash and Boil for 250.00

[bpgreen]

I've tried no-chill, but with the double wall, it takes longer than I'm willing to wait (I have to time brew days, keg days etc around business travel).

I use a "normal" immersion chiller and a recirculating pump and a lot of ice cubes.

[Kealia]

I just ordered the fermentation lid. Historically I've been 'limited' to fermenting one batch at a time because that is what I could fit in my fermentation freezer. With the popularity and rave reviews about the Kviek yeast strains from Omega, it will allow me to ferment a batch in the M&B around 90 degrees, which I can manage outside of the chest freezer = two batches fermenting at once!

Do I *need* to ferment 2 batches at once? No.
Am I going to just because I can? Yes.

FYI - Found the lid at Williams Brewing for $19.99.

Edit to add: I just checked with MoreBeer and they have the Kviek strains stocked locally so I'm swinging by tomorrow and maybe brewing again this weekend!
(If the lid doesn't arrive in time I may use the standard lid (with clamps) and just puta sanitized paper towel over the small hole for the thermometer. It won't be full enough to worry about a blowout.)

[mashani]

I haven't fermented in mine yet, but I use the fermentation lid with a #11 autoclavable foam stopper (meant for use in a flask building up lab cultures) as my slow-chill cover of choice.

But one day I will ferment in it.

MoreBeer just started carrying those Kviek strains. Unless a local place starts to carry them which is doubtful because LD Carlson kind of owns local distribution, I'll probably get mine from them now, since I get stuff in 2 days from them. But only when it's a bit warmer so it doesn't freeze solid on the way here.

[Kealia]

Wow, I ordered the lid yesterday from Williams Brewing and it showed up today. I also picked up my grains and the Hornindal Kveik yeast from Omega.

Since this yeast's range is listed as up to 98, I plan to chill in the M&B down to 80, set the temp there and then pitch the yeast. Since I can only control the low-end of the temp and not an upper range, I figure that gives me plenty of room for the yeast to generate some heat while fermenting. From what I'm reading and the guys at MoreBeer said, it's not unusual for this to be done fermenting in 2 days. I'm guessing that is going to generate some good heat (but I have an 18 point cushion so I should be fine).

" Hornindal produces a tropical flavor and complex aroma that can present itself as stonefruit, pineapple, and dried fruit leather, which complement fruit-forward hops."
I plan on using Mandarina Bavaria and Motueka in the beer.

And depending on my schedule this will either be a 3 hour mash or an overnight mash.
If I have time tomorrow night I will dough-in and let it sit until I get back from from my morning obligations, which won't be until about 10:30am on Saturday.
If I don't have time for that I will set the timer to have the strike water ready for me when I get up Saturday morning so I can dough-in before leaving, then start sparging when I get back.
Either way this will be the 3rd brew on the M&B, all with slightly different procedures - but I like the flexibility for sure.

[Kealia]

Today's brew was a lot of experimenting and non-traditional brewing for me. mashani and bpgreen are rubbing off on me.

I set the timer to wake up to heated strike water this morning. I doughed-in and went to workout, returning about 3 hours later. Temp measured with a long probe showed 153, from a 165 strike water temp. I'm still adjusting a bit to learn how much temperature adjustment I need with room-temp grains and it looks like 12-13 is going to be the magic number. But I digress.

I got home, showered, then started my sparge with room temp water. All went well and my pre-boil gravity was spot on. I didn;t account for a little less boil off in the weather right now so I ended up at 1.058 SG when all was said and done - against a target of 1.060. Next time, I'll adjust and start with just a little less. I've been collecting 6.5G pre-boil, boiling off 1/2G to end up with just under 6G post-boil and cooling (shrinkage, etc.). That way I can put 5G into the fermentor and leave 1/2G of trub in the kettle.

I actually timed my chill today so I could get a better sense of how long it took. From boiling to 80 (so I could leave some room for fermentation to free-rise up to 90 or so with this Kviek yeast) took 4:15, and I think it was actually even a bit less due to some fumbling around - but the point is it was super quick. It was also nice to not have to rack to a fermentor and clean the M&B - even though it's easy to do so.

I just pulled the chiller, pitched the yeast and put the fermentation lid and airlock on. So I have roughly 6G of wort that will ferment at about 90 when it kicks in (I think). The yeast is good from 70 - 95 so I have a cushion if it gets really hot. I'll check it in the morning as people report it being done in 2 days with no fusels.

Interesting and short brew day, but it gives me a great idea of how I can adjust for shorter days when needed.

[bpgreen]

Today's brew was a lot of experimenting and non-traditional brewing for me. mashani and bpgreen are rubbing off on me.

I set the timer to wake up to heated strike water this morning. I doughed-in and went to workout, returning about 3 hours later. Temp measured with a long probe showed 153, from a 165 strike water temp. I'm still adjusting a bit to learn how much temperature adjustment I need with room-temp grains and it looks like 12-13 is going to be the magic number. But I digress.

I got home, showered, then started my sparge with room temp water. All went well and my pre-boil gravity was spot on. I didn;t account for a little less boil off in the weather right now so I ended up at 1.058 SG when all was said and done - against a target of 1.060. Next time, I'll adjust and start with just a little less. I've been collecting 6.5G pre-boil, boiling off 1/2G to end up with just under 6G post-boil and cooling (shrinkage, etc.). That way I can put 5G into the fermentor and leave 1/2G of trub in the kettle.

I actually timed my chill today so I could get a better sense of how long it took. From boiling to 80 (so I could leave some room for fermentation to free-rise up to 90 or so with this Kviek yeast) took 4:15, and I think it was actually even a bit less due to some fumbling around - but the point is it was super quick. It was also nice to not have to rack to a fermentor and clean the M&B - even though it's easy to do so.

I just pulled the chiller, pitched the yeast and put the fermentation lid and airlock on. So I have roughly 6G of wort that will ferment at about 90 when it kicks in (I think). The yeast is good from 70 - 95 so I have a cushion if it gets really hot. I'll check it in the morning as people report it being done in 2 days with no fusels.

Interesting and short brew day, but it gives me a great idea of how I can adjust for shorter days when needed.

In case you didn't notice in the instructions, once you add the grains, you should reduce the temperature for the rest of the mash.

[Kealia]

That is what I did. It was set at 165 for strike and then I dropped it to 153 for the mash. Is that what you meant?

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[bpgreen]

That is what I did. It was set at 165 for strike and then I dropped it to 153 for the mash. Is that what you meant?

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Yep. That's what I meant. I mashed too high once or twice because I missed that step.

[berryman]

I don’t care how anyone wants to brew beer and all ways are good, but I like this M&B more every time I use it. I have it dialed in.



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[Beer-lord]

Whatever works for you is the best way, right? Glad it's making you happy. Happy brewer, happy beer!

[bpgreen]

I still don't have it dialed in, but I'm starting to think I'm trying to user it with a grain bill that's too big,

I think I'm going to try something with a smaller grain bill and see if my efficiency goes up.

[Kealia]

I don't recall, did you post your previous gran bill(s) and water volumes?

[berryman]

I still don't have it dialed in, but I'm starting to think I'm trying to user it with a grain bill that's too big,

I think I'm going to try something with a smaller grain bill and see if my efficiency goes up.

The sweet spot for me is 9-12 lb grain bill 1.048-1.065 5.5 gal. in the fermenter. Last batch was 10 lb German Pilsner, .5 lb crystal 15L, and .250 German Acidulated. 3.76 gal. strike volume and temp. @ 160 then set the mash for 149 deg It held a nice 150 in the mash (not the screen), the burner came on 4 times in 60 min, and each time it does I run the pump for about 20-30 seconds. brought it back up to 160 and hit the pump again and sparged until I got 6.75 and did a 90 min boil. 1.055 pre-boil and 1.060 og 5.5 in the fermenter leaving the sludge in the M&B. When I did a 14 to a 16.5 lb my numbers drop some, but not much.

[bpgreen]

I don't recall, did you post your previous gran bill(s) and water volumes?

This one was 15 lbs 2 row, .5 lb c60. I think I used 5 gallons of mash water and the grain soaked up so much the water wasn't covering the grain by the end of the mash.

[bpgreen]

There was a discussion on the M&B Facebook group about this. The consensus was that efficiency goes down with bigger grain bills.

I'm going to try a smaller grain bill for my next batch.