BeerBorg

Today was the most frustrating brew day I've had in quite a long time. I had to deal with stuck sparges all morning. I think I know what the problem is, and I'm going to make the needed modifications. If that doesn't work, well, I don't know. But I'm going to take it one step at a time.

In addition to the slow-flowing wort (or rather as a result of), my pre-boil volume was pitifully low. I had to add a full gallon of water to get to where I wanted the pre-boil.

After that, everything went smoothly, but I was already frustrated, disgusted, maladjusted, and misanthropic. I got a good post-boil volume, though, and chilled my wort to around 64 degrees before pitching my yeast (this is a Cali Common, BTW).

And when I took my OG reading, it turned out to be exactly what this recipe projects in the software.

So, lesson learned, at least for today. Minor glitches, such as stuck sparges and spills and whatnot, well, they can happen. But the beer is going to do what it's going to do. Fretting about it isn't going to help. Neither are all the curse words I threw around while dealing with the stuck sparge. The air in my kitchen is still blue from it.

Relax.
Don't Worry.
Have a Homebrew.

And trust in Ninkasi to bring beer eventually. If everything else is right, one or two minor setbacks won't ruin anything.

Right On Brewing Bro!

Right On!

Beer will be beer. Don't fret the mishaps.

Hey, it already gives you a reason to rebrew this recipe, right?

Pudge wrote:Beer will be beer. Don't fret the mishaps.

Hey, it already gives you a reason to rebrew this recipe, right?

I've already brewed this recipe a number of times! This is the second time this year I've brewed it! I really like a good Cali Common, and the South Ferry Steam Beer has a permanent place in the Fedora Brauhaus stable.

FedoraDave wrote:Today was the most frustrating brew day I've had in quite a long time.

Sounds like my last brew session. And after all that beer went through, it turned out to be quite good. Made it for a party last night and the guy I made it for set it up in his kegerator on Wednesday and was drinking it since. He absolutely loved it.

Yeah, not much you can do after the fact when you have some miss-haps, but it does help to work through them. Reflecting back and venting as a way to get it behind us. Hope the beer turns out well for you.

Thanks, MadB. I've no reason to think this batch won't turn out well. I'm sure I'll enjoy it as much as your buddy is enjoying the beer you brewed up for him.

There's only one thing I can attribute the stuck sparge to, and it actually makes sense, given how my mash tun is set up. It'll actually be a quick fix. And if that doesn't do the trick, I'll just have to find something else that could be the culprit.

So what do you think the issue was with your tun?

I'm considering a mash tun overhaul or even building a new one. This one has done me well, but I'm due. I'd like to consider any and all input before moving forward.

I'm interested in what was causing your stuck sparges also. I've never had one, and I'd like to keep it that way. So learning from what happened to you will only help to make sure it doesn't happen again.

It's a tun I built myself. I decided to go with a manifold made out of C-PVC pipe, which I cut notches into. All the pieces are dry-fitted for cleaning purposes.

I found the pipe doesn't fit snugly onto the spigot nipple, and since both the pipe and the nipple are rigid, I needed something more pliant. So I clamped a small length of tubing onto the nipple. This tubing takes up the slack, but it's still dry-fit when I attach the manifold. I've bumped it once in the past, stirring my dough-in too vigorously, and it was a real mess. That's not what happened this time; the flow was just very slow. So I'm wondering if the repeated use with all that hot water has compromised the ID and/or OD of the tubing. I'm going to cut another piece and fit it on for the next brew session and see if it makes a difference. If so, I'll just have to remember to change it out every year or so. What's in there now has been in there ever since I built the tun, which was at least three years ago.

First, though, I'm going to attach the manifold again, put water in the tun and see how the flow is, to narrow it down. If the water flows through as it should, I'll know there's not anything inside the pipe or the spigot (although when I clean up, the flow appears fine, but it won't hurt anything to check).

Another possibility is that, for some reason, I stirred my mash after 30 minutes. I don't usually do this, and it may have misaligned things. But both my sparges were slow-running, as well, even after I'd removed the mash, re-aligned the fitting, and put things back. So I'm thinking it's the tubing.

Are the slots on your manifold facing up or down?

That might make a difference re: clogging from fine grain particles...

Might be interesting to insure they face down and raise the manifold off the bottom a 1/4" or so to create a false bottom effect at the manifold tubes.

Just thinking out loud here...

Sounds like you use a similar system to mine Dave. CPVC manifold with holes drilled. Mine fits together the same way you describe and I've always been worried that one day that manifold will dislodge during a good mash stir. So far (knock on wood) it hasn't happened, and I'm always careful how I stir when the end of the mash paddle is close to the manifold.

Might I take a moment to suggest BIAB? The only difference I've found is how much cleaner the wort is going into the fermenter. And, there's ways around that too besides cold crashing.
While I enjoyed the old days when I used the 'standard' system, when I switched to BIAB, things just got simpler for me and I hit my numbers more often than not and never have to worry about a stuck sparge. Maybe beers above 1.080 are harder to hit with BIAB but for the most part, I've never even looked back.

Big Papa, I keep the slots down, as I understand is advisable. The manifold also sort of "floats" once it's attached to the nipple. And keep in mind, I've been using this for a long time with relatively few problems like this.

BlackDuck, how is your manifold connected to the nipple inside the tun? I'm just curious. I also understand the need to be real careful with stirring, and I usually don't stir halfway through the mash, but this time it just seemed like the thing to do.

Beer-Lord, I do BIAB for my smaller batches, but I really don't feel like hoisting a bag as heavy as 10+ pounds of dry grain (that have soaked up water, and are therefore a butt-load heavier). BIAB is great, don't misunderstand me. But it's not for me when I do a fiver. I usually hit my numbers pretty well in either case, and I've had extremely clear BIAB beers, too.

Here is a picture of my manifold installed. It just slides right on. But it's kind of a tight fit. I actually have to drop it in on a down angle to slide it on. If I were to pull it straight back, the opposite corners hit the wall of the cooler while leaving it slightly attached. Hope that makes sense.

Mine "floats" like yours does too, but once the grain is added, it is completely surrounded by it. So the grain helps to support the manifold a little bit.



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I can't tell what's connecting it. Is it a slightly wider piece for adapting a connection to a wider pipe? If so, I'll have to look into one of those. I can deal with a tighter fit, and with having to angle the manifold. Next chance I get, I'll see if there's something like that at the local Home Dopey.