Vossys Mash Tun Project

[Vossy1]

Step 1, Make a cool box mash tun/sparger
Step 2, Make a counterflow chiller
Step 3, Make a boiler
Step 4, lots of hard work done now enjoy the fruits of my labour

Step 1

B+Q is no longer just for paint

Can you tell what it is yet :rolleyes: Rolferoo baby



Step 2, wifey goes to get a wine kit and look what the HBS man has sneaked into her carrier bag



Step 3,What I actually went into the HBS for :rolleyes: I was going to try Reg's quick gallon beer



Oh yes, a 2nd hand burco's on its way

Its all down hill from here, thanks to you guys, I hope you can live with yourselves

Ps, can anyone recommend a good starters book?

[Bigster]

Good on you vossy. Look forward to seeing pictures of it in action .

I carry the Dave lines book with me at all times

Have heard about the Wheeler book and may get that as well

[BlightyBrewer]

Go for it Vossy! You're certainly in for loads of giggles!

I'd second the Dave Line book. I on;y just bought it, and wish it was the first book I bought.

DaaB, I too was scared half to death by a certain US publication. :rolleyes:

[Vossy1]

Thanks guys, I get the feeling were going to have some fun along the way :blink:

I've just got a bloke to end an auction early, on e-bay, for the Dave Lines book. He lives in Manchester and I've piad £3, which ain't too bad. Going to pick it up later.

My first question for you. I know that a lot of you use cool boxes for your mash tuns, whereas others use buckets.

When in my local HBS yesterday the chap got the purpose made cool box off the shelf and he traced the copper strainer so I could copy it. He also sold me the tap.

I assume the cool box is used for insulating the grains so as not to lose too much heat.

The strainer did not cover the entire surface area of the cool box base, nor did the sparging arm cover the entire grain area. How can this be efficient?

Wouldn't a circular mash tun be better? I haven't seen any insulated buckets and on Jim's own website he doesn't insulate anyway....help :blink:

[BlightyBrewer]

Jim uses his boiler as a mash tun, which is thermostatically controlled so that he can keep the temp constant at 63-67C. He also lags the boiler to retain heat.

Cool boxes are indeed used to maintain a constant temperature during the mashing period. Most of us also cover the box with an old jumper or sleeping bag, as the lids don't tend to be insulated.

As long as your manifold covers most of the area, and is away from the sides by 1/2 inch or so, it will be efficient enough.



As for sparge arms, I don't fly sparge, but I can't see why they won't be efficient as they tend to spray outwards as far as I can see from the examples on this forum. As long as the flow in/out is adjusted so that the grain bed is never compacted, you'll be okay.

[Road Runner]

I use a cool box mash tun exactly as BB's above. I also fly sparge with a spinny sparger.

I wrap a duvet around the cool box during the mash, as BB sudgests. During a 90 min mash, I don't lose a single degree in temp.

The spinny sparger does throw the water outwards slightly. But the idea is to keep the water level just fractionally above the grain bed, in order to keep all the grain floating and allow water flow around the whole of the grains. This allows very efficient sparging.

The spinny sparger gives a very gentle spray of water onto the grain bed so as not to disturb the grain and so disturb small particles of flour etc. This helps to produce the final clarity of your beer.

Works great for me any way.

[Vossy1]

Thanks BB, RR. As I try to stumble my way through full grain I'm misunderstanding some of the info.

My understanding to date was that the mash was boiled to extract the sugars, after the boil the liquid was removed and the grains were sparged to remove as many of the left over sugars as possible.
I thought that sparging was trickling hot water over the grains to rinse them of sugar....obviously this is not the case

Roll on getting my book!

[Road Runner]

Mashing is not actually boiling the grains.

Click on "Jims Beer Kit" at the top of these web pages for excellent details on the beer making process, from our own brew meister, "Jim".

Another book you may be interested in is, Real Ales for the Home Brewer, by Marc Olloson.

I've got 2 Dave Line books, Brew Beers Like Those You Buy & his Big Book of Brewing. Both excellent books. But as a novice brewer, I was slightly intimidated at first by the amazing complexities of brewing as detailed in these books. Moreso his Big Book of Brewing.

Marc Ollosons book I found suited me as a novice to the art of All Grain brewing, as it doesn't go into too many complexities to confuse you or put you off. It also is packed with loads of recipes of which I still use many of.

Once I mastered the art of All Grain a bit, I then found I understood the Dave Line books a lot better.

Marc Ollosons book is readily available at all good book shops & home brew shops.

I can't comment on the Wheeler/Protz books from personal experience, as I haven't seen them, but allegedly, they are also excellent reads.

[Vossy1]

Cheers RR for the advice.

I have read Jim's article on brewing several times. Boiling was just a slip of the keyboard, as I'm aware of the mashing temp, whatever you prefer..sweet/dry etc..

I got the wife to re-read jim's article for a different perspective and her understanding was different to mine and as usual she was right :huh:

Fun and games

[Bigster]

They have their uses

well done Mrs Vossy

[BlightyBrewer]

Mashing, or adding hot (63-67C) water to the grains basically activates enzymes that turn the starch in the grist (grains) into fermentable sugars. That's how I understand it anyway. :blink:

[Andy]

Is the first pic an aboriginal nose flute ?

[Vossy1]

Close Andy, but no cigar...

Todays exploits to be added after tea!

Goan chicken and pilau rice hmmmmm gotta go

[Vossy1]

Curry eaten, todays exploits.

Making my mash tun.

It took me ages to find a cooler box but here it is



I wanted an insulated box where there was more than just a void between the inner and outer wall. This baby is filled with foam, though strangely the lid was hollow. So first job, drill some 6mm holes in the lid and fill it with expanding foam.



Next, size and cut piping.



Now cut the slits in the piping...what a ball ache



Check it fits and line up for tap



Cut hole through exterior wall for tap.



Cut hole in interior wall for tap and fit tap. This is quite a deep bucket ie, the distance from inner to outer wall prevented me from using the normal round headed tap, so I had to use the one in the picture instead. I still had to saw part of the tap lever off so it would turn without hitting the bucket.



Got to wait for foam to dry before trimming. Also, I bought the same spinney sparger as in the Ready made mash tun but my box is wider, so I,m going back to the HBS tomorow to get the bigger version. If its too big I'll just take a bit of each end of the arms.

How do you connect tap to manifold? The guy at the HBS gave me a short piece of piping but it is never going to go over the 22mm t piece?

[Vossy1]

Will get one tomorow, Thanks DaaB

Thanks for all the advice on literature folks, I have just ordered :-

Big Book of Brewing by Dave Line
Real Ales for the Homebrewer by Marc Olloson
Clone Brews, homebrew receipe's for 150 commercial beers by some bird
The complete Joy of Homebrewing by C Paperzian.

And of course Brew Beers like those you buy

I'm having trouble getting hold of The camra guide to homebrewing by G Wheeler, even Amazon dont have stock