Bulldog brewer - Mash temp

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pst_1971
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Bulldog brewer - Mash temp

Post by pst_1971 » Sun Oct 08, 2017 1:27 pm

Currently mashing ..... temperature on the display is 67c but the mash itself is between 56 and 58 ...is this right or should I be setting the brewer higher to compensate.

Temperature when boiling water won't go higher than 100 so I don't think the probe is at fault.

Thanks in advance.

Tomp
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Re: Bulldog brewer - Mash temp

Post by Tomp » Tue Oct 10, 2017 12:43 pm

Are you recirculating the mash?
It started with kits to save money and now look........!!!

Lots of kit, too many ingredients and not enough time, but a patient wife.... who loves my beer...........

Could be worse :-)

Midlife
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Re: Bulldog brewer - Mash temp

Post by Midlife » Fri Oct 13, 2017 8:19 pm

Circulating it takes about 15 minutes to settle at the right Temp, then I set the timer.
To boil you should set at 102. When it boils I drop heat to 1800w.

pst_1971
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Re: Bulldog brewer - Mash temp

Post by pst_1971 » Sun Oct 22, 2017 8:20 pm

Thanks for the answers.... based on answers received elsewhere the issue was probably one of overfilling the malt pipe with water / grain, taking the level above the overflow pipe. Although the bung was fitted water may have found a path round it and a proportion of the water recirculated that way rather than through the grainbed.

Will have to see how it turns out, may have got away with it with the frequent stirring it received.... anyhow next time I mash 7kg of grain I'll use less water and 1 to 2 inch piece of silicone tube to extend extend the overflow level slightly.

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Kev888
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Re: Bulldog brewer - Mash temp

Post by Kev888 » Mon Oct 23, 2017 1:32 pm

If you are raising temperature, the grain bed will always lag behind the temperature of recirculated wort. Simply because it takes time for the recirculated wort to work its way down through the grain, and it takes additional time for enough heat to be imparted to warm the grain up. If you see people saying they can do a mash step in a couple of minutes, they are usually wrong - the recirculating wort may have reached the set temperature quickly, but not the grain bed itself. A lot of systems measure the recirculating wort not the grain bed, and so in a sense give readings which can in some circumstances be misleading; IMO you are doing well to check the temperature of the actual mash too.

That can be made worse by (for instance) the grain bed compacting and restricting rate of flow through it and/or too much wort bypassing it down the overflow. In more extreme cases the grain bed may never reach the desired temperature.

If you wanted to do a (cooler) rest before the main mash, then you can't avoid the need to raise the temperature afterwards, and there is only so much you can do to help it. Mainly not compressing the grain bed too much, not crushing the grain too finely (or mashing in with violent powered whisks), and not over-filling the liquor/wort level. Over-filling may allow more to go down the overflow, but it will also add to the weight compacting the grain bed. In some systems low pressure pumps are used to help reduce suction and/or the pump can be started slowly then the rate built up, but not sure if thats an option with this integrated machine. If you have sticky grains or adjuncts then consider if they need to be in the mash or could be treated separately, or possibly add dry husks or hulls to help flow through the grain.

If this was the first or only temperature used though, then you can help by getting the strike temperature about right before adding the grain, so that the mash automatically starts out at about the right temperature and only needs a small tweak to hit it precisely.
Kev

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