Mash out and BIAB

I'm a past perfect continuous type of guy... (I have to teach this, it's my living...)
'Mash out has been driving me mad!';)
But, no, honestly, it has.
I constantly fret over it. Do I gradually heat the water under the mash and monitor the mash temp or just not bother.
My fear is that the water under the mash is almost boiling, the mash immediately above goes way over temp and the top bit of the mash that I can monitor gradually gets to near perfect 75c....while the rest of the mash is heated up way beyond what is needed...
I almost always just forget and sparge with about 3 litres instead.
In the meantime, my efficiency is terrible. Must be about 50-60%:(
 
The Green Man said:
I'm a past perfect continuous type of guy... (I have to teach this, it's my living...)
'Mash out has been driving me mad!';)
But, no, honestly, it has.
I constantly fret over it. Do I gradually heat the water under the mash and monitor the mash temp or just not bother.
My fear is that the water under the mash is almost boiling, the mash immediately above goes way over temp and the top bit of the mash that I can monitor gradually gets to near perfect 75c....while the rest of the mash is heated up way beyond what is needed...
I almost always just forget and sparge with about 3 litres instead.
In the meantime, my efficiency is terrible. Must be about 50-60%:(
Click to expand...
Just stir mate give it a bottom towards top stir to mix her all togeter hold the temp probe in the whirlpool and it should give you a pretty uniform mash temp. Always remember the temp your reading right now will at least rise a degree or more after flame out so cut the heat at lets say 65c if trying to hit reast of 67. Wait then read in a minute or twos time when temp is stabilised. Youll get better at this and more intune the more you brew.

I dont think a mash temp is too critical at or around 76c is ok with me supposedly over 80c is bad remember its still in the saccarifiacation range at 71c!
 
The Green Man said:
I'm a past perfect continuous type of guy... (I have to teach this, it's my living...)
'Mash out has been driving me mad!';)
But, no, honestly, it has.
I constantly fret over it. Do I gradually heat the water under the mash and monitor the mash temp or just not bother.
My fear is that the water under the mash is almost boiling, the mash immediately above goes way over temp and the top bit of the mash that I can monitor gradually gets to near perfect 75c....while the rest of the mash is heated up way beyond what is needed...
I almost always just forget and sparge with about 3 litres instead.
In the meantime, my efficiency is terrible. Must be about 50-60%:(
Click to expand...
Force yourself to try a batch with no mash-out. You'll never do another one. It's unnecessary work at our scale. The enzymes have already produced almost as much sugar as they can after a 60 minute mash. At larger scales, mash out may get a point or two additional efficiency out of the grain, it's worth it to them, it's a handfull more of malt to us. Batch sparge at 170 F does the same thing anyway.
 
My efficiency has been shooting up since I've stopped treating 60 minutes as a drop dead time. I just take a refractometer reading every 10-15 minutes from 60 minutes. Then when I'm +/- a few points from target turn on the heat, pull the bag and let it drip.

I did a RIS a few days ago and it just kept climbing. At 60 minutes it was 1.058, then I got distracted a few times and ended up at 1.111 after two hours. May end up being a bit more fermentable than I was hoping, but I'll take that as I was having trouble hitting estimated final gravity the last few batches.

Also listened to one of the BIAB originators and he was insistent on doing a 90 minute mash with no sparge or mash out (apart from the default heating up for boil part).
 
I'm thinking I might do a 120 on my RIS tomorrow just to see where I get with it.
 
Mark Farrall said:
My efficiency has been shooting up since I've stopped treating 60 minutes as a drop dead time. I just take a refractometer reading every 10-15 minutes from 60 minutes. Then when I'm +/- a few points from target turn on the heat, pull the bag and let it drip.

I did a RIS a few days ago and it just kept climbing. At 60 minutes it was 1.058, then I got distracted a few times and ended up at 1.111 after two hours. May end up being a bit more fermentable than I was hoping, but I'll take that as I was having trouble hitting estimated final gravity the last few batches.

Also listened to one of the BIAB originators and he was insistent on doing a 90 minute mash with no sparge or mash out (apart from the default heating up for boil part).
Click to expand...

Spot on. This is especially an alternative for those who cannot 'crush fine'. Just go 90 minutes with the mash.
 
The Green Man said:
I'm a past perfect continuous type of guy... (I have to teach this, it's my living...)
'Mash out has been driving me mad!';)
But, no, honestly, it has.
I constantly fret over it. Do I gradually heat the water under the mash and monitor the mash temp or just not bother.
My fear is that the water under the mash is almost boiling, the mash immediately above goes way over temp and the top bit of the mash that I can monitor gradually gets to near perfect 75c....while the rest of the mash is heated up way beyond what is needed...
I almost always just forget and sparge with about 3 litres instead.
In the meantime, my efficiency is terrible. Must be about 50-60%:(
Click to expand...
Yeah my efficiency on my last batch was pretty lousy also, recirculated mash will distribute the heat pretty evenly throughout the mash i've heard. If you're prepared to stump up for a cuppla pumps.
 
I like everything about BIAB, but the hardest part .. really the only hard part .. is pulling a bag that is between 140 and 155 degrees when it first leaves the kettle. I would not want it to be 160+ when it might get me a point in gravity (Really a hundredth of a point, no?)
 
soccerdad said:
I like everything about BIAB, but the hardest part .. really the only hard part .. is pulling a bag that is between 140 and 155 degrees when it first leaves the kettle. I would not want it to be 160+ when it might get me a point in gravity (Really a hundredth of a point, no?)
Click to expand...

when I had that issue I bought some heat proof gloves they go to my elbow, you can actually boil them with no issues
 
Ozarks Mountain Brew said:
when I had that issue I bought some heat proof gloves they go to my elbow, you can actually boil them with no issues
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Harbor Freight for a cheap pulley. Assuming you brew in a basement or garage. I don’t think the wife would appreciate a pulley hanging down in her kitchen.
 
jeffpn said:
Mine would. It’d keep her from yelling, “Help I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” She could get up herself, and I wouldn’t have to get off the couch. :D
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it might even come in good use for you too Jeffpn:p!
 
Maybe. But I’d have to install a beam from the couch to the kitchen so I can slide the pulley. But why get off the couch?
 
Seemed like proper thread to put this in, just finished second BIAB brew using 32 qt kettle with false bottom, using 3 step mash. 115-20min, 140-30min 158 30min dunk sparge., and ended up at 84% efficiency on both. I was wondering if others get efficiency this high in BIAB?? Do you think I could bring this up more if I did a slower rinse sparge??

Good thing is I can save a pound or 2 of grain every batch and still hit my targeted abv.
 
I consider anything over 80% to be a bonus.
 
Agreed with ^^^. I'm not brewing for efficiency. Around 80% is normal for me and quite good enough.
 
Medarius said:
Seemed like proper thread to put this in, just finished second BIAB brew using 32 qt kettle with false bottom, using 3 step mash. 115-20min, 140-30min 158 30min dunk sparge., and ended up at 84% efficiency on both. I was wondering if others get efficiency this high in BIAB?? Do you think I could bring this up more if I did a slower rinse sparge??

Good thing is I can save a pound or 2 of grain every batch and still hit my targeted abv.
Click to expand...
I've hit 84% once but get around 80% pretty consistantly.
 
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