BIAB Thermometer?

[Mike at Bay]

Hey gang....after years of brewing with an old kettle (BIAB) I recently got the SS Brewtech Kettle. I bought the kettle thermometer with it but sadly this will not work with BIAB brewing......it is so sharp and pointy it could hurt a human let alone a nylon bag. Any ideas for BIAB in kettle temp monitoring? Clearly I can open the lid during the mashing and stick my thermopen in there to keep an eye on temp but I was hoping there is a better solution out there than doesn't require constantly dithering the mashing.

 

[Sandy Feet]

Don't. I have a long probe manual thermometer. I use it to hit strikewater temp.
I use a calculator for where the strikewater will mash after the grain. Cover the kettle with towels or whatever and leave the damn thing alone until after the mash. In a big kettle you should be very close after 60 or 70 minutes assuming a somewhat normal ambient temperature outside.

 

[Sandy Feet]

I mash like I like to use the smoker: Leave it alone and let it do it's thing.

 

[Dave Y]

My electric kettle temp control gets me pretty close, there's about a 3-5 degree diff between the middle of the mash bed and the bottom/sides of the malt pipe when I'm mashing and stop recirculating. It's pretty tough to get a read on how much recirculation helps steady that temp and even it out, but I'm sure it helps. As part of my process I stir the grains at several points throughout the mash.

I use a quick acting thermometer for checking but otherwise, once I know the the offset from a few readings, I rely on the kettle thermo to keep me in the lane.

 

[Brew Cat]

I agree with the above posts for a simple single infusion
But if you want better extraction you should probably open it up to stir once so check withe a long stem
If you're step mashing or decocting you will be open to stir as well
Not quite sure you need the kettle thermometer except in a HLT
And if you're recirculating you would probably be using digital
IMO remove the thing and put in a sight glass, much more useful

 

[Mike at Bay]

I mash like I like to use the smoker: Leave it alone and let it do it's thing.

I have been stirring occasionally throughout the mash But that does require some effort once the plan

I agree with the above posts for a simple single infusion
But if you want better extraction you should probably open it up to stir once so check withe a long stem
If you're step mashing or decocting you will be open to stir as well
Not quite sure you need the kettle thermometer except in a HLT
And if you're recirculating you would probably be using digital
IMO remove the thing and put in a sight glass, much more useful

Thanks yep it is removed. How would the sight glass be useful?

 

[Brew Cat]

I have been stirring occasionally throughout the mash But that does require some effort once the plan

Thanks yep it is removed. How would the sight glass be useful?

The sight glass will let you know your volume exactly
None of my pots have one but if they had that extra whole to plug I would consider it

 

[Minbari]

You can get really short probe thermos. I do biab and have a probe in the middle port. . It just barely pokes out.

 

[Mike at Bay]

You can get really short probe thermos. I do biab and have a probe in the middle port. . It just barely pokes out.

Thanks I will look for one.

 

[Brew Cat]

You can get really short probe thermos. I do biab and have a probe in the middle port. . It just barely pokes out.

well that would be nice to fill the hole but you still need to monitor the center of the mash
the outside of the pot will give you a false reading just like my AIO which has the probe on the bottom
optimal would be a long stem through the lid into the center of the mash

 

[Minbari]

well that would be nice to fill the hole but you still need to monitor the center of the mash
the outside of the pot will give you a false reading just like my AIO which has the probe on the bottom
optimal would be a long stem through the lid into the center of the mash

if you are constantly recirculating, the difference at center of the mash vs the outer edge is negligible.

 

[Brew Cat]

if you are constantly recirculating, the difference at center of the mash vs the outer edge is negligible.

maybe but if your using a mash pipe it will not be that accurate of the center of the mash although it may be more accurate than mine placed in the bottom
but I agree it may be negligible like most mash temps
it probably only matters to brewers who concern themselves with holding exact temperatures
if your recirculating maybe an inline thermometer or 2

 

[Sandy Feet]

A different answer plus for every brewer LOL.
I don't mess with it all once grain has been added, but I do run very low efficiencies. I just like easy, and that works.

 

[Brew Cat]

A different answer plus for every brewer LOL.
I don't mess with it all once grain has been added, but I do run very low efficiencies. I just like easy, and that works.

the main thing is to at least start at an accurate temperature
I've blown batches because of inaccurate temp readings
usually digital ones
I'm actually doing a single infusion mash as we speak and I have 3 thermometers out to check the temp is in a desirable range

 

[Sandy Feet]

With a calculator and a good strike water temp, it will be accurate at the start. Mine are usually dead on at the end unless it is really cold outside. A calculator and a little insulation (even if only a couple of beach towels) goes a long way once the heat is off.

 

[Herm brews]

I do full volume BIAB in my 5.5 gallon Ss Brewtech kettle. The kettle has a thermo probe port, but I use a hand held digital thermometer. During the mash, the kettle is wrapped with a fleece blanket, a towel is draped over the lid, and a fleece pullover completes the insulation. At 20 minute intervals, I quickly stir, collect a refractometer sample, then check temperature of mash and record the results. That works for me.

 

[Mike at Bay]

well that would be nice to fill the hole but you still need to monitor the center of the mash
the outside of the pot will give you a false reading just like my AIO which has the probe on the bottom
optimal would be a long stem through the lid into the center of the mash

Yes agreed it fills the hole and gives a visual on what "could" be happening in the kettle.

 

[Mike at Bay]

So my process as of recently:

Mill grains twice at credit card width...I BIAB so less concern with mash thickness and it seems thinner is better in my set up for efficiency.

I "unblanket" every 20 mins-ish and check temp with thermopen and stir (first time I also check PH)

I have not attempted a step mash yet but will be in an upcoming brew in June.

I am considering the purchase of the 24 probe from Thermopen.

 

[Brew Cat]

So my process as of recently:

Mill grains twice at credit card width...I BIAB so less concern with mash thickness and it seems thinner is better in my set up for efficiency.

I "unblanket" every 20 mins-ish and check temp with thermopen and stir (first time I also check PH)

I have not attempted a step mash yet but will be in an upcoming brew in June.

I am considering the purchase of the 24 probe from Thermopen.

not sure you need to crush twice
the gap is the gap
if its not fine enough just tighten the gap
you don't need powder
a credit card is about .030 I crush .027 for BIAB and bet 80-85%

 

[Sandy Feet]

not sure you need to crush twice
the gap is the gap
if its not fine enough just tighten the gap
you don't need powder
a credit card is about .030 I crush .027 for BIAB and bet 80-85%

It does work with BIAB. If the nice guy is working at the brewstore, they will double crush for me. With BIAB, you DO almost need powder.
Double crush is good.