Sorry for the thread drift, but it’s much easier to be a know it all in a forum than it is face to face. But it’s not happening here! That surprises me, and I like it.
I believe that's called the True Beer (TM) mentality. Anything other than my way is not True Beer (TM). I'm happy to say our homebrew club has little of the True Beer (TM) spirit, much like the environment here. Think about it this way: In a very real sense, we are a virtual homebrew club, at least the regular posters. Only thing is the virtual tasting leaves a bit to be desired.... I've met a few of you in the real world and tasted your beers. And I have to say, I'm proud to be able to hang with you guys. You teach me things and make me think about the things I think I know.
I used to be very involved with another forum (RC flight simulator product). I was fortunate enough to meet several members. It’d be nice to meet some of you, too. Australia is a bit far. Quite an involvement here from there. I get a kick out of that. (Stupid squirrels!) I like what you say about the virtual club. It’s not easy to taste an eBeer!
I'm glad to hear that. Last time I missed my first temperature and ended up with 144º, I let it go for 30 minutes, but then the internet got the best of me, and I ended up doing another step @ 148º, and another at 158º... something about 144º not being hot enough to gelatinize the starches for conversion.... next time, I wont worry about it! Totally. I went from not having ever brewed even an extract, to full on BIAB with excellent results in just a couple of brew sessions. This place has been invaluable.
With my RIMS I halt recirculation and stir every 30 minutes and then about 5min. before draining use my thermometer(gently) to rake as it recirculates so I ensure a even flow through the grain. I tried stirring quite a while back and noticed a different viscosity or maybe smoothness to the mash. With recrculating my mash settles less after a gentle stir. Also it's a good way to double check if you are trying to recirculate too quickly and compacting the grain.
I have to “even out the grain” during the sparge because the constant recirc creates dips and holes in the bed. It doesn’t effect the mash, but I don’t want a hole in the bed during the sparge.
Exactly. The glass lab thermometer is what I use to "rake" so I have no choice but to be gentle. Those holes won't affect The mash but will affect the sparge. The stir(with a ss spoon) at 30 min. seems to I guess fluff the grain for lack of other words. If the mash goes 90 min. the second stir at 60 min. finds the grain bed is much softer.
A lot of brews ago i broke a lead weighted glass thermometer in the mash. I remember postong on the forum as to weather i toss the batch or drink it. I ended up drinking it touch wood im still alive.
My thoughts on the glass and lead in mash was i BIAB so when i removed the bag hopefully i removed the lead balls and glass shards. Another perk for BIAB.
I just heard on the news that there is a recall on salad that contains shards of glass. I wonder if one of the executives recommended to the board to advise customers to eat around them?
You don't need to worry about introducing oxygen in the mash. You put plenty in when you drain or sparge. Most will come out in the boil then you need to oxygenate the wort before you pitch the yeast.
Reasonable precautions: I don't see any need to stir the mash once I've got my initial temperature and pH and have done any adjustments needed. I average around 80% conversion, good enough for homebrew.
As I use a RIMS setup I don't stir after mash in either. Continuous recirculation over the top of the grain bed does the job for me.
