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Herm’s West Coast IPA is boiling. In what has become a common theme of late, my pre-boil gravity is low (1.043 instead of projected 1.050), so I am opting to extend my boil time to 75 minutes. I will add my Warrior bittering addition at 60 minutes. My projected OG is 1.063 - hopefully that can be achieved.
 
Herm_brews said:
View attachment 12818 Herm’s West Coast IPA is boiling. In what has become a common theme of late, my pre-boil gravity is low (1.043 instead of projected 1.050), so I am opting to extend my boil time to 75 minutes. I will add my Warrior bittering addition at 60 minutes. My projected OG is 1.063 - hopefully that can be achieved.
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After seeing your other picture with the mash at the top of the pot, I wonder if you might get better extraction with a bit more water in the kettle...a thinner mash. Of course, that would mean a bigger kettle. My efficiency went up about 4-5 points when I thinned my mash and I no longer have to bother choking the heck out of the bag after the mash to hit my pre-boil volume. Just a thought.
 
Megary said:
After seeing your other picture with the mash at the top of the pot, I wonder if you might get better extraction with a bit more water in the kettle...a thinner mash. Of course, that would mean a bigger kettle. My efficiency went up about 4-5 points when I thinned my mash and I no longer have to bother choking the heck out of the bag after the mash to hit my pre-boil volume. Just a thought.
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I have my brew house efficiency set at 80%, and I normally achieve that (or close). My mash thickness is set at 1.5 quarts per pound of grain. I do squeeze the grain bag, like it owes me money. Interesting, that at the end of a brew session, I am very close to projections. We’ll see in a little bit how today’s session pans out.

Based on a refractometer reading of 15.0* Brix at flameout, I should be very close to projected OG.
 
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Herm_brews said:
I have my brew house efficiency set at 80%, and I normally achieve that (or close). My mash thickness is set at 1.5 quarts per pound of grain. I do squeeze the grain bag, like it owes me money. Interesting, that at the end of a brew session, I am very close to projections. We’ll see in a little bit how today’s session pans out.

Based on a refractometer reading of 15.0* Brix at flameout, I should be very close to projected OG.
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Excellent.

That’s a riddle for sure. Measurably low on Pre-boil gravity and spot on predicted OG and volume. I am reminded of words spoken by the famous lawyer Vincent LaGuardia Gambini, “Well, perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove!” :)
 
Nice work!
 
Here we go again! Same pale ale recipe as last time. Mash and sparge were much better this time, but I need better insulation for my cooler MLT, or switch to step infusions in the future.

The Reflectix looks interesting...those of you that use it, is it worth the investment? Or any recommendations for good MLT insulation? So far I've tried blankets and then a thick foam camping pad.
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Any decent cooler should hold mash temperature well. My Rubbermaid 10 gallon holds within about 1 degree F for an hour, even opening to stir a couple of times. Most of any heat that does escape goes up through the top, so I did drape a folded towel over the top just as insurance. Also, pre heating with a couple gallons of hot tap water helps. If you have a sprayer, spraying the hot water down the sides as you add it is even better.
 
Yeah I have a big ass Coleman cooler probably almost 20 gallon and it holds temp like a champ. Reflectix can help with a boil though too as the sides of the kettle don't bleed any heat then.
 
I never had a problem with the boil, even at ambient temperatures in the teens. Maybe a few extra minutes to reach boiling, but still much faster than my Digiboil.
 
Sunfire96 said:
Here we go again! Same pale ale recipe as last time. Mash and sparge were much better this time, but I need better insulation for my cooler MLT, or switch to step infusions in the future.

The Reflectix looks interesting...those of you that use it, is it worth the investment? Or any recommendations for good MLT insulation? So far I've tried blankets and then a thick foam camping pad. View attachment 12927
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Just curious on the size of batches you're mashing and size of your tun. Mass can definitely play a role in temps.
 
Sunfire96 said:
Here we go again! Same pale ale recipe as last time. Mash and sparge were much better this time, but I need better insulation for my cooler MLT, or switch to step infusions in the future.

The Reflectix looks interesting...those of you that use it, is it worth the investment? Or any recommendations for good MLT insulation? So far I've tried blankets and then a thick foam camping pad. View attachment 12927
Click to expand...

Given my mashes are < 5 gallons, another piece of equipment (cooler) doesn’t fit in my process. I have a triple layer Reflectix insulation and it works good. Here’s a link to get you started if you want to go that route:

http://fermware.com/reflectix-insulation-jacket-for-your-mash-tun/

A few notes:
- the stuff doesn’t cut easy. Make sure you have a sharp box cutter, etc. especially when you’re cutting holes fo the handles. Scissors don’t work well.
- I found that the foil tape doesn’t hold well after a few uses. So, when it started to come loose, I applied glue to places it was pealing back.
- definitely need to buy the heat resistant Velcro.
- don’t go all the way to the bottom of the MT. I made that mistake and when the stuff touched the burner grates, it melted. Oops. So, I cut off about 1” from the bottom.
 
thunderwagn said:
Just curious on the size of batches you're mashing and size of your tun. Mass can definitely play a role in temps.
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Doing small batches (1.5 gal), and I definitely didn't think about the lack of volume. I bet the cooler would do a better job if I had more than 2 gallons of mash in there. I added my strike water to the cooler about 8-10 degrees F higher than my strike temp and let it sit a few minutes before doughing in at the proper strike temp.
 
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