Polarware False Bottoms

Brewing Processes
1

I recently got a Polarware false bottom and Blichmann Brewometer  for for my 10 Gallon brew kettle to use a mash tun. Can anyone tell me how to adjust my mash in Beersmith so the mash in calculates correctly with the gallon or so of water that will never touch the mash?  I believe I need to adjust the grain/water ratio in each mash step. Is this correct and if so what should the grain/water radio be?  The default is 1.18.

Thanks

2

Try editing the lauter tun dead space in the “equipment” section and see if that fixes it.  That might just be for calculating losses to the kettle though.  You can also try editing it in the “water needed” area and see if that helps.  You shouldn’t adjust your grist/water ratio though, you should do it as normal and add a gallon (or whatever) to account for the space under the false bottom.

3

Can you tell me where the “water needed” area is in BS?  I know what you mean as the dead space, but I think that is for laudering / sparging and not for mashing.  My concern is I will have water that never touches the grains.  If I add more water my temperature of my mash will be off. If I do not may mash will be thick and will probably get stuck. Northern Brewer suggested changing the grain/water ratio in the mash and recirculating the water under the false bottom.  I was hoping I was not the only one who has ran into this problem. :smiley:

Thanks for the feed back!

4

You’re over thinking it.  What I do is calculate the water needed based on the grin bill, then add some to account for the space under the false bottom.  Then I use that number to calculate my strike water temp.  You don’t have to worry about it “never touching” your grain, you might have some dilute wort under there, but a little recirculation (which you’ll do anyway for at least a little while) will redistribute that.

Water needed is on the left side, under tools.

5

That’s exactly what I do, too.  It may take a few sessions to dial in the numbers to get the proper strike temps, but once you’ve done it a couple times it’s all pretty straightforward. 
I pump from under the false bottom back to the top during the mash (through a heater) to maintain the temp and to bring the water under the false bottom back into contact with the grain bed.

6

Well I brewed a Belgian Strong Ale and with some minor adjustments in BrewSmith This is what I did.

  1. Measured how much waster was under the false bottom.  1 gallon to be exact.
  2. Changed my preferences in BeerSmith from Liters to Gallons for my mash profile
  3. Since this was a single infusion at 149 degree I adjusted the water/grain ratio on that mash schedule to be exactly 1 gallon more than required.  I hit the 149 degrees with out any issues. :-). I recirculated the mash a few times for a consistent temperature. (thanks for the tip)
  4. For the mash out, I had to place on a burner I was off a few degrees there but its a work in progress.  I always have some trouble here.  Good thing its in a brew kettle and not a cooler.
    The original gravity was 1.083 and perfect for the style and the instructions from Northern Brewer.  I made a hearty starter and injected with wort with oxygen. The primary fermentation was very vigorous.  Now the tough part…wait for about 4 -6 months.

Thanks for all the input and help.