I’m pretty new to the whole brewing process. I have a 3V system, all electric SS Brewtech equipment. I’ve done about 10 batches now, various styles and have some questions on the mashing process. I’ve been heating water in the HLT and transferring it mash tun. I then recirculate just the water with my water chemistry additions until I have a steady strike water temp. I’ve been doing a 10 min rest (no recirculation) after dough in, and then start the recirc with the vorlauf attachment that SS brewtech provides. It’s basically a spigot that discharges onto a flat piece of metal to disperse the water stream. I recirc for the rest of the mash time. Then I sparge with the sparge attachment which is tubing formed into a ring that has small holes in it that sits on top of the grain bed.
Here comes the questions.
Should I start recirc immediately after dough in or stick with the 10 minutes rest or doesn’t it matter ? I have an insulated mash tun, temperatures seem stable.
Is it worth changing out the vorlauf attachment for the sparge attachment before sparging? Does it make any difference in the sparge ?
Trying to simply the process some if I can and appreciate any advice you can give a beginner.
Though I use HERMS vs RIMS, I mash in, begin recirculating, install the sparge ring below the liquid level, install the lid and don’t remove it until mash is complete, and recirculate the entire mash start to finish.
I do not use the vorlauf attachment at all. I don’t want any splashing to pick up O2.
I do recirculate fairly soon after doughing in the grain, but I find that the ability for wort to flow through the grist is fairly low in that early time and it improves with time. In a way, your ‘rest’ might be avoiding the effect of that low permeability. But I can say that recirculation is the best way to homogenize your wort in comparison to mixing or stirring. The other factor is that you also get the opportunity to adjust and maintain a targeted temperature throughout your wort.
Recirculation also poses a problem if you allow atmospheric contact with your wort and start oxidizing it. While LODO brewing isn’t suited for all brews, in the brews where preserving malt character is important, its a game changer.
I recirculate from start to finish. I think Denny and Martin are correct to avoid the constant splashing or aeration of the mash regardless if you do LODO or not to avoid oxidation of the lipids (this can lead to premature staling of beer).
I also add 3 grams of beta-glucanase to the mash to improve flow. It works almost immediately so the recirc can begin right away without compacting the grain bed. When I sparge I just pump from the HLT onto the top of the grain bed with the same return line used in the recirc. Pretty simple, but it works very well.
OK, well I was going to include some pics of what I have so you can see the vorlauf attachment that SS recommends. It has a larger opening and won’t clog if you run grains through it before the bed is set. I did include the one pic that I was allowed since I’m a new member - its of the recommended sparge attachment. I’m not too worried about clogging anything since I put a 400 mesh bag in the tun as a liner. If I use the sparge attachment for the entire recirc to minimize oxygen exposure, will it still set the grain bed properly and give me the nice clear wort that I’m used to ?
I use that exact setup: same MLT, false bottom, bag, and recirculating ring. I start the recirculating, install the hose, remove the clamps, cinch the bag around the hose, and put the lid on.
Like many of the other commenters, I also recirculate for almost the entire mash. Once I dough in, I let it sit for about 5 minutes to set the grain bed, I then start the recirc and let it continue throughout the rest of the mash using a piece of high temperature hose to keep the recirculated wort below the surface of the liquid in the mash tun. The wort also runs through an electric heating element to maintain the proper mash temp before returning to the mash tun. The hose is also used to gravity feed the sparge liquor into the mash tun when I am running the wort off to the kettle. It works very well for me.
Question about oxygen exposure. My understanding is that O2 will release from liquid starting around 100 F and increase with increased temps to the point where all dissolved O2 is released at boil. That being said, is oxidation really an issue when recirculating at mash temps which will be followed by a boil?
I have a question related to treating the water for brewing. Tomorrow I’m making an IPA and I’ve already done a water test where I live (Bogotá, Colombia). The water here is soft, so I bought calcium sulfate and magnesium sulfate. My question is, can I mix these two compounds or can I only use one? At what point in the mashing process should I add them? Do you have a recipe for how much of each compound I should use?
Thanks in advance for your answer, and I hope your experience will be very helpful
The hardness is 45 ppm and the alkalinity is 40 mg/l. I’m going to treat 25 liters of water; is it okay to use a dose of 5 grams of calcium sulfate and 4 grams of magnesium sulfate?
The idea behind LODO (Low Dissolved Oxygen) is that the oxygen in the mash, although low, will degrade the malt flavor. This is a hotly debated subject and not everyone believes this is a problem. There is a small amount of oxygen in the mash and splashing will introduce even more into the mash. The elevated temperatures are thought to increase the reaction and thus degrading the malt flavors.
I think there is some truth to this idea. I have also heard Sierra Nevada has done research into shelf life and has determined that oxygen in the mash does in fact accelerate staling and reduces shelf life by oxidizing lipids.
Hot side aeration has always been back and forth as to whether or not it’s a big deal. I use some LODO practices and I think it improves the over malt character and shelf life. Not everyone believes this is true, so the debate continues.
I use it and its seems to work. It keeps the wort color down. Some say it’s oxygen that can add color in the wort and that OxBlox reduces the oxygen. I have heard another explanation, that the sodium metabisulfite act as a bleaching agent. I think it’s a combination of both, but I can’t prove it either way.
The science is pretty well established that HSA creates precursors that downstream become trans-2-nonenal (wet cardboard flavor) and related molecules, which combined make a beer taste stale and oxidized. No belief required, because it’s objectively true.
The extent to which HSA causes these staling molecules to ultimately form, however, and the extent to which they are tastable and bothersome to a brewer, both vary based on one’s brewing processes and one’s palate, respectively.
It should not be debated that HSA is a thing, because it is. But how it affects one’s homebrew is definitely a personal thing and open to interpretation.
I caution homebrewers to be wary of products like OxBlox. I am not claiming it doesn’t work as advertised. I am claiming that a vendor selling OxBlox is perfectly okay making unsubstantiated, baseless, evidence-free claims in order to get you to part with your money.
