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Buying, building and using brewing equipment and apparatus. Product reviews and questions.

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Brewer2001
Double IPA
Double IPA
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Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2001 1:56 am

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Post by Brewer2001 »

Ollie,

I like your web page. I do have some questions/suggestions about your rig.

Do you have a false bottom in your mash tun? You should, for three reasons. It enables you to pre-heet the mash tun and create a "base" for the malt that will help during run off. Secondly it helps the mash in which precludes the production of "dough" balls. The added water (liquor) helps achieve a constant pressure on the bed during run off. The gride also helps to filter the wort.

Do you recirculate (Voulauf) the wort through the grain bed until it clears? This is an important step to clearing your ale or beer. If properly set the grain bed is a great filter. A commercial brew system is set up using a valve manifold and Grant to Voulauf the entire volume of wort until it runs clear (harder to see on stout and porters). That clear wort is run off into the kettle. I would as suggested lengthen the hose that you use to run off into the kettle. (I hope to get the George Fix's book for Christmas, I will read up on "hot side aeration" and let you know).

I think I will go open another bottle.

Good brewing,

Tom F.
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Push Eject
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Hi, Tom

Post by Push Eject »

The 10 gallon Rubbermaid is fitted with a Zymico Bazooka T that serves well in place of a false bottom.

I always pour a gallon of my heated mash water in first and swirl it around to preheat the cooler before doughing in.

The first runnings are always recirculated until clear before putting the sparge arm in place.

You have a point about the length of the hose... hot side aeration has never been explained to me satisfactorily so I ignore it. :)

Rock on,
Ollie
Gravity Thrills
Strong Ale
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Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2001 10:12 pm

hot side aeration

Post by Gravity Thrills »

Before the late, great George Fix made everyone aware of the phenomenon, nobody worried about hot side aeration. Many brewers still don't, and a lot of others just do what they can within reason to minimize splashing of heated wort. That's pretty much the philosophy I follow.

There was a good BYO article a couple ogf years ago (I know it's in their online archives) about soem of the great homebrewing debates, and HSA made the list. That author says that he and others have done side by side brews where they treated one batch really gently and splashed the hell out of the other batch (the old Papazian strainer-pour, etc.), to try to judge the effect this had on their beer. If I racall correctly, there may have been some perceived effect but it was minimal.

You probably already so a good job of minimizing splashing on the hot side of the process, which is why HSA has not been an issue. And since it hastens oxidation and staling, you may be like a lot of breweres that just can't keep their brews around long enough to even come into their own - much less show pronounced staling effects :-)

Cheers,
Jim
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