Found Collection

> Thanks

>The biggest difference between the two is that you can't direct heat a
>cooler. So step mashes have to be done by either decoction or hot
>water additions. Considering that 99% of all malt available is well
>modified, step mashes are not critical to good beer.

>The cooler provides fantastic insulation properties which allows you
>to set you mash temp and forget until it's time to sparge. Pots will
>usually need some added heat or can be insulated with a blanket, etc.
>The great insulation also makes the cooler more difficult to change
>temps.

>IMHO, if you're going the RIMS or HERMS route, I'd go with the cooler.
>The pump and external heaters make temp adjustments real easy. If you
>not going the pump route, I'd go with a pot. Face it, half the reson
>for going all grain is having the ability to set your mash temps fopr
>the particular style of beer. If you want a 155F mash and your
>mash-in hits 145F, you'll want to raise the temp somehow. Removing a
>portion to heat or adding a lot of hot water can be a hassle. Directly
>heating the tun is real easy.

> I agree with most of what Dan said, but my suggestion is to go with a cooler
> unless you're sure you will be doing multi-step mashes. If you miss your 155
> strike by 10 degrees, it's only because you severely miscalculated somewhere.
> With a little experience you can hit you strike to within 1F everytime in a
> cooler. Also, if you're planning on direct heating a mash tun, you need to
> consider your false bottom design. One that doesn't allow you to stir near the
> bottom can lead to scortching and uneven heating. IMO, even with a good design I
> found it a big hassle to constantly stir the mash during temperature boosts -
> especially for 10 gallon or larger batches.

>One other problem with a cooler is not being able to do a mash out. Some
>feel this is an important step. Certainly not necessary, but it appears to
>make the sparge go a bit better and may increase efficiency.

> >One other problem with a cooler is not being able to do a mash out. Some
> >feel this is an important step. Certainly not necessary, but it appears to
> >make the sparge go a bit better and may increase efficiency.

> You can mash out in a cooler. Just add enough boiling water to raise the temp to
> 168F. This will thin at the mash, but during mash out who cares? The purpose is
> to denature the enzymes and mash thickness is not important.

>> >One other problem with a cooler is not being able to do a mash out. Some
>> >feel this is an important step. Certainly not necessary, but it appears to
>> >make the sparge go a bit better and may increase efficiency.

>>You can mash out in a cooler. Just add enough boiling water to raise the temp to
>>168F. This will thin at the mash, but during mash out who cares? The purpose is
>> to denature the enzymes and mash thickness is not important.

>You sure this is the reason for a mash out?  If the starch is all
>converted, what good does killing the enzymes do?  I thought the purpose
>of a mash out was to make the wort thinner so it flows better, hence
>more efficiency.

> > >One other problem with a cooler is not being able to do a mash out. Some
> > >feel this is an important step. Certainly not necessary, but it appears to
> > >make the sparge go a bit better and may increase efficiency.

> > You can mash out in a cooler. Just add enough boiling water to raise the temp to
> > 168F. This will thin at the mash, but during mash out who cares? The purpose is
> > to denature the enzymes and mash thickness is not important.

> You sure this is the reason for a mash out?  If the starch is all
> converted, what good does killing the enzymes do?  I thought the purpose
> of a mash out was to make the wort thinner so it flows better, hence
> more efficiency.

> --
> Mother knows best

> This works particularly well with batch sparging, as you really don't care how
> much liquid is above the grain bed. Traditional fly spargers might be alarmed at
> the liquid level, but I really don't see that it would make a functional
> difference. You could run into capacity problems with very high gravity beers.

> Burp,
> -Dan

> > You can mash out in a cooler. Just add enough boiling water to raise the temp to
> > 168F. This will thin at the mash, but during mash out who cares? The purpose is
> > to denature the enzymes and mash thickness is not important.

> > This works particularly well with batch sparging, as you really don't care how
> > much liquid is above the grain bed. Traditional fly spargers might be alarmed at
> > the liquid level, but I really don't see that it would make a functional
> > difference. You could run into capacity problems with very high gravity beers.

> Now, ask me if I think this is an important effect for us homebrewers to
> worry about.  (Hint: NO!)

> I have not noticed a big difference in ease of runoff or efficiency, for
> mash-out versus no mash-out.  I used to do 'em almost every batch, now I
> usually don't bother.

> --

> > > >One other problem with a cooler is not being able to do a mash out. Some
> > > >feel this is an important step. Certainly not necessary, but it appears to
> > > >make the sparge go a bit better and may increase efficiency.

> > > You can mash out in a cooler. Just add enough boiling water to raise the temp to
> > > 168F. This will thin at the mash, but during mash out who cares? The purpose is
> > > to denature the enzymes and mash thickness is not important.

> > You sure this is the reason for a mash out?  If the starch is all
> > converted, what good does killing the enzymes do?  I thought the purpose
> > of a mash out was to make the wort thinner so it flows better, hence
> > more efficiency.

> > --
> > Mother knows best

> > I use a 10 gal Gott for 10 gallon batches. Before I converted my
> > system to a HERMS, I was never able to add enough boiling water to the
> > remaing volume in the cooler to get the temperature up for a mash out.
> > With a 5 gallon batch, it was no problem. The cooler is so well
> > insulated, it just doesn't like temp changes.

> > Burp,
> > -Dan

> > > You can mash out in a cooler. Just add enough boiling water to raise the temp to
> > > 168F. This will thin at the mash, but during mash out who cares? The purpose is
> > > to denature the enzymes and mash thickness is not important.

> > > This works particularly well with batch sparging, as you really don't care how
> > > much liquid is above the grain bed. Traditional fly spargers might be alarmed at
> > > the liquid level, but I really don't see that it would make a functional
> > > difference. You could run into capacity problems with very high gravity beers.

> If not doing a mash out results in more fermentables, how can a mash out contribute to
> more efficiency?  Seems to me, if you do a mash out, you prevent additional dextrins
> from being converted to fermentable wort, that's lowering efficiency, not increasing it.