Brewer’s Cache

Maintaining a constant temperature during the mash is very important to ensure the proper balance and yield of the beer. For new brewers or the average homebrewer that mashes without the assistance of a mash temperature control system, this can sometimes be a headache. The following ‘tricks’ might help you manage:

1.    Preheat the mash tun. This will reduce temperature loss by the mash tun vessel .

2.    Fill the mashtun with the appropriate amount of strike water before adding any of the grain. This will afford you the opportunity to double check the strike water temperature before having to deal with the grains. I generally overheat my strike water by a few degrees to account for temperature loss incurred while measuring out the water. If the temperature loss is less than expected, I just wait a few minutes until the water in the mash tun has dropped to the appropriate level.

3.    Keep the mash tun off of cold tile floors. This is one that I overlooked for nearly a dozen all-grain batches. During the winter months, tile floors act as a significant heat sink. By simply setting the mash tun on your countertop, you might be able to save yourself a degree or two of temperature loss.

4.    Drape some old blankets or some kitchen drying towels over the mash tun to add a little extra insulation. Most insulated coolers are engineered to keep things cold, not warm. Insulation is typically quite lacking in the lids of most igloo coolers.

Popularity: 38% [?]