All grain observations

[Shanna]

Hi there

I recently brewed a scotch ale with an OG of 1.075. The recipe had 7.5kg approx of grain in it. Despite letting the wort run clear from my mash tun I got a lot of particulate matter in the boil kettle that has ended up in my fermentor. There is approximately 2" of what looks like trub in the fermentor after just two days. I had seen a lot of scorching on my two heating elements suggesting my problem is my crush. I have a roller mill but don't really have a reliable way to judge whether I am crushing too fine. I end with a lot of flour after crushing. I use an irish moss tablet with 10 minutes left on the boil clock.

I have a candle tray false bottom in my mash tun that is wrapped in ss mesh. I drain through a bottom drain. i suspect that i have three problems.

1. The space on my mill is too narrow making flour of mm y grain

2. The mashtun false bottom needs tweaking to better filter out the small bits.

3. Use a filter to pass the wort through before filling the boil kettle.

Wou like be interested in hearing other brewer's experience on this subject.

Shanna

[Ciderhead]

Use the feeler gauges Bubbles has to work out your gap
Pass several litres through your mash tun before starting to drain to your boiler
Not ideal to have cold break in fermentor, not sure it does any real harm but gets in the way, even though it does fall out.
Don't drain every last drop into fermentor leave a litre or 2 behind, I leave 3
As an experiment autosiphon from top next time into fermentor

[Damien M]

Not all the answers but !

http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/03/26/6-tips-for-crystal-clear-home-brewed-beer/

and

http://bsgcraftbrewing.com/FileCabinet/WortandBeerFining_Manual.pdf

also

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/04/homebrew-troubleshooting-clarifying-your-beer-getting-rid-of-sediment-secondary-hot-cold-break-fining.html

and having said (read) all that!!!

Recirc your Mash till its crystal!!
Hot Break and take the scum off the top
Cold Break as quick and as low as you can.
Depending on your drain point (of View) Center drain use some leaf hops to make a cold break filter or Whirlpool and drain from the side

[Ciderhead]

Your chilling still a problem? Target 20 mins.

[Ciderhead]

If you are seeing scorching and elements are cleaned between brews consider dialling back but still maintain a rolling boil

[Shanna]

Thanks for the tips guys my major concern was on avoiding stuff ggetting in to the boiler to begin with as i had serious scorching on my heating elements (carbon burnt on). I removed both elements yesterday and physically scraped them clean with the back of a knife. I then cleaned the remnants with a scouring pad. Both as good as new now. I currently have a side drain and I guess I need to leave more of the last litres behind as it only contributes to excess trub anyway.

Shanna

[Shanna]

If you are seeing scorching and elements are cleaned between brews consider dialling back but still maintain a rolling boil

Part of my problem i think is that i had not properly cleaned off scorching from previous brews. I tried oxy and citric acid cleaners (not together) with hot water but neither made any inroads on the scorching. I had also tried both plastic & wire bristled brushes with no joy. I have read that you can use caustic soda on cleaning off burnt carbon but it's overkill in my opinion not to mention messy and dangerous. A more effective all be it slower & dirtier option is to scrape the carbon off and finish with a pot scrubber.

Shanna

[Ciderhead]

Citric should do it
Tilt at angle with strong conc and soak and plastic tooth brush  next day

You clean your teeth everyday right!!

[Shanna]

Your chilling still a problem? Target 20 mins.

I replaced the incoming water hose and it made a bit of a difference, but I am still stirring like a demon. Waiting on some parts to arrive before fixing the out flow hose and also improve my side drain.

Shanna

[Shanna]

Citric should do it
Tilt at angle with strong conc and soak and plastic tooth brush  next day

You clean your teeth everyday right!!

Yes and I have cleaned the elements each time too, just the cleaning made no appreciable difference. The carbon is rock hard and the citric i have made no impact. I do brush my teeth every day but usually don't have to take them out to do it

Might be that the citric crystals I have are not strong enough. I suspect if I can prevent more finer particles entering the boiler then my scorching problem should diminish. CH what strength is the citric your using & where do you source it?

Shanna

[Ciderhead]

I got mine from HB shop

[Shanna]

Invested in some fine mesh paint bags that I will be using to contain pellet hops. I was thinking about using one of these to strain the wort coming out of the mash tun to reduce the amount of crap going into the boiler.  Would this cause problems for the wort or should I wait maybe to strain what comes out of the boiler.

Shanna