I have a 2 vessel no-sparge setup where I heat strikewater in the kettle, then pump it into the mash tun to mash, then pump it back out to the kettle to boil. I have a brew bag in the mash tun for ease of grain removal, and use a hoist to lift it up and drain it. I’ve been doing a recirc after the mash is done, but am I just adding a step and wasting time? Since I hoist the bag up I don’t really need to set the grain bed, and conversion doesn’t improve after a recirc. One thing I have not tried is to drain the tun completely before hoisting the bag out, which could eliminate some splashed wort and oxygen pickup. Any opinions from BIABers or no-spargers?
I have recently started recirculating during the entire mash. I have seen my conversion go way up as compared to just letting the mash rest for an hour. If this isn't a bad practice, I don't think what you're doing is a waste of time. However, now I am wondering if I shouldn't recirc the whole time based on your comment of just doing it at the end. Is there is a reason to only do it at the end?
I do not recirculate my BIAB anymore. I think I would maintain mash temperature better if I did, and I might get better conversion, but I don't enjoy the noise of the pump. No point brewing my own beer if I'm not going to like the process.
If only there were some way to maintain mash temperatures without RIMS/HERMS/pumps. This has been a Public Service Announcement brought to you by the Campaign for Real Mash Tuns. Yeah, it's a half-assed edit. It's 4:30 am.
You may still be getting a little bit of the benefit (clearer wort, less lipids) of a quasi-vorlauf. Hoisting the bag (i.e. shifting the grains) probably undoes some of that, but my guess is not all of it. The less splashing the better. And when you do hoist the bag, try to keep the bottom of the bag as close to the surface of the wort as possible. I've done this a few times on a half barrel nano brew-in-a-basket system. It's a PITA, but I think worthwhile.
My BIAB set up is heated by a Blichman BoilCoil. I've use it for about 5 years and used a cooler mash tun for the previous 10. The the boilcoil plus recirculation promised a temp control that I wasn't getting with my cooler. The problem with the cooler, I thought was the temperature variation throughout the cooler, particularly lower temps at the top compared to the bottom of the mash. Well, it turns out that I have the same issue with the boilcoil setup, without the recirculation (see earlier post about not enjoying noisy brew days). There is ~ a 10 degree difference between thermometer under the mash (the controlling thermometer, in my set up) vs. what my Thermoworks says at the top of the mash. None of this is a big surprise, heat escapes from the top, so cooler at the top. But what difference does it make for the beer? I'd assume that my lower than planned mash temps would lead to a thinner, perhaps drier beer, but I haven't really really noticed. Or maybe it all averages out. Or maybe I've just become accustomed to my beer turning out a particular way. My brewing has slowed down and I haven't investigated in an experimental way yet.
