Steam for Mash Tun

If you find an article more recent than 1994...you might have better luck finding someone with some experience on this "basement forum".

I will usually give the benefit of the doubt to new brewers, but everyone has their limits

Your avatar and username says it all.

 

I sort of remember that article, or the discussion it started on the old hbd.
Here is a reply, tannins/astringency would be an issue.
http://www.beerandloafing.org/hbd/fetch.php?id=61649

Many production breweries, use steam, but I have never heard of one directly injecting to the mash-but they have more thermal mass so less temp drop.

 

I would bet that fewer than a dozen people have tried mash direct steam injection in the 20 years since that article was written. Best of luck finding them.

Please do go ask on a non-basement forum and share your results here. And congratulations, I suspect you made it onto a few "do not help" lists this week.

 

You are making brewing WAY to complicated... preheat the cooler with 200 degree water and let it come down to your strike temp of 165 or so ... put that steam idea out of your mind.

 

I was genuinely curious about the technique, but it certainly seems like quite a bit of trouble to go through for what I can't imagine are much different results than my very low tech Denny cooler method. It feels like too much copying pro technique for the sake of being "pro" when it just doesn't make much practical sense. I imagine that Vikeman is right and very few people are going through the trouble.

Yes there were some overly snarky replies, but this really is one of the least pretentious, helpful home brewing communities on the web. If this is a basement forum I guess I'm happy to be a basement dweller.

Good luck with your engineering and I'd love a report back if you think you can achieve a meaningfully better result.

 

10 gal coolers are sometimes just too big for low/medium gravity 5 gal batches to maintain mash temperatures easily/effectively (no snarkiness or pretentiousness intended)

Sometimes I forget I'm doing 10 gal batches now...I brewed 5 gal batches for years with (2) 3 gal coolers.

 

Thanks for the link . . . and yes it has been done. Several youtube videos show steam injected mash tuns, all made recently.

I offer these ideas: If you have an open system (where the steam exits into the mash tun), condensation will adversely effect your water/grist ratio. You can correct this by using superheated steam or a closed system. Superheated steam will certainly prevent any extra liquid in the mash tun but it's a little bit dangerous. At least one of the videos did not show the narrator, which leads me to believe there may have been some "scalding" involved. A closed system will also work. You will need to drill through your mash tun (easily done with an igloo cooler) and install a closed loop similar to an immersion chiller. This will handle the heat transfer and on the exit a simple condenser will recycle the liquid. You will be dealing with conventional steam which I consider safer. If you install redundant blow-off valves there should be no need for protective shielding.

If you brew before you complete the fabrication I would use red towels . . . they seem warmer to the touch.

 

I have thought of something like this in the past when I struggled to keep my free headspace warm on small beers but never got around to making anything. Ill be curious to see what you put together.

 

I think some here are encouraging a process that is not only potentially dangerous, but serious overkill for the vast majority of homebrew setups...youtube videos exist for just about anything...some good and instructful...others, not so much IMHO

Those that have suggested RIMS or HERMS systems excepted...cheers