couple of questions after first all grain

[tandpbrewing]

My first all grain attempt seemed to go pretty well. I am using a 7 gallon rubbermaid MLT. There are just a few things that I have questions about.

1. I seemed to have a ton of grist in the boil and then the fermenter, i tried using a funnel and filter to remove it but it clogged the filter far too quickly to make that worthwhile. Is it normal for an all grain to have lots of grain still in the wort when it goes to the fermenter? I will probably use a grain bag over the siphon, but doesn't having any grain in the boil cause it to leech tannins? Also, floating grist in the hydrometer tube would cause my OG to read high right?

2. Unfortunately I do not have a large enough pot for a full boil, but I do have 3 large pots (one 20 quart, 2 16 quart pots) and buying a bigger one is not feasible for a while, what do I need to take into consideration while doing a split boil? Is it alright to just add the hops (and irish moss etc.) to the larger of my 2 boils? and then combine at the fermenter? Can anyone give me a rough idea of what kind of evaporation rate I will be looking at with two boils?

I think I finally figured out beersmith's water needed tool so I guess I dont need to ask about that.

Thanks.

 

[The Pol]

What sort of filter did you use when you did your lautering? False bottom? Braid? I am unsure as to why youd have so much grist in your wort if you used either of these. Did you take the first runnings, with the grains in them, and recirculate them?

About the boils... you need to find a way to get a kettle. Your hop utilization will be pretty wack with two separate boils, of different volumes. Get a cheap aluminum turkey fryer pot... it will be worth the 20 bucks!!

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Yes, please elaborate on your MLT setup.

You can do split boils, but I agree, getting a turkey fryer for $30 will make your life a lot easier. I learned how to brew from a guy who did split boils on his stove top. It took forever to bring the wort to a boil, and it never really boiled that vigorously. If you keep the split boils, split your hops in the same proportions as your split wort. I have no idea what to recommend on the boil off rate. It will have a lot to do with how vigorously your boil is and the dimensions of your pots.

 

[tandpbrewing]

I used Fly Guys DIY instructions, with a stainless steel braid filter, and yes i did recirculate a few times.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Hmmm. Something doesn't sound right. You shouldn't get hardly any grain past the braid. Are you sure the braid is SS? They've got SS-looking braided lines that are really plastic.

 

[derogg]

Do you have large holes in your braid, or did you not seal off the end? I can't understand why you would have so much grist coming out. I use a braid and even in the vorlauf, there is hardly any chunks. - Dirk

 

[tandpbrewing]

its definitely stainless steel, and it is plugged, i feel like maybe the grain mill at the brew shop grinds the grain to fine, theres often some powdery fine grain in there. I think when I brew tomorrow I might stick a grain bag over the braid and see how that works. I'm going to go do some searching on grain grinding, but I hope thats not it because the lady that runs the LHBS is crazy and I'm sure she won't adjust the mill.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I like to recirculate and then put a grain bag over the tubing as it drains to the kettle. It works very well.

 

[WBC]

Are you using a fining agent like Irish moss or whirlfloc tabs?
Do you run some of the wort into a pot and recirculate runnings until it runs clear?

 

[malkore]

a little bit of 'flour' in the grain is normal.

you do NOT crank open the ball valve on the mash tun...about 50-60% open is all you can really go, or you'll flow too fast and never get clear runnings (that's what I see in both of mine).

I never have any floaties in my wort.

and if you split boil, I'd urge you to split your hops between the pots. Hop utilization at different gravities matters too, so you'll have to drain some of the runnings into each pot to get semi-consistent gravities.

Or drop $40 on a turkey fryer and propane burner. split boils suck. been there, done that, no fun.