Disaster in the still house

Production methods from starch to sugars.

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Boda Getta
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Disaster in the still house

Post by Boda Getta »

Put a 30 gal batch of mash on last night of my usual wheated bourbon and got in bed around midnight. I use the no cook method and it has always worked great. Used 70 lbs of grain with around 20 gals water (I reserve 10 gal to cool the mast if needed before adding malted grain) Added hi temp enzymes, then off to bed. Up at 6:30, went out to see how close to the target 148F to add the malt. The floor of my still house was standing in water! What the hell, did I leave a hose running ? No. Did my cooling water Big Brute spring a leak? No. WTF. Took the top off the Big Brute mash barrel and it had sprung a leak and most of the water had drained onto the floor. Oh shit. The good news was the temp of the porridge was about right to add malt. I quickly heated up around 10 gals of water to 148 , and added it with my malted barley, gave it a added shot of low temp enzymes, covered it back up to wait and see if it convents.

Any guesses as to what will happen with this batch? I don't have a clue what the effect will be be. Conversion hasn't happened so I shouldn't have lost the sugar in the grain. Any guesses?

BG
greggn
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by greggn »

> Conversion hasn't happened so I shouldn't have lost the sugar in the grain. Any guesses?


Conversion hadn't happened yet but gelatinization had ... so you lost starches. Which means you lost potential sugars. Run what you have left and be thankful it wasn't a total loss.

OR

Save your malt and make the run a sugarhead.
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fizzix
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by fizzix »

Sorry to hear about that, boda getta.
When my Brute is filled awaiting a run, I often think of what a mess a leak would be.
Good luck.
hpby98
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by hpby98 »

Use a ldpe liner?

Cheap insurance and easy cleanup after

https://www.uline.com/BL_6754/Round-Bottom-Drum-Liners" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Boda Getta
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by Boda Getta »

Disaster averted. After the leak I added about 10 gals 150 ish water and my 2 row I also added a extra shot of Low Temp enzyme and covered it up for about two hours. Checked conversion using the iodine test and it converted great. Tasted it and it is sweet as candy. The SG came in at 1.068! I never would have thunk it. I did have a good fine grain on my grains, used both hi and low temp enzymes, as well as 14% two row AND my grain bill came in at a little more than +2.25 lbs/gal. I'm guessing that I built so many fudge factors that it just over came the mishap but I'm a happy camper now.

This experience does raised a question: When I started doing all grains I went with the typical 2#/gal but have gradually keep getting higher with the grain. My usual grain bill called for 42#'s corn; rather that messing with the weighting, as well ending up with a small piece of bag of corn, I started just using a 50# bag, as well as bumped up the wheat and malt as well. The Big Brute stayed the sam,e size. At this stage in my life I don't consider the cost of the grain a big deal. At 70 years of age, the work involved is a big deal, so I guess I started pushing the envelop. Finally to my question: Is there a down-side to these high gravity grain bills as far as quality of the finished product.

BG
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jonnys_spirit
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by jonnys_spirit »

Was it a brute trash can? How did the leak develop?
-j
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i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred
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zapata
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by zapata »

I always end up with holes in my brutes eventually. I am not easy on them at all. Sometimes they scuff through from dragging over rough concrete. Sometimes they get pin holes from god knows what. I just retire them and use them as trash cans, though by now I have a half dozen trash cans!
Liners are good insurance and make cleanup easy, though I dont like them for things that need to be stirred, like a mash. Food grade liners are hard for me to find in town, I do have a local source for clear leaf bags that I verified are food grade, but they have crappy unreliable seams.
For insurance and especially if I have already spotted thin spots I will use a heavy black "contractor" bag or drum liner on the OUTSIDE of the trash can. I wouldn't run a wash that contacted these stinky black bags, but it is security from the mess of a leak. With care the same bag can be used several times, though I usually just use them once and then fill them with trash.

I somewhat regularly take a brute outside in full sun, and hold it upside down over my head. Thin spots and of course holes are easy to see where the light shines through.
Boda Getta
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by Boda Getta »

Yes it was a Brute, I have been using them for about ten years and this is the first one to leak. I took it out in the sun and filled it with water; it had, literally, a pin hole leak about 8 inches from the bottom, Couldn't tell the cause but it must have taken all night to drain. I also are very rough on mine and would have told you the problem was from very aggressive power stirring with a paint mixer, but that didn't seem to be the case.

I like the idea of the big trash liner on the outside of the Brute, off to Lowe's tomorrow to get a replacement. Even with this problem, I can't think of anything better than the big Bruth.

BG
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by hpby98 »

Not sure how you stir but also perhaps

http://jiffymixer.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Stainless food grade mixers
seamusm53
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by seamusm53 »

hpby98 wrote:Use a ldpe liner?

Cheap insurance and easy cleanup after

https://www.uline.com/BL_6754/Round-Bottom-Drum-Liners" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
$378 is cheap insurance? Okay, that is for 150 but that is still a lot to shell out. And I'm not sure the plastic bag would withstand my stirring of a grain mash without tearing. Do like the idea though.
Boda Getta
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Re: Disaster in the still house

Post by Boda Getta »

The liners a good idea, but I do 60-70 lbs of grain and and add 20-25 gals to cook overnight, and again when I pitch yeast. It takes a lot of aggressive stirring with a power stirrer (very similar to the link show) and it would tear a liner bag all to hell.

BG
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