Should I strain a corn mash?

ginzo · Post by **ginzo** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 7:32 pm

Should I strain a corn mash or should I put everything into the boiler? I have a SS still with the element inside the boiler. I have heard that those will get mash burned onto them. What is best?

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 7:38 pm

You will have to strain it when using internal elements or have a burned taste come across.

Yttrium · Post by **Yttrium** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:04 pm

Unless you have an external heat source and a double boiler, you'll want to strain the grains out. In my limited experience, double boilers are usually more trouble than they are worth.

Uncle Remus · Post by **Uncle Remus** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:08 pm

Yes strain off the wort (liquid) . The last batch we did, we strained it and put it in a couple of carboys and then let it settle and syphoned it off a couple of times. The wash we threw in the boiler looked nearly as clear as a white wine. We do the same with sugar washes too. IMHO the clearer your wash is, the better your end product will be.

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 4:25 am

Yttrium,

I just picked up a 40 gallon hot water heater to use as a double boiler so I can do some fruit washes on the pulp. What problems have you experienced with a double boiler?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 5:12 am

May i ask, if you strain your washes then why do people continue with those crazy upside down bowls when you can just weld on a threaded coupling.

just askin

Uncle Remus · Post by **Uncle Remus** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 5:49 am

Anonymous wrote:May i ask, if you strain your washes then why do people continue with those crazy upside down bowls when you can just weld on a threaded coupling.

just askin

We also use the keg to cook mash. Makes for easier cleanup with a big hole on top of the keg.

Yttrium · Post by **Yttrium** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 6:49 am

One problem with a double boiler is the extra heating losses. You just end up wasting a lot of power. Increased energy losses result in longer run times. Secondly, with a double boiler, you loose some control over the heating of a wash. You simply can't respond as fast to change the amount of power being input into the wash.

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:31 am

Yttrium wrote: Increased energy losses result in longer run times. Secondly, with a double boiler, you loose some control over the heating of a wash. You simply can't respond as fast to change the amount of power being input into the wash.

I run two internal elements now. Both for boil up and one for the main run. If I insulate the double boiler it seems to me it would operate about the same, just ake a little longer to reach boilup due to the extra liquid surrounding the main boiler.

Also, I have no potentiometer on my elements now so I have no control. I think a small loss in efficiency might work out just right for grains and fruit pulps since my smaller element is 1800 W.

Granted it's not perfect...thanks for the input Yttrium.