The
false bottom has been fitted to an Electrim boiler, which was used for no
particular reason other than I could heat the mash liquer up in the mash tun and
it saved me having to pre-heat it, a 25L fermenter will do just as well. The tap used was a WD boiler tap, it has the
same dimensions as a standard tap which would be fine for this purpose but the
boiler tap can also handle boiling liquids. The connecting tube is a piece of
1/2" braided pvc hose with a piece of 15mm copper tube pushed in the end that
goes in the tap to expand it a little and make it a snug fit.
Once everything was in place the
bin was placed in a large cardboard box to help with insulation during the mash.
(I put a few extra sheets of cardboard in the bottom for extra insulation).
Once the mash liquer was at 72
deg c the grains went in and were thoroughly mixed to ensure they were all fully
wetted. A quick temperature check showed the grains to be at 66 deg c so the lid
went on and a sleeping bag was pulled over and tucked in around the mash tun
within the cardboard box. Now all that had to be done was wait.
I
thought i'd give the insulation a good test so I left it for 3 1/2 hrs (about
2hrs longer than necessary). Using a second boiler I brought 20L of sparge
liquer up to 80 deg c then a check on the temperature of the grains
indicated 64/65 deg c which was great. Here's where the false bottom gets
tested. The tap was opened and the run off good. I gently returned the first
runnings pouring them over the grains using a sheet of tin foil with holes pierced in it to
diffuse the flow so as not to disturb the grain bed. After a litre or so the sweet wort ran nice and clear so I
opened the tap fully and hooked up my 'Phils Sparge Arm' (which is
excellent, I strongly suggest investing in one).
At this stage I had let the
liquid level run too low and the run off slowed right down so I set the sparge
arm off, let the level build back up and blew back up the run off tube to loosen
the grain that had compacted around the false bottom. After adjusting the in
flow of sparge liquer and the out flow of sweet wort the run off went very
smoothly.
With around 23L of sweet wort
collected it was time to transfer back to the boiler. I carefully lifted the
sweet wort back to the counter top and ran it off via a tube back to the boiler
I had been using as a HLT for my sparge liquer. This boiler has 2 elements so
the wort can be quickly brought to the boil. Once the hot break had ocured the
bittering hops were added and the boil proceeded as normal.
After
75 mins late copper hops were added along with a whirlfloc tablet to help
coagulate the proteins further, I also put my immersion chiller in to sanitise
it.
To help produce a really clear wort I turned on the second element for the last
5 mins then when the 90mins were up the boiler was turned off and the chiller
turned on. Within 30 mins the wort was cool enough to pitch the yeast so I ran
it off from the boiler to the fermenter. This time no run off tubing was used as
it's important to get as much air in as possible, once the boiler was full and I
had collected 19L of bitter wort I checked the OG, a little high so it was
topped up with around a litre of filtered water to bring the gravity down. Now
for aeration, yeast needs oxygen to work so the more the better, a good 5 min
vigorous stir with brewers paddle whipped up the wort so it had a good foamy head. At
this point I pitched the yeast, kindly donated by the Hop Back brewery seven months
ago and kick started back to life by making a starter, I guess it must be good
stuff as a head began to form within a few hrs...now for the hard part, the
wait. (sneaky samples suggest it should be good though).
Update
(14/04/07) I've since modified the false bottom and added more
holes, i've also replaced the braided hose with a lighter weight pvc hose as
occasionaly the stiffer braided hose held up the plate allowing grains to
escape underneath, blocking the tap. The connection to the tap is a garden hose
tap connector and I have also fitted a temperature probe. I will update these
pages to reflect this when I get time. Mean while click the thumbnail for a
picture of the modified false bottom, tests show run off is faster while still
retaining mid 80's effciency
(tested with Marris Otter, mash ph 5.3)
The
false bottom has been fitted to an Electrim boiler, which was used for no
particular reason other than I could heat the mash liquer up in the mash tun and
it saved me having to pre-heat it, a 25L fermenter will do just as well. The tap used was a WD boiler tap, it has the
same dimensions as a standard tap which would be fine for this purpose but the
boiler tap can also handle boiling liquids. The connecting tube is a piece of
1/2" braided pvc hose with a piece of 15mm copper tube pushed in the end that
goes in the tap to expand it a little and make it a snug fit.
I
thought i'd give the insulation a good test so I left it for 3 1/2 hrs (about
2hrs longer than necessary). Using a second boiler I brought 20L of sparge
liquer up to 80 deg c then a check on the temperature of the grains
indicated 64/65 deg c which was great. Here's where the false bottom gets
tested. The tap was opened and the run off good. I gently returned the first
runnings pouring them over the grains using a sheet of tin foil with holes pierced in it to
diffuse the flow so as not to disturb the grain bed. After a litre or so the sweet wort ran nice and clear so I
opened the tap fully and hooked up my 'Phils Sparge Arm' (which is
excellent, I strongly suggest investing in one). 
After
75 mins late copper hops were added along with a whirlfloc tablet to help
coagulate the proteins further, I also put my immersion chiller in to sanitise
it.
To help produce a really clear wort I turned on the second element for the last
5 mins then when the 90mins were up the boiler was turned off and the chiller
turned on. Within 30 mins the wort was cool enough to pitch the yeast so I ran
it off from the boiler to the fermenter. This time no run off tubing was used as
it's important to get as much air in as possible, once the boiler was full and I
had collected 19L of bitter wort I checked the OG, a little high so it was
topped up with around a litre of filtered water to bring the gravity down. Now
for aeration, yeast needs oxygen to work so the more the better, a good 5 min
vigorous stir with brewers paddle whipped up the wort so it had a good foamy head. At
this point I pitched the yeast, kindly donated by the Hop Back brewery seven months
ago and kick started back to life by making a starter, I guess it must be good
stuff as a head began to form within a few hrs...now for the hard part, the
wait. (sneaky samples suggest it should be good though).
