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  • Wort Quality in Recirculation

    I have been working hard to dial in our new brewhouse, 20 hl, BTE. After approx. 30 brews, I still cannot get the clarity I want out of my wort. We have a variable speed recirculation pump that pulls from the bottom of lauter, and returns through a goose neck. I am absolutely open to any suggestions on length of time for recirc., speeds, temperatures, or anything else I may not have considered. Im all ears. Cheers.

  • #2
    Do you mean...

    sweet liquor in the mash tun? Is BTE the manufacturer?
    Last edited by beertje46; 06-27-2007, 05:49 PM.
    Cheers & I'm out!
    David R. Pierce
    NABC & Bank Street Brewhouse
    POB 343
    New Albany, IN 47151

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    • #3
      particles in suspension

      I am referring to the slight haze, and small white pieces that seem to persist during recirculation and run off (lauter to Kettle). My sight glass shows this problem despite my many different approaches, i.e. changing pump speeds, temperatures, etc. Yes, BTE is the manufacturer of both the mash kettle/wort kettle, and the lauter.
      Last edited by Brewce9; 06-27-2007, 05:59 PM.

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      • #4
        I'm a new brewer, so don't take my advice too seriously unless someone else confirms that there is value in what I'm telling you.

        You might want to install a grant to reduce the suction on the mashtun. That will aid in wort clarity.

        Second, make sure the water to grain ratio isn't too high (above 1.5 ltr. / lb. of grain). If it's too loose, the filtration of your mash bed won't work as well.

        That's all I can come up with. Good luck.

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        • #5
          Call me stupid

          Originally posted by Brewce9
          I am referring to the slight haze, and small white pieces that seem to persist during recirculation and run off (lauter to Kettle). My sight glass shows this problem despite my many different approaches, i.e. changing pump speeds, temperatures, etc. Yes, BTE is the manufacturer of both the mash kettle/wort kettle, and the lauter.
          But who is BTE?
          Cheers & I'm out!
          David R. Pierce
          NABC & Bank Street Brewhouse
          POB 343
          New Albany, IN 47151

          Comment


          • #6
            We had a discussion about this some time ago. It may or may not pertain to your issue specifically, but it may be worth reading. I don't remember where it is, but type "mash temp and run off problems" in the search query, and you can read it at your leisure.

            Cheerio!
            Jay

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            • #7
              Your mill may be set too loose. More likely, I agree that if you're sucking instead of gravity draining out of the lauter bottom, you're asking for trouble.

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              • #8
                Assuming that you have performed a standard mash, with adequate starch comversion, then a twenty minute recirculation should clear up the wort enough to begin running off. I try to vourlauf at a rate a little faster than the initial runoff, to make sure that we have cleared all the fines out from under the mash tun screens. Some small particles will always come through, that's normal.
                Linus Hall
                Yazoo Brewing
                Nashville, TN
                www.yazoobrew.com

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                • #9
                  I found that I needed to match recirc speed to lauter speed to best set the mash bed for clarity. Quicker recirc drew the bed down too tightly-a partially collapsed bed could also screw up clarity...

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                  • #10
                    It sounds like you have too many fine particles coming through. Have you checked them for starch ? Possibilities include the mill settings being too fine, or you are dropping the mash onto plates without first covering with sparge quality water - a couple of centimetres shuold do. If the holes / slots in the plates are too coarse, then this will allow grist to come through. You shouldn't need to recirc for more than a few minutes - 5, absolute max 10 should be enough. Set the recirc rate at the same rate you start to run off to kettle. Much faster and you will tend to pull the bed on the plates and compact the bed. Are you raking whilst running off ? If raking then you may have the rakes too deep, or too fast, or possibly both. You probably don't need to rake at all once you have spread the bed evenly.
                    dick

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by beertje46
                      But who is BTE?

                      Better Than Ezra, a Lousiana rock band that's been about for 15ish years, their diehard fans are known affectionately as "Ezralites".


                      Anyone else got anything better?
                      Cheers,
                      Mike Roy
                      Brewmaster
                      Franklins Restaurant, Brewery & General Store
                      5123 Baltimore Ave
                      Hyattsville,MD 20781
                      301-927-2740

                      Franklinsbrewery.com
                      @franklinsbrwry
                      facebook.com/franklinsbrewery

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                      • #12
                        our technique

                        bump up mash temp to 76 C before dropping to lauter, have rakes all the way down revolving at 1.5 rpm, rise rakes and slow down to 0.3 rpm as lauter fills before vorlaufing for 10 min. Vorlauf and run-off is maintained at 20 gallons per minute. Rarely encounter problems with this method

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