by John Collins
Making all grain beer at home can be a tedious endeavor. Mashing in a 40 Qt. Plastic Cooler has several drawbacks. Heating is generally accomplished by additions of near boiling water, or by decoction. Boiling additions can limit the brew length, and/or gravity of the wort.Decoctions, although still recommended for certain German lagers can be very messy and take quite a bit of time.
At the January FSB meeting, Marty Drinan and I discussed an article by Kelly E. Jones in the July/August '94 issue of Brewing Techniques. The article describes a steam injection system Mr. Jones developed for mashing in a picnic cooler. The system consists of a pressure cooker with an additional outlet installed, a valve, and a length of copper tubing to inject the steam into the mash. Marty was hooked on the idea, and he took my 8 QT pressure cooker and performed the necessary modifications.
Two weeks later , I called Marty to borrow the club grain mill. When I arrived, Marty showed me what he and done with the cooker, and told me that he had very good results with it. The system allowed him to go from mashing in at room temperature, through the various rest temperatures, to mash out at 170 Deg. F by simply opening the valve from the cooker. I left with the mill and the cooker which I used the next day. Of all the days I have spent mashing grain, this was the most enjoyable. I needed only to open the valve and give an occasional stir,and was able to hit target temperatures on the mark. Cheers to Marty on a job well done.
One very important point to keep in mind. Steam can cause severe burns in an instant. If you decide to pursue this method yourself, use caution. Wear heavy work gloves and long sleeves, and consider wearing eye protection if you don't already. Most importantly of all, DO NOT RMOVE, ALTER, OR DISABLE THE PRESSURE REGULATOR OR SAFETY DISK. These devices must be in place and in working order to prevent serious injury or death.
If you are interested, or have questions, see Marty or me at the next meeting. Till then, Good Brewing
