Saturday morning. 8:30 am. Fill the HLT with 40 litres of hot water, and start the burner (hot water does boil faster than cold, trust me). Fill the mashtun with hot water to preheat it.
Outside temperature is -2C. Weatherman is calling for a Chinook. Looks like a beautiful day to brew!
Ok, so I'm not exactly brewing "outside," but my garage is an unheated outbuilding.
9:00. Mash water is at strike temp (173F). Fill the mashtun with 20 litres of water (I like a thick mash), and add the grain. I try to add all the grain as quickly as possible, stirring continuously to ensure even temps and mash thickness.
Stir stir stir!
At a mash thickness of 1 qt / lb, regular spoons don't cut it. Time to pull out the paddle. I have left about 6 litres of space at the top of the mashtun in case I need to add boiling water to boost the temp.
I check the mash temp and pH about 5 minutes later, giving time for temperatures to equalize. There's still quite a bit of variation, so I put the thermometer in several place to get an average. This mash is just about bang on 154F.
The thermometer is digital, from Mountain Equipment Coop - originally meant to take snow temps for cross country skiing. Takes quick, accurate readings.
While the mash is mashing, I fill the HLT up to 40 litres again, and fire up the burner to heat the sparge water.
