Belgian Witbier - and New Mash Tun

I brewed a Belgian Witbier last night, and I'm hoping that it comes out OK. I had problems maintaining the temperature during the partial mash process. My thermometer broke, and spilled BBs all over the stove – what a night.

When I pitched the yeast into the primary, my OG was 1.044. My efficiency suffered! I inspected the grain after I was done, and there seemed to be lots of sugar left. I base that on the internals of the grain pods – there seemed to be lots of gelatin like grain.

Don't get me wrong, I think the beer will be fine – albeit a little low in alcohol. It smelled just like Hoegaarden.

I still would have preferred a more efficient mash, so I've decided to build a Mash Tun. Even for a partial mash, I should get much better beer and higher starch conversion. I picked up the cooler yesterday for $14. That's pretty cheap. I picked up the remaining parts from Ace Hardware today. Here are some pictures of the finished product.

		Here is the mash tun with the valve installed.
		Here is the mash tun internal screen.

 I plan on using it for the Fat tire clone next Friday.  Wish me luck!

J