90 replies to this topic

[denny]

Tell me more about this chart.  Do I need to multiply that expected number by my brewhouse efficiency, or do we assume the losses come from incomplete gravity?

 

Can I use this chart as a process checkpoint?  That is, if the wort in my mash tun hits that expected number, can I start the sparge no matter how long it's been?  Or more likely I suppose, if the planned mash time is up and I'm NOT hitting that number, should I leave it more time to do its thing?

 

Keep in mind that chart (which I use religiously) on;ly tells you if starches have been converted to sugar.  It doesn't tell you what kind of sugars.  Mash length still is a factor on fermentability.

[BrewerGeorge]

Keep in mind that chart (which I use religiously) on;ly tells you if starches have been converted to sugar. It doesn't tell you what kind of sugars. Mash length still is a factor on fermentability.

So today, I didn't get close to the gravity in first running that the chart said I should expect. It said 21.5 and I only got 17.4 from firsts. However after the batch sparge I was within 2% of my expected 75%. What's that mean?

[neddles]

Keep in mind that chart (which I use religiously) on;ly tells you if starches have been converted to sugar.  It doesn't tell you what kind of sugars.  Mash length still is a factor on fermentability.

Yep.

 

So today, I didn't get close to the gravity in first running that the chart said I should expect. It said 21.5 and I only got 17.4 from firsts. However after the batch sparge I was within 2% of my expected 75%. What's that mean?

 

You may have continued to convert starches during the sparge. What was your sparge temp?

[BrewerGeorge]

I pumped it into the HLT at 175 and didn't measure after that. But it only sat there for 10 min at the most, so probably north of 165.

[neddles]

Yep, Ill bet you got a little more conversion.

[Bklmt2000]

Bumping this thread.

 

I brewed yesterday, and cleverly took a pic of my grist before mash-in.

 

This is what my grist looked like after 2 trips through my Barley Crusher (no change in gap width between trips):

 

 

The first trip was relatively slow, to ensure the rollers didn't seize up. 

 

Second trip through was faster, to ensure all the kernels got busted open.

 

Mashed in with no problems; a few doughballs were quickly busted apart, and no issues with lautering/sparging.

[Big Nake]

B2000: Do you condition your malt? I couldn't get my once-crushed grain back through the mill... it would not catch and pull the grain through. I plan to brew an amber lager this afternoon and may try to get it through the mill twice again but there's always so much swearing.

[Bklmt2000]

B2000: Do you condition your malt? I couldn't get my once-crushed grain back through the mill... it would not catch and pull the grain through. I plan to brew an amber lager this afternoon and may try to get it through the mill twice again but there's always so much swearing.

 

No, i've never conditioned malt. 

 

If i might suggest, don't condition the malt for your batch today, run it through your mill twice (you have a BC, i think?) and see how that goes.

 

For reference, my mill's gap is the thickness of 2 credit cards.

[Big Nake]

I cleaned my mill after I used it last. One issue with the conditioning is that the grains go through the mill with some amount of moisture and create a 'paste' that gets stuck in the rollers which clearly reduces their effectiveness and ability to pull and crush. I could try to go without conditioning today and see if I can run it through twice. Yes, BC that is now a few years old. I changed the factory-set gap from .39 to .41 using feeler gauges.

[Bklmt2000]

I cleaned my mill after I used it last. One issue with the conditioning is that the grains go through the mill with some amount of moisture and create a 'paste' that gets stuck in the rollers which clearly reduces their effectiveness and ability to pull and crush. I could try to go without conditioning today and see if I can run it through twice. Yes, BC that is now a few years old. I changed the factory-set gap from .39 to .41 using feeler gauges.

 

I have a BC that's 11 years old, and it's at the point where the passive roller gets stuck sometimes, and that's without malt conditioning.

 

If you skip the conditioning today and run the grain through twice, try running through the 1st pass a little slower than normal, and then a bit faster on the 2nd trip.

 

As i've posted before, this method seems to get the best of both worlds, (busted-up starch + relatively intact husks); the pic above is testament to that.

 

I'll be curious to hear your results whatever you decide to do.

[neddles]

I cleaned my mill after I used it last. One issue with the conditioning is that the grains go through the mill with some amount of moisture and create a 'paste' that gets stuck in the rollers which clearly reduces their effectiveness and ability to pull and crush. I could try to go without conditioning today and see if I can run it through twice. Yes, BC that is now a few years old. I changed the factory-set gap from .39 to .41 using feeler gauges.

 

I have been conditioning for a while now and have never seen this. Not sure what is different in our processes but it seems like that shouldn't be happening.

[Big Nake]

I have been conditioning for a while now and have never seen this. Not sure what is different in our processes but it seems like that shouldn't be happening.

Oh yeah, my rollers get ALL gunked up with schputz. Am I using too much water? I just use a very light spray bottle that is set to a very fine mist and sometimes some of the grain still appears to be dry. I don't think I'm using too much water but it's possible.

[neddles]

Oh yeah, my rollers get ALL gunked up with schputz. Am I using too much water? I just use a very light spray bottle that is set to a very fine mist and sometimes some of the grain still appears to be dry. I don't think I'm using too much water but it's possible.

 

Not sure of what you are doing there.

 

I take the weight of my grain and multiply it by 9 (based on some information from Kai's site I read a while back). Then spray my malt in a bucket with that many ml of water. Spray-mix-spray-mix-etc. wait 10-15 minutes then mill. The grain is dry to the touch but not dusty at all when I go to mill it.

[Big Nake]

Mmm, I do something similar but I don't wait the 10-15 minutes. Is that the key here? If I mill it too soon is there still too much water left unabsorbed or something?

[neddles]

Mmm, I do something similar but I don't wait the 10-15 minutes. Is that the key here? If I mill it too soon is there still too much water left unabsorbed or something?

 

Here, have a look at this.

http://braukaiser.co...How_it.27s_done

 

 

 

When you mill the malt you will notice that once in a while a crushed kernel will stick to a roller of the mill. This is ok and it only becomes a problem if a dough starts to build up on the rollers. In this case you used to much water. Run some dry malt through the mill to remove the dough.

Edited by neddles, 10 November 2017 - 10:26 AM.

[Big Nake]

Here, have a look at this.
http://braukaiser.co...How_it.27s_done

Mmm, okay sounds like too much water. I will either use NO water today (just to see how it goes) or I'll use less. My mill at the moment is pretty clean. I blasted it clean last weekend so it should be ready for duty this weekend. Thanks for the Kai quote.

[pkrone]

I use 2% water by weight for conditioning.   And I let it sit for 10 minutes.  

[neddles]

I use 2% water by weight for conditioning.   And I let it sit for 10 minutes.  

 

Yep that's where I got the "multiply your grist weight in pounds by 9 then use that many ml of water" It works out to 2% by weight.

[Big Nake]

So 10 pounds x 9 = 90ml which is about 3 ounces? I feel like I use far less than 3 ounces when I condition but what I'll do today is measure out three ounces and put that into my spray bottle. I'll also allow the grain to sit for 10-15 minutes. I generally have not done that... I condition and pour the grain into the mill at that point.

[neddles]

So 10 pounds x 9 = 90ml which is about 3 ounces? I feel like I use far less than 3 ounces when I condition but what I'll do today is measure out three ounces and put that into my spray bottle. I'll also allow the grain to sit for 10-15 minutes. I generally have not done that... I condition and pour the grain into the mill at that point.

 

Yep. Water is 1g/ml so while weighing the grain I just pop the bottle on the scale, zero it and pour until ~90g.