Let grain bed settle?

I've been having a lot of stuck mash issues. Question. I do RIMS and after I dough in and stir, I've been starting recirculation right away.

Should I wait for the grain bed to settle first like 5 minutes or so? Could this be contributing to stuck/slow mash issues?

Thanks.

I usually start my recirculation as soon as I make sure any dough balls are gone. I have noticed that a crap load of rice hulls really help with my false bottom.

I don't have a RIMS but I haven't had a stuck mash in many years. What I do is mash overnight. In the morning, open up the ball valve, collect first runnings and then start sparging. I don't use rice hulls either. I have a stainless steel braided line connected to a 1/4" ball valve.

In your situation, I would allow the bed to settle for about 10-15 minutes, then start your sparge. It can't be any worse than what you already have - stuck mashes. Time for a different technique.

I had some problems with a stuck mash when using my RIMS. I ended up opening up the gap of my mill a little bit and have not had any more problems. (Although my efficiency dropped from 83% to around 70%.) I decided it was worth the lower efficiency to not drive myself crazy with the stuck mashes.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm brewing tomorrow. I reconfigured my manifold and I'm going to solder it together. It came apart last time. I'm also going to put the manifold inside of a nylon bag as some extra insurance against a stuck sparge. I've got about a half pound of rice hulls as well.

Recipe has flaked rice, flaked corn, and wheat, so I'm hoping for the best here.

avidhomebrewer said:

I don't have a RIMS but I haven't had a stuck mash in many years. What I do is mash overnight. In the morning, open up the ball valve, collect first runnings and then start sparging. I don't use rice hulls either. I have a stainless steel braided line connected to a 1/4" ball valve.

In your situation, I would allow the bed to settle for about 10-15 minutes, then start your sparge. It can't be any worse than what you already have - stuck mashes. Time for a different technique.

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Interesting. Any concern about bacteria with this technique. Sounds like, no, but just curious. This could really come in handy.

There is most definitely a chance of a bacterial infection with that technique. It's been discussed in detail on many occasions on this forum...do a search. 150 degree, sugary grain is bacteria's best friend I'm not saying others haven't done it with success, but you asked if there is a risk and the answer is yes.

Dgonza9 said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm brewing tomorrow. I reconfigured my manifold and I'm going to solder it together. It came apart last time. I'm also going to put the manifold inside of a nylon bag as some extra insurance against a stuck sparge. I've got about a half pound of rice hulls as well.

Recipe has flaked rice, flaked corn, and wheat, so I'm hoping for the best here.

Click to expand...

Do not solder it together it will be a PITA to clean. If it came apart you can use stainless wire and wire it together. This is what I do and it will never come apart.

Dgonza9 said:

Interesting. Any concern about bacteria with this technique. Sounds like, no, but just curious. This could really come in handy.

Click to expand...

I won't downplay the chance at an infection, but I haven't had one in over 5 years of using this technique, 2x/month. It's been working for me and is a big time saver, so I'm going with it.

I think starting the recirculation too suddenly can compact the grain bed and cause some issues, especially with an LG or more powerful pump. Maybe try opening the valve slowly and see if it helps any.

I just had a great brew day! I'm not sure which of these measures helped me out, but here's what I did:

Let grain bed settle about 5 minutes. Redesigned manifold to smaller profile. Soldered manifold together so it won't come apart on my again. Put manifold inside nylon bag. Opened tun drain only partially and slowly. Built a sparge arm (I though my old technique of jamming the hose in the corner of the cooler was disrupting the grain bed).

No problems with RIMS recirculation or Continuous Batch Sparge.

ryandlf said:

There is most definitely a chance of a bacterial infection with that technique. It's been discussed in detail on many occasions on this forum...do a search. 150 degree, sugary grain is bacteria's best friend I'm not saying others haven't done it with success, but you asked if there is a risk and the answer is yes.

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So if you boil after you sparge how would you get an infection?

ehedge20 said:

So if you boil after you sparge how would you get an infection?

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The concern is bacteria growing in the mash tun, and creating a sour flavor. The boil would kill the bacteria, but the sour flavor would already be there.

However, BYO's Mr. Wizard doesn't feel like it's much of a risk unless the temp drops to the 120 range:

http://byo.com/stories/techniques/a...mash-overnight-and-just-sparge-in-the-morning

IFP said:

The concern is bacteria growing in the mash tun, and creating a sour flavor. The boil would kill the bacteria, but the sour flavor would already be there.

However, BYO's Mr. Wizard doesn't feel like it's much of a risk unless the temp drops to the 120 range:

http://byo.com/stories/techniques/a...mash-overnight-and-just-sparge-in-the-morning

Click to expand...

I had no idea the sour flavor would stay in the mix however this is not a concern for me as there is no way the grain bed should get to 120. Someone stated earlier in this post that bacteria love 150deg. This however is wrong as bacteria thrive between 120 and 80 deg. Also there are saccrification rests that go as low as 148!

Also I have herd of many people mashing one night and waiting to boil the next day without any problems.