Grain making it to the boil

How much grain is unacceptable in the boil kettle. I noticed that my last few brews have had bits of grain that have escaped the mash tun even after a half gallon vorlof. Should I be worried, is there anything I can do to stops this? I would say it about half a cup worth more or less.

I'm no expert, but I don't think that much grain in the fermenter is going to make that much difference.

I don't know what kind of fermentation vessel you use, but I line my bucket with a 24 x 24 nylon mesh bag prior to pouring in the wort. Then I just lift the bag out and remove any of the grain or hop material along with it.

Not sure how well this would work if your fermentation vessel is a carboy.

Mozart said:

I'm no expert, but I don't think that much grain in the fermenter is going to make that much difference.

I don't know what kind of fermentation vessel you use, but I line my bucket with a 24 x 24 nylon mesh bag prior to pouring in the wort. Then I just lift the bag out and remove any of the grain or hop material along with it.

Not sure how well this would work if your fermentation vessel is a carboy.

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Ya it's a Carboy but I'm Mostly worried about off flavors from boiling grains.

You will get some astringency from tannin extraction. How much is really hard to say. I once spilled some grain into the kettle (manifold came uncoupled inside the tun) and the beer tasted fine. It was a strong bitter stout so I may not have noticed the astringency. It might be noticeable in a lighter less flavorful beer.

LovesIPA said:

You will get some astringency from tannin extraction. How much is really hard to say. I once spilled some grain into the kettle (manifold came uncoupled inside the tun) and the beer tasted fine. It was a strong bitter stout so I may not have noticed the astringency. It might be noticeable in a lighter less flavorful beer.

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I am almost certain that tannin extraction is more a result of pH rather than temperature. Otherwise decoctions would mess up beers bad! Did a quick search here and it was the general consensus.

have you considered filtering/straining your wort on the way to the kettle? you can use a funnel with a filter, put a hop bag over the end of the hose going into the kettle, etc.

funnycreature said:

I am almost certain that tannin extraction is more a result of pH rather than temperature. Otherwise decoctions would mess up beers bad! Did a quick search here and it was the general consensus.

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I did some googling and it appears you're right.

So yeah... I guess the answer is don't worry about getting grain in the boil as long as your pH isn't too high.

I'm not sure much tannin is actually extracted by boiling.

I recently made BrewKaiser's Dusseldorfer Alt recipe from the recipe section. It calls for a a decoction mash where you pull a significant portion of the mash after the protein rest and boil it in a separate pot for about 20 minutes while the rest of the grain continues to mash. I didn't notice any astringency at all.

Now perhaps the pH of boiling mash is different than that of boiling wort but I think more than high temps are need for tannin extraction.

Edited to add:
I see I'm too late! It's already been covered above.

sweetcell said:

have you considered filtering/straining your wort on the way to the kettle? you can use a funnel with a filter, put a hop bag over the end of the hose going into the kettle, etc.

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I thought about it but was worried i would cause hot wort aeration issues.

I get small bits here and there, its not going to hurt anything.
There is a guy in our home brew club who puts his specialty grains in the boil kettle and then strains it going into his fermentor. He makes good beer.

I had the equivalent of may be 1/2 lb (out of 20+) that made it to my boil kettle due to a loose fitting. I could actually taste the astrigency in the hydrometer sampler. I really thought I'd have to throw it away, but I fermented it, and I'm serving it right now. The astrigency seems to have vanished.

MC

bennie1986 said:

I thought about it but was worried i would cause hot wort aeration issues.

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hot-side aeration is a boogeyman. a healthy fermentation will take care of it. Brew Strong covered this with Charlie Bamforth... he said not to worry about "the myth of HSA".

1/2 cup does seem like quite a bit. Supposedly tannin/polyphenol extraction can occur both via high ph or high temps, but as most have stated it doesn't seem to be an issue with decoction mashing.

If you are getting a bit of astringincy you might consider using 2 tsp of "polyclar" as a kettle fining addition. -It definitely helps get SUPER bright wort, and it's designed to absorb polyphenols but when combined with another kettle fining it results in very "fluffy" cold break and you'll have slightly increased wort losses. -It's worth it for me when I make a light lager and the added bonus is the reduction of polyphenols / tannins.

I no longer use polyclar in fermenting at all; it strips out a lot of flavor especially in hoppy beers and changes both the flavor and color; I also don't like it in fermentation as it's not food safe. Polyclar as a kettle addition in moderation is great for this sort of thing though. (ESPECIALLY if you're making a malty lager like an Oktoberfest/Marzen, Vienna, Dunkel, or a Bock; tanins/polyphenols take away from that smooth malty goodness.)


Adam