What's that on our grain bed?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelocalbrewery/3931572175/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelocalbrewery/3931574777/

Ignore the helicopter leaves please :cross:

So I apologize about the picture quality. It was hard to get close enough to see the muddy substance and keep it in focus. I did the best I could without a decent camera.

So those are pictures of what we saw when we opened the Mash-tun after sparging this past brew day. I have never seen it before and I can't seem to find anything online that is really conclusive. It was only on the top layer of the grain bed and was the consistency of mud or caulk. There was about half an inch of it.

Grain Bill:
10.5 lbs US 2-Row
.25 lbs Cara Malt 20L
.25 lbs Crystal 40
.25 lbs Victory
.25 lbs Munich

Can anyone tell me what this might be? Is it anything I should worry about? Is it something I can prevent? If so, what caused it?

The wort looked fine and this morning it was bubbling happily so fermentation wasn't affected. I am at a loss and I need your help!

Thank you everyone.

Its hard to tell from the pics but it looks like protein, sometimes you get it during vorlauf sometimes not I dont really know what causes it could be temp, grain type, amount of recirculation...

cassj said:

Grain Bill:
10.5 lbs Cara Malt 20L
.25 lbs Crystal 40
.25 lbs Victory
.25 lbs Munich

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lamarguy said:

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I agree. WTF?!

Is that quantity of 20L a typo?

Palmer....
Caramel Malts have undergone a special heat "stewing" process after the malting which crystallizes the sugars. These sugars are caramelized into longer chains that are not converted into simple sugars by the enzymes during the mash. This results in a more malty, caramel sweet, fuller tasting beer. These malts are used for almost all ale and higher gravity lager styles. Various crystal malts are often added in half pound amounts to a total of 5-25% of the grain bill for a 5 gallon batch.

These long sugars, also dont ferment out well. This beer will probably have a very high FG. According to your post, 96% of your grist was caramel malt...

It's just the grain dust you're filtering out of your wort and maybe some proteins and whatnot. No need to prevent it, it's perfectly normal.

It's not true homebrew... I don't see any dead flies floating in it ... :cross:

Just kidding... Brew hard!!! :rockin:

No one else sees an issue with the grain bill composition?

What style was this supposed to be?

The Pol said:

No one else sees an issue with the grain bill composition?

What style was this supposed to be?

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lamarguy and I picked up on it. I have no idea what this is supposed to be. this has GOT to be a typo

The Pol said:

No one else sees an issue with the grain bill composition?

What style was this supposed to be?

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If the recipe is trully as the OP put it, it's not a proper beer recipe. Crystal malt has low diastatic power so it full of unfermentable dextrins to add body. If anything, this beer should have a very high FG and will taste very sugary.

cassj said:

Grain Bill:
10.5 lbs US 2-Row
.25 lbs Cara Malt 20L
.25 lbs Crystal 40
.25 lbs Victory
.25 lbs Munich

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My fault! I was obviously getting ahead of myself writing this post and didn't really proof read. Serves me right!

It was an American Pale Ale, with some minor modifications.

Thanks for pointing it out!

cassj said:

My fault! I was obviously getting ahead of myself writing this post and didn't really proof read. Serves me right!

It was an American Pale Ale, with some minor modifications.

Thanks for pointing it out!

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Okay, cool... good for you

My grain bed looks like that every time after a double-batch sparge. No problems at all.

I've never seen my grain bed looking like that. But I'm guessing this might have to do with how fine the grain crush is. I always get my grain from the same place so the crush is always the same. Maybe the crush you're getting is finer and therefore you're getting more dust in it?

The "mud" is totally normal.

mithion said:

Maybe the crush you're getting is finer and therefore you're getting more dust in it?

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That could be the case but I mill my grain at the LHBS so I don't think its that consistent - I always get the mud though.