Squeezin' the Grain Bag

I've seen on other posts that it's not good to squeeze grain bags into our wort because it releases tannins and other bad things. And yet I've also read recipes that tell us to rinse our specialty grains with hotter water (like sparging). What gives? Will this rinsing process just release tannins the same way it would if I squeezed the bag?

No, rinsing will not release tannins the same way as squeezing the bag. When you rinse you are just pouring the hot water over the grains to try and get the last little bit of goodness from them.

When I did my last brew I was unaware that you are not supposed to squeeze the grain bag, and so I did trying to get all I could out of it. What should I expect taste wise?

ArroganceFan said:

When I did my last brew I was unaware that you are not supposed to squeeze the grain bag, and so I did trying to get all I could out of it. What should I expect taste wise?

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It will probably be fine. You might get a slight astringent taste, but I wouldn't worry about it. In general all of us geeks tend to over-emphasize things like tannin extraction.

Question: If it were possible, would it be a good thin to mash with cracked grains that has no husks at all?

Mash no.. you will never be able to get the liquid through without the grain just pouring into your boil. That is a recipe for a stuck sparge. If you wanted to I am sure that you could, but that would be one helluva PITA.

Drunkensatyr said:

Mash no.. you will never be able to get the liquid through without the grain just pouring into your boil. That is a recipe for a stuck sparge. If you wanted to I am sure that you could, but that would be one helluva PITA.

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Ok guys, I will admit that my other hobby (being an ubergeek) is bleeding through here and most of this is just mental masturbation. That said:

If it ever had a purpose, the husk seperator would actually not be that difficult to do. Simply dropping the grain through an updraft with sufficient lift for the husk, but insufficient lift for the grains. The husks would fly out the top, the grains would fall out the bottom.

As for sparging: What if you sparged huskless grain in a LT that could not allow a stuck sparge? I'm thinking a tub like a washing machine on spin cycle. The hot sparge water sprays forth in a mist from nozzles where the spindle should be and sprays at a rate perfect for the sparge. Everything that runs out is wort, and NO liquid remains in the grains. Thoughts?

pldoolittle said:

Ok guys, I will admit that my other hobby (being an ubergeek) is bleeding through here and most of this is just mental masturbation. That said:

If it ever had a purpose, the husk seperator would actually not be that difficult to do. Simply dropping the grain through an updraft with sufficient lift for the husk, but insufficient lift for the grains. The husks would fly out the top, the grains would fall out the bottom.

As for sparging: What if you sparged huskless grain in a LT that could not allow a stuck sparge? I'm thinking a tub like a washing machine on spin cycle. The hot sparge water sprays forth in a mist from nozzles where the spindle should be and sprays at a rate perfect for the sparge. Everything that runs out is wort, and NO liquid remains in the grains. Thoughts?

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It sounds a lot like a commercial breadmaker actually.

there are a lot of views on this. i have always been a bag squeezer and never had any ill effects from it. I say do what you like and taste the results for yourself.

newguy said:

i have always been a bag squeezer

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sorry I couldn't resist...lol

I always squeeze my bag!!!! Only one bad batch so far, but that
was a temperature mistake.

SQUEEZE AWAY YOUNG BREWER!!!!

TheDuke said:

sorry I couldn't resist...lol

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LOL yeah I thought I might get a good laugh out of that one

ArroganceFan said:

When I did my last brew I was unaware that you are not supposed to squeeze the grain bag, and so I did trying to get all I could out of it. What should I expect taste wise?

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I've done this unfortunately for all 6 of my brews. Squeezed the hell out the bag. I have not noticed an off flavor yet. On that note.... I will NOT be squeezing anymore. I think maintaing the water temperature 150-170F (Shoot for around 160F), and volume (2 gallons or less) are more important.

My first beer had a little bit of a grainy taste, which I equate to having too much water and perhaps a little too high steeping temperature. Although that disappeared after a month and became an excellent beer. Shrug. It could have been that the beer needed more time to mellow. Who knows?

Since number one, I've been fermenting 3 weeks in a primary. I usually do porters and stouts, so clarity isn't as much of an issue. The longer the yeast have on the beer, the cleaner and smoother the beer is on bottling day. Also it shortens the time that it takes to condition in the bottle in my opinion.