All in - low sparge - Infusion Mash

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hipturn

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Finally making the switch to gluten free brewing. I've been watching the threads here and I think i've got enough knowledge. Thanks everyone. I've been out of brewing for 2 years since I developed a sensitivity to wheat and barley. No problems with millet so far.

So to make the switch I got a grain mill capable of grinding at .10, switched to BIAB, ordered grain from CMC and grouse distributors (grouse supplier was sold out of crystal 60), Diatase from E.C. Kraus. Now i've gotta reassemble my temp controlled fermenter and I'm back in business.

First recipe is 5.5 gallons. 15 lbs white millet (grouse) / 2 lbs crystal millet (CMC) / 1 lbs buckwheat (grouse). Cascade 2 ounces and 1 ounce amarillo at flame out; US-05 - 2 packets. Ferment at 60F.

Thanks everyone for all the help on the forum. Especially Glutard-Chris ;)

I'll report back results as things develop. Again, thanks everyone.
 
Hipturn, recipe looks good. Any dry hops later once this baby goes crazy* fermenting for a week? :) *2 packets of S-05 will do that you know (I almost blew the airlock off mine, so go for a blow-off valve from the start.

Since you intend to use the amylase (which I do and I don't feel one bit guilty either!) the Grouse recommended mash temp (154F) are a little high. Based on recommendations from Igliashon here, for my last batch I did a 148-150F mash for 2 hours and it was a smashing success. Its the best batch of beer I've ever brewed including all my barley batches from years back.

Question: what grain mill did you end up getting?

That's my current weak link: I invested in a grain mill that requires me to do multiple passes and I'll be trying to sell it to a local barley brewer once I decide upon a new grain mill model to buy.
 
Thx for the advice! I've always pitched 2 US05s but I control temp at 59/60F which lessens blowoff threat. As to mill: I got a cereal killer. It's my weak link too. Wht mill do you use? But like you, I figure multiple passes if it doesn't do the job. It's a crappy mill. Very low quality out of the box. But for $99 shipped I couldn't pass it up.
 
My guess is you will do just fine with your mill. When I purchased mine all the advice was to mill super small so I got the big rollers etc. Most recent advice has us going a little larger. I started grinding millet at a gap of about 0.010". It gives a good grind but the mill tends to bind when you get the rpm down to a reasonable level and that makes it more difficult. I now mill closer to 0.020" gap on millet and it seems to go through smoother and I don't have problems with conversions with the long final rest. I am sure your mill will work fine.

With the buckwheat, go LARGE. I do mine around 0.045". Run through twice if you think you need to. On lower gaps the buckwheat binds hard. I have a high torque drill I use on my mill and it nearly ripped my arm off when it suddenly bound up on buckwheat at a small gap.
 
Chris: You read my mind. I was about to DM to ask what your gap was on buckwheat! thanks for the advice!
 
Thx for the advice! I've always pitched 2 US05s but I control temp at 59/60F which lessens blowoff threat. As to mill: I got a cereal killer. It's my weak link too. Wht mill do you use? But like you, I figure multiple passes if it doesn't do the job. It's a crappy mill. Very low quality out of the box. But for $99 shipped I couldn't pass it up.

Same.. cereal killer. :(

Good mill just too wide for millet.
 
1. Recipe:
15 lbs grouse pale millet
2 lbs crystal 60L CMC
1 lbs grouse malted buckwheat
3 tablespoons E.C. Krause diatase
1 lbs Belgian dark sugar
1 oz cascade at 1 hr 30 minutes
1 oz pacifica at 1 hr 30 minutes
2 oz Amarillo at 45 minutes
.5 oz cascade at 30 minutes
1 whirlfoc tablet at 10 minutes
.5 oz cascade at FO
1 oz Amarillo (reserved for dry hopping)
2 packets US-05

2. Process
A. Mash in / Protein rest
Mashed in BIAB at 6 gallons at 140 for target temp of 130F, got 134. Rested at 134 for ~ 30 minutes.

B. Main Mash
Added 3 gallons of boiling water to get to target of 154F, got 150. rested for 2 hours. Final temp ~142.

C. First Runnings
Collect 6 gallons of 1.030 wort.

D. Batch Sparge
Batch sparged with 4 gallons vigorous stirring to get to final temperature of 154. Rested another hour.

Preboil volume: collected ~9 gallons total of 1.030 wort

E. Boil
Added 1 lbs of Belgian sugar prior to boil.

Final collected ~6 gallons at 1.050.

3. Thoughts.

Overall success. The beer tastes just like a barely based pale ale. the wort is very sweet and malted barely like.

Efficiency is really low (low 40s) ; maybe due to cereal killer grain mill.

I had to run the millet through 4 times at the smallest gap and still was not certain about the crush.

The mash takes a very long time to covert.

The wort looked like milk early on and I thought, it would never convert. I texted glutarded chris and he encouraged me. Sure enough the wort did clear up significantly although my second runnings from the batch sparge where still a bit milky. Probably from all the stirring.

I used a modified BIAB and cooler method. I started BIAB but moved to the cooler as I realized that i would need to hold my mash temp for over 2 hours and the kettle wouldn't suffice.

Using BIAB and the mash tun was a successsful move. I didn't need to worry about a stuck sparge, the bag in the cooler took care of that.

At flameout, the beer was indistinguishable from a barely based beer.

I cooled and put in my temp controlled fermentor. Pitched when the wort got to 64F. ( i was looking to pitch at 60F but I was ready for bed :) long day).

I am fermenting with temp control at 60F and the fermentation kicked off strongly by this morning as expected.

4. Conclusions
Batch sparging / single infusion brewing with millet is entirely feasible. The grain is too expensive, and the extended mash times make for a very long brew day. I know with some work i can improve my efficiency to what I'm used to (low 60s). I don't know if the protein rest at 130 - 135F added anything. But more experienced brewers on this forum recommended it. Having an automated electric brewery would be a big help and might be worth the investment to gain better temperature control in the mash.
 
Another data point for mills -

I've got a monster mill with 1.5" rollers. To get a good crush, I run millet through at 0.020" for a first pass and then do a second pass at 0.015". Trying to do it in one pass results in a giant cloud of flour on my setup.
 
Dry hopped 1 oz Amarillo on Tuesday. I'll likely keg tomorrow. Reassembled my kegerator with new beer lines. Checking kegs for pressure and etc. feels like old times. Looking forward to tasting this beer!
 
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433705160.823346.jpg kegged. This beer tastes almost identical to my barley-based house pale ale from 2 years ago. I'll brew my Vienna lager / helles next.

Final thoughts: wow that was a ton of work. And VERY expensive. Millet beer is as good as barley beer. I foresee a large commercial brewery entering this space. Sorghum beer must be really cheap. This product is so far superior its striking. And bottom line: No one gets a pint but me :) cf. little red hen.
 
Just worked up a 3 gallon rest batch all ekhart rice malt and lundbergs rice syrup. Mashed 2 lbs rice malt at 180 for an hour dropped to 155 added diatase. Rest forb2 hours. Then took at grain bag and boiled and added hops. Man so much trube. Wow. Put in 3 gallon carboy. Down and dirty. No gravity measures. Just a first test. Will report back.
 
Did you use a high temperature amylase during the 180 rest?
I use termamyl during a high temp rest and I find it helps alot with efficiency.
 
I didn't. Got poor efficiency. Just used more rice and rice syrup to get to projected gravity on subsequent lager where I used same technique. Bumped rice up to 4 lbs.
 
Hey Hipturn,
Legume is right on, in fact, he is the one that pointed me in the right direction. Much greater efficiency! I recently did a test batch and was temporarily out of Termamyl and had to improvise. Same result you had and ended up dumping that one down the drain. There very well could be other enzymes out there that do a similar job, I have yet to find them.
 
Gusmer Enterprises apparently has the main distribution rights to Novozymes. Termamyl is one of their products. I believe Gusmer only sells wholesale. Brewcraft USA buys 30kg jugs and repackages in 4oz bottles and also sells the 30kg jug. I am not sure whether they sell retail. You might be best off to suggest your local homebrew store carry it. There are several Termamyl formulations. I am using the 120 L, type L. I have not investigated how the others compare or perform.
 
Ok. My all rice lager was a huge success. I brewed a 3 gallon batch. Used 4 pounds of Eckert's vienna malt. I cereal mashed it at 180 for about an hour. Then i placed the mash in a BIAB in my igloo cooler and mashed at 150. I added my E.C. Krause diatase enzyme at 150F for 2 hours or more. Basically until the wort tasted sweet enough. I took SG reading of >1.020. I added 2 jars of lundberg syrup and some Belgian Candi sugar. I got the SG to 1.045. Boiled with Hallertau hops. I cooled the wort to 55F and added Saflager W34. I fermented for 2 weeks then kegged. Set the regulator for 14 PSI for 4 days. I basically made Corona. But let me tell you [ takes a sip ] for someone who can't drink fizzy light beer. This is amazing. Temperature control and good sanitation means that I can brew a crazy good lager with all rice ingredients. Given your setup and sanitation: YMMV. But understand if you want to brew a beer that tastes like commercial lager it is entirely possible. No hot alcohol. No off flavors. If you've got the skills you can brew a respectable all rice beer.
 
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