Washing grains before mashing?

I have made several brews using a cheap bag from my LHBS and had quite a bit of fines get through the bag. I just bought a Wilser bag and the mesh is considerably finer, so I expect much less fines getting through, but no bag will stop dust. To the extent such fines and dust get through to the boil, there is a chance some will be hull debris containing tannins. While I have not detected significant tannins in my beers, I am wondering if prewashing the grains with cold water could improve the beer, or at least the clarity of the wort going into the fermenter.

Rice, like barley grains, generate dust from handling and shipping. With rice, this dust coating the kernels can lead to sticky rice, and I always rinse my rice with cold water before cooking, and have noticed less stickiness and clumping.

Can anyone think of any potential harm in rinsing the barley malts in cold water (not caramelized or crystal malts with soluble sugars) to reduce dust and fines? I realize it's not really necessary, but is so simple to do that it may be worth the slight effort if the beer can be improved with no downsides.

TomVA

Seems like a waste of time. Milling the grain will create much more in the way of fines than whatever is coating the kernels to start with.

And, why are you so worried about fines getting into the boil? Tannin extraction is primarily due to pH being too high (in conjunction with high temps.) My wort going into the boil and fermenter is very cloudy, but I get crystal clear beer in the keg. None of the BJCP certified people (or anyone else for that matter) in my club have ever said anything about astringency in any of my beers that they have tasted.

Brew on

That dust and fines are primarily from the kernels inside the husk. Rinsing them out will lower your yield from mashing.

It all settles out in the fermenter. Why wash away potential sugars? Sounds like it would end up a mess. Don't create solutions to problems that don't exist.

That dust is fine, it won't harm the beer you're brewing. As said already, milling causes a lot more dust. It will all be converted to sugar in the mash.

Re: rice
Rinsing (white) rice removes the little bit of nutrition that was left or had been added.

Proper cooking prevents rice from sticking. It's not macaroni, you don't stir it, you don't drain it.

Cooking rice:
Do NOT rinse! Use a water/rice ratio of 1.5 - 1.75 (by volume) for a start. Keep the lid on at all times. Heat on high. After it boils for a few minutes, when little holes (pits) form in the surface, turn to lowest setting for 20-30 minutes (keep lid on). You can always add a little more water if the kernels are a bit too chewy then, some rice just needs a little more water. Make a note of it for next time.

When done, fluff up with a fork, let sit for a few minutes (with lid on) to steam, then serve.

TomVA said:

While I have not detected significant tannins in my beers, I am wondering if prewashing the grains with cold water could improve the beer, or at least the clarity of the wort going into the fermenter.

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Many home brewers are concerned about wort clarity and go to great lengths to get their wort clear. I'm more concerned about beer clarity which is totally unrelated to wort clarity. Don't worry about the wort clarity, it doesn't matter in the final product.:rockin: