Condition & Crush Night Before

[Wagon_6]

Anyone see any issues conditioning the grain bill and crushing it the night before brewing in the morning? I'm thinking that small amount of moisture wouldn't cause some bacteria party over night.

 

[Ben58]

I do it all the time. In fact, for the past 5 years.

 

[kh54s10]

I would say that anything that got in there would not survive the boil, so it is OK to condition and mill the night before.

 

[Wagon_6]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[millsbrew]

Do you mean condition your water? I’m debating about the same but I’m worried about bacteria/yeast in my HLT getting to the water and changing the pH. I realize boil will kill anything in there. More interested in the pH.

 

[day_trippr]

Seems like leaving damp grain overnight might lead to a bit of lacto tang.
Could be a good thing...or maybe not so much.
Never done it, don't know either way...

Cheers!

 

[JimRausch]

u mean condition your water? I’m debating about the same but I’m worried about bacteria/yeast in my HLT getting to the water and changing the pH. I realize boil will kill anything in there. More interested in the pH.

I'm pretty sure he means conditioning the grain (wetting it a little helps keep husks from shredding). And yes Wagon- I've done it the night before without any problems.
My Q to you Mills is 1. what bacteria are you expecting in your HLT? and 2. Why would it change pH in your strike water? I'm confused.

 

[day_trippr]

Barley malt is loaded with lactobacillus that just needs some moisture to wake up and start doing their thing - which produces the lactic acid associated with sour beers...

Cheers!

 

[JimRausch]

Barley malt is loaded with lactobacillus that just needs some moisture to wake up and start doing their thing - which produces the lactic acid associated with sour beers...

True, but not much opportunity when you're talking about overnight.

 

[millsbrew]

I was talking about brewing water and salt additions. I’m certain my basement brewery is full of all sorts of yeast. How it would magically fly into a covered HLT is a good point. I guess there wouldn’t be enough food for the wild things to eat and drop the pH even if they got into the stainless steel HLT. Trying to shave some time off brew days but don’t want to cut corners at the expense of quality.

 

[day_trippr]

Two different paradigms in this thread...but the one I definitely wouldn't worry about would be bacteria or yeast landing in brewing liquor...

Cheers!

 

[millsbrew]

Thanks. And sorry for jacking the thread.

 

[wobdee]

Personally i like to condition and crush as close to mash in as possible. I think the night before is too long and could possibly lead to loss of malt flavor due to oxidation. I think of it this way, peel an apple the night before and see what oxygen does to it by the next day, same principle imo with peeling away the husk of the grain. It may not be as significant as the apple but I don't want the possibility of any flavor loss.

 

[Sparkncode]

Unless you are doing huge batches crushing grain is not a slow down to the brew day. I do it while the HLT comes up to mash temp which is fairly quick.

Like day_trippr suggests I wouldnt want any chance of enhanced lacto on the grain as it could mess with mash ph and maybe tend towards sour although with a low ambiant temp it might not get too much activity etc.

Also I agree with the sentiment that crush just before mash in is best for freshness and flavour. The idea of damp grain sitting round overnight doesnt appeal to me. I guess you could put it in a fridge over night.

Spent grains can go bad quite quick in the right conditions so i guess damp grains can do the same if your ambiant temperature is pretty warm.

 

[GPP33]

Spent grains can go bad quite quick in the right conditions so i guess damp grains can do the same if your ambiant temperature is pretty warm.

Don’t forget that spent grains already have their starches converted to fermentable sugars, which are what’s left on the grain and going bad.