Do you need to mash a grain bill with mostly wheat longer to fully convert?

[geer537]

Hi all!

I brewed yesterday and my efficiency dropped from 75 % to 54 %. None of my processes changed; mashed at 153 for 60 minutes, fly sparged with 180 degree water, cooled to 68. I checked my hydrometer and it is calibrated. The grain bill was mostly wheat so should I have mashed longer? Recipe:

5 # wheat
1.5 # flaked wheat
4 # 2 row
1 # munich

Ended with 1.045 so I've got good beer and I am using pac man yeast at 62 degrees so I am expecting a low FG. I thought the 2 row would help convert the wheat but maybe I needed more? Anyone have any thoughts for the next time I try a wheat?

 

[Kayos]

Crush maybe? Wheat is a different setting. Did you crush or have it done for you? Anything over a half hour usually converts the starches for you, the rest is a "make sure". with the modified grains these days.

 

[geer537]

We actually double crushed this one. I use a malt mill. Unfortunately I cant make the crush any finer because its not adjustable

 

[Dok]

That is a considerable drop in efficiency. That is not a big difference between the amount on wheat and 2-row/munich. Just curious why the addition of flaked wheat. The malted and flaked wheat along with your double crush may have gummed up your sparge. Rice hulls may have helped.

 

[Bobby_M]

The 5# wheat is malted wheat or wheat malt right?

 

[geer537]

The # of wheat was malted and honestly just added the flaked wheat after reading a few recipes. I didn't add any rice hulls maybe I'll drop the flaked and increase the wheat for next time?

 

[Dok]

The 5# wheat is malted wheat or wheat malt right?

Oh yeah that reminds me I need to order a few parts from brewhardware.com

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I have never had a problem with conversion even with a 100% malted wheat bill. Wheat malt can self-convert. I also suspect it is a problem with the flaked wheat.

 

[Rev2010]

No, you don't need to mash longer for wheat, wheat can convert itself actually. I do all my hefe recipes with a 60 minute mash and all my recipes since getting my grain mill (Barley Crusher) have been 79% efficiency outside of my Belgian Wit's - which are around 73-74% but after some reading I'm gathering that is because I didn't protein rest and the flaked wheat and oats benefit from that.

I did have a wheat that came out a ridiculously low efficiency - 56%, and that was the reason I bought a grain mill. Everything pointed to the crush since wheat and rye are smaller grains. So, the next hefe and every one thereafter match up my efficiency for my other non-wheat recipes at 79%. So, I'd still look at the crush even though you ran it through twice you noted you can't adjust the crush.


Rev.

 

[Bobby_M]

A short protein rest can certainly help with efficiency with a lot of wheat malt. It's got plenty of diastatic power but the starch is locked up in a bit more protein than barley.

 

[Rev2010]

A short protein rest can certainly help with efficiency with a lot of wheat malt. It's got plenty of diastatic power but the starch is locked up in a bit more protein than barley.

Being flaked wheat and oats are unmalted that's definitely what I've been reading. For regular malted wheat, like Weyermann or Rahr, I haven't seen any need for a protein rest to increase efficiency.

He only lists 1.5lb of flaked wheat in his recipe though so I don't tend to think that was the cause.


Rev.

 

[geer537]

I'd be bummed if it were the crush since I cannot adjust it but its also not the first time I used this Malt Mill, just the first time my effeciency was this low. I can't point to anything specific and say that's what I have done differently. I am going to brew again this weekend on a recipe that I do pretty often. Then maybe I'll duplicate the recipe without the flaked wheat.

 

[Hikeon3]

Keep some of the flaked. Maybe 8oz. Worth it for the head retention and it won't make the beer overly sweet.

Try tossing in a few cups of rice hulls with your grain bill. After seeing my efficiency skyrocket while batch sparging with rice hulls I purchased a ton of them and use them every batch. I'm at about 80% efficiency up from 60-65% over two years of brews.

And for the record, I mash my hefs for 90 minutes. Science doesn't support it, but I have always done it and never had a bad batch.