Mash Paddle Questions.

[globe]

So yesterday I was brewing and just started the boil. I added my hop shot and decided to mix in the hop shot oil with my mash paddle...well i didn't rinse the paddle. So some grains got into the boil. Not many i guess but just what was stuck to the paddle. I was just wondering if this enough to be a mistake... I am more curious than worried I guess RDWHAHB.

And that brings me to my next question.


Anyone have recommendations for mash paddles? I have a wooden one with 3 large holes in it...dough balls go right through or around. Tried using a 12" stainless whisk from amazon and it gets clogged almost immediately but works ok i guess.

Thanks

 

[Peruvian802]

Anyone have recommendations for mash paddles? I have a wooden one with 3 large holes in it...dough balls go right through or around. Tried using a 12" stainless whisk from amazon and it gets clogged almost immediately but works ok i guess.

Thanks

Do you stir while adding your grains? Slow down how quickly your pour in the grains and stir simultaneously and you should have fewer dough balls.

 

[masonsjax]

A few kernels of grain in your boil won't be enough to impact the beer flavor, don't worry.

I have used a giant SS spoon, plastic paddle, wood paddle, and a 24" SS whisk. The whisk is by far the best. It breaks dough balls effortlessly, is easier to stir, agitates the grain faster and more thoroughly with each pass than any of the others, and looks cool.

 

[rodduley]

Hey masonsjax do you have a source for the 24" whisk? Is it local? I'm actually located in New Market.

 

[masonsjax]

I bought the whisk online, I forget exactly where. This is the same one though: http://www.morebeer.com/products/stainless-whisk-24.html

Btw, if you need any grain, we do a DC area group buy. Check out the first post in the thread here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f174/dc-area-group-buy-11-a-501345/

 

[Hophunter]

I use a 5 gal paint mixer attached to cordless drill. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1424791198.188202.jpg
Very easy, efficient and no dough balls. Can't beat it for under $10.

 

[pvpeacock]

I use a paint stirrer on a cordless drill and it works great. You can use it dough in when mashing, use it to stir when batch sparging, use it with your immersion chiller to speed cool down and use it to whirlpool before draining the boil kettle. It is probably one of my best tools for the buck.

 

[Happywanderer]

That paint stirrer looks pretty sweet. But I go with the 24" whisk like others. Super easy (not as easy as the drill I'll admit). I got my 24" whisk from a local restaurant supply store. You probably have one in your region...

 

[brick_haus]

I got my 24" wisk from Smart and Final.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

I can[t believe folks spend money on something called a mash paddle. Come on now all you need is a slotted spoon. I think I need to come up with some weird name for a common item and market it. I am a dump all at once guy and just stir till the balls are gone. Not really that difficult.

 

[kh54s10]

I use a solid (no holes) paddle that I make out of an oak limb that fell in my back yard. It is 25 inches long. The blade part is 14 inches long 2 inches wide and about 7/8" thick. I dump all the grain into the water then stir like crazy. I push dough balls up against the side of the tun to break them up. It is usually not too difficult.

I may try the paint stirrer though.

 

[chrism101]

My mash paddles have been 1in oak round

 

[botigol]

I have been using a potato masher.

 

[Horseshoot]

I do 10 gallon batches. I'd not enjoy attacking it with a slotted spoon. My basic wooden mash paddle does just fine. A mash paddle is a time honored piece of brewing equipment. It wasn't designed, or named, as a gimmick to get people to buy it. To each their own, I guess.

 

[Singletrack]

^^^Uh huh. You can't turn over the mash with a whisk the way I can with my 6 ft long stainless steel dragon-shaped mash paddle. A whisk might work great for doughing in, but as far as "looking cool?" Well...

Actual mash paddle size and shape may vary from that described.

 

[globe]

Thanks for the replies...I ordered a 24" whisk on amazon and retired my 12" whisk to the kitchen. I will see how that goes next time.

 

[ObiBeerCanobi]

I use a regular stainless spoon in the 24" range. I think the key is to stir from the bottom to the top to expose the dough balls (and then crush them, obviously) . I think what you're stirring with matters a lot less than how you're stirring.

 

[Chadwick]

A little grain here, a little grain there. In the end, we shouldn't really care.

Put it in historical context. Ales of Olde were pretty great. I'm sure many of them was. The people making them knew nothing of the science behind it. They just knew that you do this, then do that, then you have beer. It worked then and people loved the product. If you have the basics down it is hard to not make a good beer. Don't get too hung up on the little things. Some grains lingering here and there won't harm your beer. That is my two cents.

 

[tehnick]

I also use a paint stirrer with a cordless drill. When I saw someone using one at a group brew, I knew it was the way to go. The only thing I've found is you can't go too quickly on the motor in a 10 gallon gott cooler with a false bottom or the force of the whirlpool can flip it upside-down causing you to dump the mash into a different container to clear the grain from the tube before you can sparge.

Let's just say all it takes is doing it once before you make sure you don't do it again lol.

 

[PeteNMA]

I have one of those 24" whisks from Amazon as recommended by the guy over at homebrewfinds. Works wonders, and can't be beaten for the price

 

[wilserbrewer]

I was doing a 1/2 keg batch at a remote hunting cabin and realized I had nothing to stir the mash, I grabbed the lopping shears and went outside and cut a crooked branch off a scrub oak tree about 3 feet long, worked great to stir the mash.

Made for some good comical photos as well.

 

[jspain3]

I bought a whirlpool paddle from NorCal that should be able to both stir the mash and whirlpool the wort. I haven't brewed with it yet, so we shall see. The whisk sounds interesting though.

 

[masonsjax]

Like I said, I love the whisk, but the paint stir in a drill is an interesting concept too. I'd try that if I didn't think it would rip the braid out of my mash tun.

 

[OleBrewing]

I made one out of a 4' maple board. Its duel purpose, I warn the kids if they don't shape I will bring in the paddle. Just like mom used to say except her's was a wooden spoon