Sour Mash Stuck Sparge

[AlmostWitty]

I just racked a sour mash brew onto some cherries, but it reminded me of the terrible stuck sparge I had to get through to make it to this point.

Details:
-mashed at 154* then let sit overnight to get to 115* when I added lacto in the form of unmilled malt.
-sat at ~110* for 60 hours
-using 10 gal cooler tun with stainless steel braid exterior/ vinyl tubing interior drain hose.
-no wheat or rye in the grist, 1lb flaked oats in 11lb bill.

It wasn't simply a quick stick that I could clear and get flowing again-I had to constantly stir to gather wort both when initially draining and when sparging. The equipment has been used before, so I'm assuming it's a process or a grain bill issue.

Anyone experience anything similar before?

 

[zzARzz]

I use a false bottom, but I haven't had any stuck sparge issues with my 20-30% 2-day sour mashes. I use basically the same sour mashing method as you, though I chill the sour mash down to 110-120F and then pitch in a handful of unmilled grain before covering and sealing it instead of letting it sit overnight. I wonder if the sour mash may have gelatinized a bit by sitting at a higher temperature for that long causing a stuck sparge?

 

[AlmostWitty]

I was kind of thinking the same thing in terms of gelatinization, though it almost seemed like the kernel itself broke into more small pieces that stuck in the braid and just had to be moved.

I was busy that night and didn't have time to stir out enough heat, but I think next time I'll either sour in the kettle after I've gathered the wort, or I'll try some rice hulls.

 

[dannyhawkins]

The one sour mash I did was a nightmare to sparge, I moved all the mash to a Rubbermaid bin (not the best idea now that I think about hot acidic liquid in plastic), covered with shrink wrap and put an electric blanket under it for 48 hours. I inoculated with a wyeast lacto culture by the way. I then heated to about 170 in my kettle and transferred back to the cooler mash tun and tried to sparge as with any other beer. Oh this bill had like 20% oatmeal too so that didn't help. I just kept running off little bits and adding hot water till I had a decent volume and gravity. I decided next time I do any sour mashing I will definitely sparge as usual and sour the wort only.