Brewed my first pLambic or Lobic this weekend on a eHERM system. Given that the majority of the steps of a turbid mash is just increasing the temperature by adding hot water, the system would be able to take care of the majority of the steps. I would just have to remove the wort twice and return it at the proper time. Thought I would share my experience.
For a 5 gallon batch
5.75# Rahr Pils
3# Soft White Wheat (probably not ground fine enough) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005XDUA9K/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
1/2# Rice Hulls to keep it all flowing.
and 4 Ounces aged hops from Hops Direct
I began by heating the strike water (1.35 quarts per pound plus the 5 quarts to be removed later)
Doughed in at 113 and the system began its magic of timing out each step and then heating up to the next.
113F - 15min
126F - 15min - Pull off 1 Quart and heat to above 190
132F - 15min - Pull off 4 Quarts and heat to above 190
150F - 45min
165F - 30min
170F - 20min - Pour back in liquid previously removed.
190F - Sparged out 10+ gallons (I think I should have waited longer at this temp to breakdown the wheat more)
Tossed in the hops and boiled till about 5 gallons left (3.5 hours total). Because I was pitching 3278 Lambic blend and Beatification Dregs I cooled to about 70F. I was thinking the efficiency would be in the high 80% range, but I got in the mid 60% and hit 1.042. I'm not sure if using raw wheat on the home brew scale would cause such a low efficiency. Lots of protein starches and tannins in the wort.
The time between each step took about 10 minutes. Next time I do this I am going to add the 1 or 4 quarts 5 minutes before I remove it, I think the extra volume may have messed with the efficiency. Also I wasn't sure how finely to mill the small unmalted wheat kernels. I had the barley crusher set at 0.032, where I mill the malted barley at .042 and get great efficiency. With the half pound of rice hulls there was no issue with the recirculation.
Any tips for getting a better mash efficiency with raw wheat?
For a 5 gallon batch
5.75# Rahr Pils
3# Soft White Wheat (probably not ground fine enough) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005XDUA9K/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
1/2# Rice Hulls to keep it all flowing.
and 4 Ounces aged hops from Hops Direct
I began by heating the strike water (1.35 quarts per pound plus the 5 quarts to be removed later)
Doughed in at 113 and the system began its magic of timing out each step and then heating up to the next.
113F - 15min
126F - 15min - Pull off 1 Quart and heat to above 190
132F - 15min - Pull off 4 Quarts and heat to above 190
150F - 45min
165F - 30min
170F - 20min - Pour back in liquid previously removed.
190F - Sparged out 10+ gallons (I think I should have waited longer at this temp to breakdown the wheat more)
Tossed in the hops and boiled till about 5 gallons left (3.5 hours total). Because I was pitching 3278 Lambic blend and Beatification Dregs I cooled to about 70F. I was thinking the efficiency would be in the high 80% range, but I got in the mid 60% and hit 1.042. I'm not sure if using raw wheat on the home brew scale would cause such a low efficiency. Lots of protein starches and tannins in the wort.
The time between each step took about 10 minutes. Next time I do this I am going to add the 1 or 4 quarts 5 minutes before I remove it, I think the extra volume may have messed with the efficiency. Also I wasn't sure how finely to mill the small unmalted wheat kernels. I had the barley crusher set at 0.032, where I mill the malted barley at .042 and get great efficiency. With the half pound of rice hulls there was no issue with the recirculation.
Any tips for getting a better mash efficiency with raw wheat?
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