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It's happened to me when I've used a lot of rye-rice hulls really help. The other thing that has helped is to have the mash be pretty wet to begin with and then have as much water go in as goes out.

I fly sparge so my mash is usually pretty much liquid. I keep an equal flow in and out. I always notice when I dump my grains how the different grains layer themselves according to relative size. Is this OK? It all goes to the same place right? Never had a problem with efficiency, just wondering...

This is my setup and I have never had problems with efficiency

I'd suggest stirring during the mash a few times, and also taking your time while sparging. I like to have the sparge take at least an hour. I fly sparge and try to keep it to a trickle-not a stream-for at least the initial stages of the sparge. Once the wort is running fairly clear-I open it up...

I do it for about an hour, and try to keep about an inch of water above the grain, and have as much go in as goes out.

A cream ale with corn is a good one for warm weather and an example of what you can't get with extracts.

I've only used them once, when doing a rye...and I just tossed them in at room temp and stirred them in with the rest of the mash. I'd be curious to know if there were better ways to use them

I fly-sparge and have always used my bottling bucket as a sparge tank with no ill effects. I use a 3 gallon pot to heat sparge water on the stove, then dump it into the bottling bucket at about 180-knowing that it will cool the longer it sits in the bucket. I have the side of my 10 gal BK...

I did an oatmeal stout on Saturday and I had a suspicion that the grain was too fine, but I proceeded as usual (mashed at 155). When I vorlaufed, I knew I had some problems, as it was having some major troubles flowing out (I use a 5 gal cooler and a false bottom). When i began sparging, it was...

I'd go for Simcoes, Amarillos, and Chinook for an IPA. As mentioned, those will give you that hallmark IPA nose and taste. Also, FWIW, I've found that it's possible to make a badda$$ IPA (not over the top, but very solid; 6-7% ABV; 60-80 IBUs) with relatively few hops. I like to start with the...

I have a 5 gallon Lowe's water cooler with a false bottom. I'd like a 10 gallon one, but it does the trick.

That sounds rough-AG is definitely a weekend thing. Great thing about brewing is that it only tkaes one mishap to recognize a faulty process.

I think the boil is a much stronger smell than the mash...my SWMBO has stopped complaining since I went to AG and boil outside. If she could stand that-mash should be no prob.

My SWMBO would totally smell the mash-even afterwards. She's pretty cool, and doesn't put too many limits on me...she's so utilitarian that she'd be just as mad if I had all that junk in the basement but wasn't using it. This weeks' exchange went like this: Me: How about we do that...

I try to not plan anything else before 5 or so on a brew day. This is usually fine as long as I get up at a decent hour. I start the strike water ASAP, and get everything in order (sanitized carboy, funnel, etc. sparge tank out, turkey fryer set up) during the 90 min. mash. During the sparge...

I've used this for an Alt and Ed Wort's Octoberfest. I kept the temp around 60 though and the result was clean and malty. I can imagine that the warmer the frutier. I plan on using this in the future when I want to 'cheat' on a lager.

I've never done any tricky mashes, but I've only fly-sparged as long as I've done AG. I can't really compare it to batch sparging, but I've never had any problems with efficiency. It's also kind of fun to man the sparge and keep the flow going. One of the benefits seems to be the ability to mash...

IMO, that's way too early in the game to give up the ship! I am honestly never that exact in getting the mash temps...close, but not exact. As mentioned, it will usually take a while for the heat to distribute through the mash...and you can run yourself ragged trying to nail it. For me, a...

I'm admittedly not a numbers freak-but I haven't had huge issues with efficiency...and I really think AG has a lot more character (and is less pricey) than extract. The one time I really had a problem was when I had an incomplete crush. But I always mash for 90 min. and I always fly sparge...I...

I made this one: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=33242 But used wyeast scottish ale yeast. It was a hit and very drinkeable for warm weather. You'll really appreciate the difference from extract with that flaked maize in the mash.