Anybody try winnowing?

[puttster]

I got my crush from LHBS then decided I want to go BIAB. I'm ordering a Corona mill to get the grind down as there are quire a few unrushed grains in there.

Since I don't need all the husks for BIAB, would anything be accomplished by winnowing the grain, eg., dropping it in front of a fan to blow away the chaff.

 

[chickens4life]

I imagine you would also loose a lot of the finer chunks of endosperm. Not to mention, the husks contribute more than filtering properties (like color/flavor).

I am sure you could do it, but I am not sure that you would accomplish anything by doing it. you may not need to all of those husks, but they aren't doing any harm either so it probably isn't worth the effort to remove them.

last though on why I wouldn't do it is that the purpose and beauty of BIAB is that it removes as many steps and simplifies the process as much as e can without negatively impacting the beer. so it seams a little against the philosophy of BIAB to add extra steps.

I am not trying to be negative, just some thoughts. The only way to know for sure what it would do is to have some one try it. and if you do i would like to here how it worked out.

-Chickens

 

[doug293cz]

Be careful about dropping grain in front of a fan. Grain dust is explosive! You can get swirling air currents from a fan, so some dust can make it back to the fan. If you get enough, and the fan sparks at all ... Also, any other sources of ignition would be dangerous around a grain dust cloud.

Brew on

 

[daksin]

I got my crush from LHBS then decided I want to go BIAB. I'm ordering a Corona mill to get the grind down as there are quire a few unrushed grains in there.

Since I don't need all the husks for BIAB, would anything be accomplished by winnowing the grain, eg., dropping it in front of a fan to blow away the chaff.

Just because you BIAB doesn't mean you don't need husk material. You still need to be able to squeeze liquid out of that mass of grain. Ever tried squeezing the water out of bread dough? Because that's essentially what you're making without the husk material in the mash.

 

[puttster]

I ground the grains some in the Corona but didn't winnow. The batch is fermenting now.