Bad efficiency brew day

[OleBrewing]

Channeling during mash recirc or sparging? Channeling during the mash is much less of an issue than during a sparge. Recirc during mashing is primarily for temperature stability. You don't need recirculation to get conversion during the mash - just water surrounding the grain grits and a suitable temperature.

Brew on

during mash. if grain bed gets locked there is not a whole lot of water surrounding the grist to encapsulate it. when the recirc bypasses it all the ratio is not great.

like making pasta and not getting the noodles to free flow, in this case it would be the pasta getting stuck together and locked up, the center pieces will become uncooked.

 

[doug293cz]

during mash. if grain bed gets locked there is not a whole lot of water surrounding the grist to encapsulate it. when the recirc bypasses it all the ratio is not great.

like making pasta and not getting the noodles to free flow, in this case it would be the pasta getting stuck together and locked up, the center pieces will become uncooked.

I have not seen any evidence that channeling causes dry zones in the mash. Do you have any peer reviewed articles that support this happening? If you get rid of all dough balls during mash-in, there should be no dry zones. There will be variations in water/grain ratio throughout the mash, but channeling will not dry out a zone to the point that there is not enough water for hydrolysis to occur.

Brew on

 

[day_trippr]

It'd be nigh apocryphal but I can imagine an unstirred grain bed infused with strike liquor encapsulating dry zones like you read about

 

[doug293cz]

It'd be nigh apocryphal but I can imagine an unstirred grain bed infused with strike liquor encapsulating dry zones like you read about

Thus my comment about insuring all dough balls have been broken up during mash-in.

Brew on

 

[HM-2]

It feels like the weight of rice hulls here is a LOT. I know that in excess rice hulls can seriously affect brewhouse efficiency.

 

[day_trippr]

I typically use a half pound of rice hulls, pre-wetted and drained before laying out atop my false bottom, but for a couple of wheat recipes I use a pound. I can't rationalize how rice hulls could negatively affect the yield...

Cheers!

 

[HM-2]

I think the theory is that promoting too much flow through the grain bed actually reduces, rather than increasing, extraction. Certainly that's what I've read elsewhere.

The bigger question for me is pure necessity? Yeah rice hulls are cheap but a pound in a (presumably 5 gallon) batch seems like massive overkill given that about three handfuls mixed into my grist is all it's ever taken me to get 50% wheat grists to drain pretty effortlessly. Even pre-wetted, you must be losing a decent bit of volume to absorption

 

[day_trippr]

I think the theory is that promoting too much flow through the grain bed actually reduces, rather than increasing, extraction. Certainly that's what I've read elsewhere.

Why would anyone rely on what's inside a mash tun to set the flow rate? That's what valves are for.

As far as losses: according to Beersmith3, there aren't any. And I'm doing 10 gallon batches, not four liters...

Cheers!

 

[doug293cz]

I think the theory is that promoting too much flow through the grain bed actually reduces, rather than increasing, extraction. Certainly that's what I've read elsewhere.

Too much flow during mash recirculation, or too fast a flow when fly sparging?

Brew on

 

[HM-2]

Too much flow during mash recirculation, or too fast a flow when fly sparging?

Brew on

During sparging

 

[MicroMickey]

On several occasions I've used a double handful of rice hulls when mashing 100% wheat. I don't get stuck sparges unless I lauter too quickly.

 

[pocketmon]

Stir, Stir, Stir, and your effort will be greatly rewarded.

Water is lazy. It will find the shortest path, either during mash or sparge. String is a simple yet effective way to avoid channelling.

 

[doug293cz]

Water is lazy. It will find the shortest path, either during mash or sparge. String is a simple yet effective way to avoid channelling.

You can't do much stirring during a fly sparge, unless you want to turn it into a batch sparge. Stir all you want during the mash, but channeling is not such a big deal during mash recirculation. Might be a good idea to shut off mash recirculation and stir prior to a fly sparge, if you are doing both, to make sure you don't have any pre-existing channels when you start the sparge..

Brew on

 

[Control Freak]

A clarification may be needed: Stir frequently during the mash. In my system the grain tends to compact not only downward but in the circular driection of the liquid flow, so it dams up around the dip tube. I also have to adjust the flow rate or the daming can become quite large. Along with controling the crush and pH the frequent stiring gives me a mash efficiency of 95 - 97%.