Fale Bottom Issues??

[vio0633]

Every time I start to drain from my round cooler mash tun, I always get a lot of husks that come through in the liquid. I would vorlauf like normal and recycle the wort back into the mash, but it just keeps coming up with husks. I thought it was my grind but I tried this with my LHBS mill and I bought an all grain kit milled from norther brewer. Both have the same indications. I have a 12" false bottom on a 10 gallon cooler.

So what is the trick into getting really nice clear wort to drain from your mash tun when your sparing? Beer still comes out nice...just wanting to clean it up more if possible.

 

[BigB]

If you have one of those false bottoms that have the giant nut on the elbow, make sure the nut is on top of the false bottom. Otherwise, grain gets past the joint.

 

[vio0633]

If you have one of those false bottoms that have the giant nut on the elbow, make sure the nut is on top of the false bottom. Otherwise, grain gets past the joint.

I have a nut on both the bottom and the top of the joint on my false bottom. Im still for some reason getting small pieces of husks flowing through into my kettle. Im not sure exactly how clear the wort is supposed to be when you drain it. It looks pretty clear but still has small pieces of grain flowing through it.

 

[Butter]

So put a painters strainer bag over the kettle, or the end of the tube/valve where the wort comes out of.

 

[BigB]

If you are getting a few tiny pieces of grain that you can see in your vorlauf, then thats not a big deal. If you are getting lots of husk, then it sounds to me that your crush is way too fine. A good crush should leave the husks intact and only break up the kernals.

 

[Rev2010]

Sounds to me like the false bottom probably isn't sitting perfectly flat and some smaller grain bits are getting under. I switched to a $17 bazooka screen and never have any problems since. I think I've read a few people here have successfully "bagged" the false bottom with a paint strainer bag. Worth a shot.


Rev.