glutarded-chris
Well-Known Member
I would really appreciate any help from those of you that have some experience with partial mash or all grain with millet and buckwheat. If there is something obvious that I am doing wrong or that I am not doing properly, I would really like to know it.
My efficiency seems to be really crappy compared to what others say they are getting and I suspect that I am still getting too much unconverted starch. Not sure if it is my water, which I build up from purified water (I dont have a good pH meter and the strips just plain suck) or if it is my mash process somehow or maybe this would be expected with the amount of buckwheat and roasted grains I am using.
The latest batches I did were 6lb total grain (2 lb buckwheat pale, 2.5 lb millet pale, 0.75 buckwheat munich, 0.75 dark roasted millet). I posted the first version here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f240/gluten-free-amber-ale-partial-mash-454684/
I start the main mash with everything but the buckwheat pale malt (4 pounds) with 5 quarts water and hold at a rest of 165F for 30 to 60 minutes.
I cerial mash the buckwheat (2 pounds) by adding 3 quarts boiling water and stir for 10 to 15 minutes. Final temp ends up at about 180F. Combine with rest of mash.
Add cold water to bring total mash down to 130F to 140F. Add SEBrew (1.5 g) and a teaspoon or two of Amylase. Mash ends up just under 2 quarts per pound for final hold (60 minutes).
Starch test using a drop or two of iodine with a splash of wart kept coming up jet black. Finally just collected first runnings and sparged with 175 to 180F regular drinking water.
Each time collected 3.5 gallons of wart and gravity of about 1.023 (sample cooled to room temp). By my calculations this represents only 13.4 ppg yield which is pretty bad. Most are getting much better than that.
The beer has come out great each time but feel I am just not getting everything out of the grain that I should be.
My efficiency seems to be really crappy compared to what others say they are getting and I suspect that I am still getting too much unconverted starch. Not sure if it is my water, which I build up from purified water (I dont have a good pH meter and the strips just plain suck) or if it is my mash process somehow or maybe this would be expected with the amount of buckwheat and roasted grains I am using.
The latest batches I did were 6lb total grain (2 lb buckwheat pale, 2.5 lb millet pale, 0.75 buckwheat munich, 0.75 dark roasted millet). I posted the first version here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f240/gluten-free-amber-ale-partial-mash-454684/
I start the main mash with everything but the buckwheat pale malt (4 pounds) with 5 quarts water and hold at a rest of 165F for 30 to 60 minutes.
I cerial mash the buckwheat (2 pounds) by adding 3 quarts boiling water and stir for 10 to 15 minutes. Final temp ends up at about 180F. Combine with rest of mash.
Add cold water to bring total mash down to 130F to 140F. Add SEBrew (1.5 g) and a teaspoon or two of Amylase. Mash ends up just under 2 quarts per pound for final hold (60 minutes).
Starch test using a drop or two of iodine with a splash of wart kept coming up jet black. Finally just collected first runnings and sparged with 175 to 180F regular drinking water.
Each time collected 3.5 gallons of wart and gravity of about 1.023 (sample cooled to room temp). By my calculations this represents only 13.4 ppg yield which is pretty bad. Most are getting much better than that.
The beer has come out great each time but feel I am just not getting everything out of the grain that I should be.