Rice Hulls
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Amadeo38
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I’ve taken to throwing a few handfuls in all of my mashes simply because they’re dirt cheap and if they help avoid a stuck sparge, why not? I’ve never heard of it to even out mash temps, but I can see how it might. If you would otherwise have pockets of varying temps in your mash, the hulls would serve to essentially give some more, for failure to think of a better word, “structure”, to the grain bed. Who knows.
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I do...a handful in my non-wheat beers and two or three in my wheats...can’t hurt any and doesn’t add any flavor so why not?
SoCal-Doug
Well-Known Member
I'm using them in most recipes. They allow for a finer grind and higher recirculation rates, which results in higher efficiency and better temperature control. I also see a higher lautering/sparge efficiency.
I can look back over recipes that I brew over and over and see things like mash efficiency changing from 88% to 91% and end runnings changing from 1.011/6.1 to 1.004/5.9 (the pH change still puzzles me). These include an Irish Red, A Saison and a Kolsh. Completely different grain bills, step counts and temps. The differences are even more dramatic in batch sizes of 10 gallons and larger.
For a buck or two per batch, in a 3 vessel recirculating HERMS or RIMS type system, it's simply a wonderful thing. I've never done a BIAB, but I would guess it would work well there also, to pick up a few points of efficiency.
I can look back over recipes that I brew over and over and see things like mash efficiency changing from 88% to 91% and end runnings changing from 1.011/6.1 to 1.004/5.9 (the pH change still puzzles me). These include an Irish Red, A Saison and a Kolsh. Completely different grain bills, step counts and temps. The differences are even more dramatic in batch sizes of 10 gallons and larger.
For a buck or two per batch, in a 3 vessel recirculating HERMS or RIMS type system, it's simply a wonderful thing. I've never done a BIAB, but I would guess it would work well there also, to pick up a few points of efficiency.
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The finer grind is where you pick up efficiency. The additions of rice hulls in a conventional tun helps make a filter bed and keeps you from getting a stuck mash or sparge with the finer grind. With BIAB the bag is the filter and it has such a big area that it doesn't clog up with the finer grind so the rice hulls aren't needed. If one does get some minor clogging of the bag, you would just squeeze it to force the wort out.
I don't have my own mill do grind is up to the brew shop but I typically get 80-83% out of my Lowes 10 gal cooler.
You have to decide if owning your own mill makes sense to you. If you are satisfied with what you get at the brew shop and get consistent results, then the increased efficiency you might get with your own mill won't be worthwhile. My local brew shop does not have a mill so I bought one. Then since I have a mill of my own, I buy base malts in big bags so that at any time I can decide to brew and don't have to wait for the shop to open. Buying in bulk really changed the price per pound for the grain and paid for my cheap Corona mill really quickly. Since I do BIAB, having my own Corona mill works well because I mill my grains finer than you can deal with in a conventional tun, even if you add the rice hulls and that gives me a quick conversion and great efficiency.
A mill is in my future but i'm in a small apartment.
When not being used a Corona mill takes up a space of about 6" by 6" by 12". I fasten mine to the cutting board in my base cabinet and slip a plastic bag over the end to catch the milled grains. One hopper full makes one gallon bag full (full enough) and that amount is easy to handle with one hand while stirring the grains into the water for the mash. Being in apartment you might like the concept of BIAB as you would do the mash in the same pot as you boil in and don't need any rice hulls for any batch. Even if you decide to continue with your mash tun you might consider using a fine mesh bag in that as it allows you to do any kind of beer without worrying about the stuck mash or sparge. I use a nylon paint strainer bag (5 gallon size, cheap) and while they do wear out, I've used mine for several years now.
