Rice Hulls

[mattm10]

In the future, I'm planning to do a Weissbier, which will contain 50+ % wheat malt. I've heard that when you use a significant amount of wheat malt in a brew, you should add rice hulls to aid drainage during sparging because wheat malt generally doesn't have husks like barley typically does.

My question is, should I add the rice hulls in at mash-in, or should I mix them in at mash-out? Can dough-balls form during mashing if there's not enough hulls in the mix?

Also, I've heard that you should use around 5% of your total grist weight in rice hulls. Is that a good amount? Too much or too little?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I never use Rice Hulls just stir your mash every 10 minutes and recirculate either with a pump or jug. Ditto for the sparge. With my AIO I get a Brewhouse Efficiency of 70% for wheat beer compared to 75% for other so I add a bit more grain. Also have a loose mash, my ratio is 3 to 1.

 

[mattm10]

I never use Rice Hulls just stir your mash every 10 minutes and recirculate either with a pump or jug. Ditto for the sparge. With my AIO I get a Brewhouse Efficiency of 70% for wheat beer compared to 75% for other so I add a bit more grain. Also have a loose mash, my ratio is 3 to 1.

I don't really have a brew system yet. Working with a couple of pots making 1 gallon brews. I'll upgrade eventually, but for right now, I want to make sure I'm gonna love brewing before making a big investment. I normally just dump my mash through a strainer to get the grains out, and then I press the grains lightly to squeeze out a little extra liquid.

I've heard stirring too often can add tannins. Have you ever experienced that?

You use a 3 to 1 ratio of water to grains? Is that 3.0 qt/lb?

 

[Jocky]

I normally put them in at the start of the mash. The amount you add is small (about 5-10% of the wheat malt by weight), so it’s not going to make much difference what you do.

Of course if you want to recirculate during the mash it’s best to add them at the start.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Use beta glucanase instead of rice hulls, or both if you like. It does wonders for adjunct brewing and any mash with rye or wheat. 2 grams for every 10 pounds (4.5-5Kg) of grain. It works better than hulls. Add one or both at strike, mix once and forget it.

I'm surprise more people don't use this regularly, it can make the brew day go better and there's no downside unless you overdose the mash with it. Plus it's cheap.

https://labelpeelers.com/beer-makin...sQu0AWlhEN7fX6Q7wavY41bfgFIfLcfBoC2BwQAvD_BwE

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I don't really have a brew system yet. Working with a couple of pots making 1 gallon brews. I'll upgrade eventually, but for right now, I want to make sure I'm gonna love brewing before making a big investment. I normally just dump my mash through a strainer to get the grains out, and then I press the grains lightly to squeeze out a little extra liquid.

I've heard stirring too often can add tannins. Have you ever experienced that?

You use a 3 to 1 ratio of water to grains? Is that 3.0 qt/lb?

No 3 litres per kilogram no idea in Imperial units.

 

[Beekeeper]

You use a 3 to 1 ratio of water to grains? Is that 3.0 qt/lb?

~1.5qts/lb

 

[doug293cz]

I've heard stirring too often can add tannins.

Excess tannin extraction happens when the mash pH is too high (over ~6.0) and the mash temp gets above about 170°F (77°C.) Stirring, or any other mechanical action, cannot by itself extract excess tannins.

Brew on

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I use 1/2 pound of rice hulls for most brews, 3/4 pound for wheat beers, for my 10 gallon batches. That's typically 1.5% to 2% of the total grain bill, tops. I soak the hulls in a small bucket while getting other things ready during the start of a brew day, then I drain the hulls and spread them evenly atop the FB in my MLT. I dump the grist on top, underlet the strike, and after maybe five minutes I'll give the mash a good stir to equalize temperatures then start the recirculation. I never get stuck mashes and the post-mash fly sparging always goes to plan...

Cheers!

 

[Miraculix]

For giggles, make a tea out of the rice huls. Try it. Tell me if you want that in your beer or not.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

For giggles, make a tea out of the rice huls. Try it. Tell me if you want that in your beer or not.

Exactly. Loose mash, stirring and recirculate.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

This is why I stopped using them on wheat and rye brews

Pesticide residues can be found on rice hulls, particularly in the bran layer. Studies have detected various pesticides, including azoxystrobin, cypermethrin, and tebuconazole, in rice hulls. While not as common as in the bran layer, residues can also be found in the grain.

 

[mattm10]

This is why I stopped using them on wheat and rye brews

Pesticide residues can be found on rice hulls, particularly in the bran layer. Studies have detected various pesticides, including azoxystrobin, cypermethrin, and tebuconazole, in rice hulls. While not as common as in the bran layer, residues can also be found in the grain.

A lot of barley and wheat is also treated with pesticide and can contain pesticide residues, so it seems like you're getting pesticides no matter what unless you have a source of organically raised grains.

I can definitely see the appeal of using beta glucanase over rice hulls (less pesticide residue is always better), but I'm working with 1 gal batches right now, and I don't have a scale sensitize enough to measure out the tenths of gram that I'd need.

Do you think rinsing rice hulls really well would do anything?

 

[mattm10]

This is why I stopped using them on wheat and rye brews

Pesticide residues can be found on rice hulls, particularly in the bran layer. Studies have detected various pesticides, including azoxystrobin, cypermethrin, and tebuconazole, in rice hulls. While not as common as in the bran layer, residues can also be found in the grain.

I just had an idea. If beta glucanase is water soluble (which it is), then I could measure out a cup or so of it. With a known weight for a known volume, I have the density of the glucanase. Then I can mix a small measure (maybe a 1/2 teaspoon or something) into water. I can calculate a much more precise mass of that glucanase in the water, and then divide the water down until I've got the proper mass of glucanase in it.

Only problem is, I'd be wasting the rest of the glucanase that I mixed into the water.

 

[day_trippr]

Do you think rinsing rice hulls really well would do anything?

It's interesting that some folks have such negative experiences with rice hulls. Years ago someone else made the comment that their hulls reeked - which surprised the heck out of me because I've never noticed anything but a pleasant grain-ish smell - ever. So I've often wondered where those folks are getting their hulls.

I do soak and drain them before putting them in the MLT, but that's just so they don't upset my strike volume calculation, not to get rid of any unpleasant character. I never smell anything when draining them in my brewery sink, they have so little character to give...

Cheers!

 

[mattm10]

It's interesting that some folks have such negative experiences with rice hulls. Years ago someone else made the comment that their hulls reeked - which surprised the heck out of me because I've never noticed anything but a pleasant grain-ish smell - ever. So I've often wondered where those folks are getting their hulls.

I do soak and drain them before putting them in the MLT, but that's just so they don't upset my strike volume calculation, not to get rid of any unpleasant character. I never smell anything when draining them in my brewery sink, they have so little character to give...

Cheers!

I do appreciate that people are trying to look out for me. I think I'll try rice hulls at least once. I'm working with 1 gallon batches, so worst comes to worst, I lose $10 worth of ingredients. That's not gonna break the bank, even if it is a little disappointing.

With my equipment, it would be much simpler to measure out 1-2 oz of rice hulls than to try and Rube Goldberg my way to 2/3 of a gram or less of beta-glucanase. I'm pretty sure my LHBS doesn't stock beta-glucanase, but I know they sell rice hulls. For 1 lb of beta-glucanase, shipping is going to at least double the price. I could buy a larger amount, but it would take eons to use it all, and according to LD Carlson's Safety Data Sheet, beta-glucanase is only good for about 24 months in a sealed container and/or in a fridge below 10 C. For me, it just doesn't seem cost effective to use it.

I'm starting a brew about once every two weeks, so even if I used 1 gram of beta-glucanase in every brew (which is a bit overkill), it would literally take me 17 years to use it all, and it will have gone bad after only 2 years, according to LD Carlson.

On the other hand, 1 lb of rice hulls costs about 1/4 as much as 1 lb of beta-glucanase, and I don't have to pay for shipping since I know my LHBS sells them. Also, as far as I can tell, rice hulls don't contain any sugars, so they should be fairly shelf-stable for a very long time. And if I used 2 oz of rice hulls in every brew, 1 lb of rice hulls would only last me about 4 months, so even if they could spoil, they'd be used up well before that could happen.

 

[hottpeper13]

If you're making a 50% wheat beer your mill is set tight, why not just mill oat malt as 10% of the wheat grist. The husks stay intact when I grind them. I do this with a rye lager, and also incorporate a 104* gluten rest.

 

[SFC Rudy]

I add a 1/2 pound of rice hulls to my Hefeweizen and roggenbier. They’re cheap insurance.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I add a 1/2 pound of rice hulls to my Hefeweizen and roggenbier. They’re cheap insurance.

Not if they contain pesticide residues especially with US medical bills

 

[day_trippr]

You could probably say the same for the rest of the grist

 

[Jocky]

I usually rinse off any hull I use (oat husk most often) before it goes in to the mash, simply because they are often pretty filthy. The rinse water goes grey.

 

[SFC Rudy]

Not if they contain pesticide residues especially with US medical bills

Th alcohol I produce and consume will kill me before the pesticide residues that you’re concerned about do.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Th alcohol I produce and consume will kill me before the pesticide residues that you’re concerned about do.

Just don’t add to what will kill you when there are better alternatives.

 

[bwible]

In the future, I'm planning to do a Weissbier, which will contain 50+ % wheat malt. I've heard that when you use a significant amount of wheat malt in a brew, you should add rice hulls to aid drainage during sparging because wheat malt generally doesn't have husks like barley typically does.

My question is, should I add the rice hulls in at mash-in, or should I mix them in at mash-out? Can dough-balls form during mashing if there's not enough hulls in the mix?

Also, I've heard that you should use around 5% of your total grist weight in rice hulls. Is that a good amount? Too much or too little?

At that size batch and grain bill I wouldn’t bother with rice hulls. Because its not going to matter doing 1 gallon brew in a bag with 2 pounds total grain or something. Rice hulls are meant to be a sparge aid when you have larger amounts of grain inside a cooler or mash tun, you’re not lifting any bag, and you’re relying on gravity to drain your mash. Some things like large amounts of wheat or oats etc can turn gummy in the mash tun and stop liquid flow through your grain bed. The rice hulls are meant to fill up space and break up the gum. This will not be a problem with a very small batch brew in a bag where you’re just going to lift the bag out and squeeze it.

I recently started trying these little 1 gallon batches myself. In all my years of brewing I never made an all grain hefeweizen for that reason. But I did a 1 gallon all grain brew in a bag, no rice hulls, no problem.