SCREW rice hulls!!!

[bigbeergeek]

Yeah, that's right, I said it.

Rice hulls only exist in the brewing world to suppress those of us who just might possess the balls to brew boldly without them!

OK, I'll be the first to concede that that statement makes little to no sense. :cross: Let me get on the real post:

Like most of you, I've been told that rice hulls are a necessity when brewing with large percentages of flaked grains in the mash. I've bought them and used them in the past. Yesterday I brewed up a wit with 40% flaked wheat and 10% flaked oats, no hulls. I mashed at 154 for 2 hours, dumped the "cube" unto my boil kettle, raised the temp to 170, dumped it back into the cube, and fly sparged through my slotted CPVC manifold. It was a 10.5 gallon batch, and even with all that gummy grain, no stuck sparge, even as I drained the mash tun all the way to the bottom.

So, this is just a note of encouragement for anyone searching desperately for "are rice hulls necessary for a wit?" because they turned out to be unnecessary for me and my rig. I'll never buy 'em again.

Peace, and happy 4th of July everyone.

 

[bobbytuck]

Rice hulls also allow the grain to maintain a consistent mash temperature by evening out the mash. For this reason alone, rice hulls are invaluable. (And because they're so cheap, they're a no-brainer.)

I add three or four handfuls them to every batch.

 

[Hammy71]

Depends on your MLT design. Anyone that has had a stuck sparge, and the disaster/mess that ensues, will never 'not' use rice hulls. They are so cheap, that I use them even when I have no wheat/barley in my mash. Awesome that it works for you. But, I wouldn't risk the experiment.

 

[Revvy]

Depends on your MLT design. Anyone that has had a stuck sparge, and the disaster/mess that ensues, will never 'not' use rice hulls. They are so cheap, that I use them even when I have no wheat/barley in my mash. Awesome that it works for you. But, I wouldn't risk the experiment.

You're right.....if the op hadn't used them and the manifold did let the mash get stuck, he'd be singing their praises.

I find they're invavluable in mashtuns with braids. I' try to use them whenever I remember. And most of the time when I forget nothing happens... but sometimes the beer gods are against me and I get stuck (imagine 2 pounds of ginger snap cookies breaking down to wet concrete in the bottom of the ton) mash.

But I've NEVER had one when I use them.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Rice hulls also allow the grain to maintain a consistent mash temperature by evening out the mash. For this reason alone, rice hulls are invaluable. (And because they're so cheap, they're a no-brainer.)

I add three or four handfuls them to every batch.

explain.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Stuck sparges obviously DO happen, and I hope my post doesn't lead anyone to believe that I'm denying that fact. I've experienced them in the past, but I think the tricks that I've learned (which may very well be specific to my rig alone, and thus not especially helpful to the brewing world at large) are:

-mashing a little thinner (up from 1.25 quarts/lb to 1.5 quarts/lb)
-a genuine mashout
-giving the grains a substantial mixing before vorlauf, ie dumping the mash out into a kettle
-fly sparging a little slower

Works for me on my rig, clearly. If I can get away without rice hulls on the wit, I think I can skip them on any future batch as long as I keep my process consistent. Other reasons to keep hulls in the mash regimen? I nail 89% eff on every batch without them, too...

 

[pnj]

Stuck sparges suck and make your brew day longer..... You'll know when it (eventually) happens to you.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Stuck sparges suck and make your brew day longer..... You'll know when it (eventually) happens to you.

As I've already said, I've experienced the minor irritation that is a stuck sparge, but not since making some minor changes to my process.

 

[bobbytuck]

explain.

The rice hulls work for the very same reason they help with a stuck sparge: to allow water to better flow between the grain. The idea with rice hulls as a mash temperature equalizer isn't new, but I've been doing it for several years (after reading about it a long time ago) and then hearing about it lately on one of the Brewing Network shows with Tasty.

My system is a HERMS system with a constant 90 min recirc for the mash, and I use the rice hulls in combination with a thin mash (1.8 to 2 qt/lb) and have excellent results -- both in terms of finished beer but also with the overall temperature stability of the mash. The mash is thin and soupy -- and that's exactly what I want.

 

[1GR8DA]

I am currently in the middle of a brew day. 4 hours to be exact. I use a direct fire RIMS and experienced my first stuck mash today. Holy S that was terrible. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Won't brew without them again. Today sucks and I only hope my brew isn't ruined.