Stuck Mash / HSA

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AnOldUR

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I read a thread a while back and can't seem to find it. The OP had a stuck mash and had to dump it out and start over. Well, I had my first stuck mash today. No flow right from the first time I opened the valve. Blowing in through the tube bubbled in the mash, but it would not flow in the out direction. I dumped the mash in a bucket. Couldn't find anything wrong. Put it back in the tun and after that it flowed fine.
:drunk:
Still don't have clue what happened, but my fear is HSA from dumping the mash back and forth. I just listened to the pod cast on HSA, but was curious how the OP's beer turned out or if anyone else has had a similar experience and has some insight.
 
I had the exact same problem. I had to dump in bucket and then fix manifold that had spilt and it flowed just fine. I actually finished at a higher efficency than expected. I just bottled a few days ago and will let you know when I crack them open.

Brandon
 
It happened to me TWICE last week! My little hose disconnected from the false bottom. Not just one. I must have hit it with my mash paddle, but it really was a PITA. I think it'll be ok! I mean, I think HSA is more of a myth anyway. Plus, we're boiling after the mash- so wouldn't that drive off any o2? not like after the boil? Well, that's what I'm telling myself anyway.
 
You run it off into a boil kettle anyway and then when you're done, you oxygenate it for the yeast. I really don't see a problem with this either.

2 cents,

M.
 
I went through something very similar when I brewed my version of the 888. I did however remember the Basic Brewing podcast w/ Charlie P where he mentioned that perhaps his addition of cinnamon (an anti-oxidant) prevents HSA in his brews where he strains the collected wort. I tossed a bit of cinnamon into the kettle and to date, no signs of oxidation.
 
morrighu wrote:
You run it off into a boil kettle anyway and then when you're done, you oxygenate it for the yeast. I really don't see a problem with this either.

If I understood the pod cast correctly, the oxygen bonding that takes place during the mash is something that is not reversible through boiling. The big question is how much this will affect the beer and they didn’t really have a firm answer.

brewt00l. Unfortunately, I listened to the pod cast AFTER I was done brewing, so didn’t get to try the cinnamon trick. How did the 888 turn out? Did the cinnamon change the character of the beer? Is it old enough to tell if there is any oxygenation.

Yooper, I hope I can remember to revisit this thread in a couple of months to see how your experience works out.
 
brewt00l. Unfortunately, I listened to the pod cast AFTER I was done brewing, so didn’t get to try the cinnamon trick. How did the 888 turn out? Did the cinnamon change the character of the beer? Is it old enough to tell if there is any oxygenation.

The cinnamon is not noticeable in the flavor of the 888. I used about a 3/4 tablespoon tops (it was kinda a Chinese firedrill moment)....course, that is a pretty bold brew to begin with and if it were something more subtle, perhaps it would be different. It was brewed at the end of December so it's still pretty young in the grand scheme. All things considered per the BB podcast on the topic, you have to really abuse your brew to introduce negative HSA effects.
 
I had to do this on a few brews when I started using a false bottom and never noticed any negative effects. In fact, my original setup was a cooler with no braid/manifold for a mash tun. After the mash I would transfer the grains to a bucket-in-bucket lauter tun for sparging. Never had a bad beer, so I say don't sweat it.
 
Next time instead of just blowing into the hose, give it a back-blast with a garden hose and spray nozzle.

It worked for me every time until I started using rice hulls...now...no more slow/stuck sparges.
 
HSA=
patterson_bigfoot.jpg
?
 
It has happened to me. The brew was fine after kegging - of course it had a lot of hops that may have masked anything.

I do have a friend that mashes with no false bottom or braid in cooler. Once the mash is complete he transfers the mash into a double bucket arrangement, and by transfer I mean dumps with no attention to care. He has done this for 10 years and not had a problem.
 
HSA is one of those homebrewer myths that will not just go away. It may show up when the big breweries do it, or with large batches like 50 gallons or more, but not at our scale. Here's how I handle my runnings; after it's run into a bucket, I unceremoniously dump it into the boil kettle and get it boiling. I do the same thing with the second and/or third runnings. I've never tasted the cardboardy flavor HSA is supposed to impart, even in beers months and months old.
 
I had my first stuck sparge on my first wheat beer just a couple of days ago. I had to blow on the tube a bunch of times to get it running and I even used a pound of rice hulls. I guess next time I do a 10 gallon batch of wheat I will use 2 pounds of rice hulls.

As for HSA, myth or not it is easy enough not to do that I just don't. Now autolysis on the other had is most certainly a myth...
 
HSA is one of those homebrewer myths that will not just go away. It may show up when the big breweries do it, or with large batches like 50 gallons or more, but not at our scale. Here's how I handle my runnings; after it's run into a bucket, I unceremoniously dump it into the boil kettle and get it boiling. I do the same thing with the second and/or third runnings. I've never tasted the cardboardy flavor HSA is supposed to impart, even in beers months and months old.

That's how I do it as well, and I've yet to taste anything cardboardy or off about my beers. Of course, there aren't that many that have sat around long enough either...:drunk:
 
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