blackschnauzer
Active Member
A friend and I were brewing a Pilsner today using 100% Pilsner malt and did a three step mash. 104, 140, and 158 degrees for thirty min each. At the end of the first step, we went to turn the pump on to run the wort through the Herms coil and it was stuck as stuck can be. We used the paddle to try to loosen up the grain but it just kept getting stuck. Finally we just ran down to the lhbs and picked up some rice hulls and had to mix in almost two pounds to get it to run through. I've used the Herms coil many times and never had it get stuck like this. I've also never adjusted my grain mill and used it 20+ times with no issue. My question is, does the really low temp from the first rest make the mash more sticky? We noticed that there was a lot of fine sediment in the mash that I normally don't see, or just never paid attention to. Good news is, we battled past all that and have ten gallons of a delicious beer in the fermenter! Has anyone else experienced anything like this?
