PaddyBrew2 Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Just finished mashing my stout and the drainage through the bed is pretty slow. Ive added rice hull from the start. im currently mashing out but i lifted the malt pipe to see and there was little or no drainage Any tips //ideas how to fix cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealthing691 Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 I made quite a mess in my robobrew when I got a stuck sparge I tried to free it up with a paddle on a cordless drill. That is what I use at the start to make sure theres no dough balls .I got a lot of trubb threw but I cold crashed for a week which got rid of most sorry I cant be more help 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyBrew2 Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 Cheers mate. I just stirred the grain bed a bit and that seemed to work. What it will do to the final beer , who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Lift the top screen and stir the mash. It should loosen it up enough to allow wort through it. You may just lose a few gravity points if the sparge doesn't go through the whole grain bed and you leave some sugars behind. You will still make nice beer. What was the grain bill? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyBrew2 Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 2 hours ago, Hairy said: Lift the top screen and stir the mash. It should loosen it up enough to allow wort through it. You may just lose a few gravity points if the sparge doesn't go through the whole grain bed and you leave some sugars behind. You will still make nice beer. What was the grain bill? Cheers mate, yeah i gave that a go and it worked. Had to give a few stirs over the whole sparge. Grain bill was 6.2kgs which is a bit cheeky considering its my second AG brew. 700gms of oats also makes up that lot. In the end i hit my numbers bang on , BS says 1.064 post boil which my hydrometer and refrac both measured also I did almost $hit myself taking the pre boil. I already had the stuck sparge issue which i thought i fixed but then i took a refrac reading and it read 1.035 when it should be 1.052. I was like thats waaaaay off as i collected 29 litres after the sparge. Could the stuck mash have effected my efficienccy that much. Then i remembered there was a bit of old liquid in the pipette, be it water from cleaning or condensation from use the last time so took two more readings and a hydrometer reading and came in at 1.050, 2 points down which i made up after the boil Wort is in the cube chilling. So all in all pretty happy with the day 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Good stuff. I’m surprised you had issues considering it was only 700g of oats and you used rice hulls. Maybe check your grain crush next time, it may be too fine. I have done wheat beers (50/50 wheat and Pilsner) with no dramas. Started with a beta glucan rest to help though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 3 hours ago, PaddyBrew2 said: Wort is in the cube chilling. So all in all pretty happy with the day Well done Cobber! Blllllardy good effort with some good advice from The Brewers on the way through... Well done on getting it done and into the cubicle I was way too late ; ) But woulda been no good to yer as am a dirty old bucket brewer... Narthin as fancy as a Robot Brewer for the poor old Burbler in the Bush 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Hairy said: Good stuff. I’m surprised you had issues considering it was only 700g of oats and you used rice hulls. Maybe check your grain crush next time, it may be too fine. I have done wheat beers (50/50 wheat and Pilsner) with no dramas. Started with a beta glucan rest to help though. Hairy - Mate - Can I please bog you for a general starter Wheat Beer AG Recipe ? Or should I just go 50:50 with Wheat and Pilz malt... that sounds possible... got a bag of each in the larder at the moment Hop ideas to accompany this? I might wait until things warm up though - as I should be running at 18-20 should I not - am happy for the not so funky flavours... Got Saaz Spalt Galaxy Ella Herrsbrucker at the moment.... and have heard that Mandarina is good... Your thoughts? Edited July 15, 2019 by Bearded Burbler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyBrew2 Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 The crush was a bit fine. When i was cleaning there was a lot of fine grist stuck to the finer mesh plate. My sparge was also a tad slow on my first brew also. The LHBS mills the grains for me. Maybe I should be milling me own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 3 minutes ago, PaddyBrew2 said: The crush was a bit fine. When i was cleaning there was a lot of fine grist stuck to the finer mesh plate. My sparge was also a tad slow on my first brew also. The LHBS mills the grains for me. Maybe I should be milling me own Kelsey put me onto the Mashmaster Minimill… tis a beautiful thing... but not super cheap... but reckon you will have it for life mate... built in Brisvegas Qld. And then you need a hopper... which comes in 35 pieces you get to put together ; ) and you hafta get a board and cut a slot in it to screw to - and get yourself a bucket so you can put the board on the bucket to mill through and catch the grain... And you need a drill to drive it... And it does create a fair bit of dust - and noise - I use me work earmuffs when I am doing it as it cranks a fair old racket (which I do love I must admit) All can be done... but if you are buying your grain from LHBS and they mill for free... Maybe ask them to mill not so ffkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk far ken fine? I got bags of grain in the larder and the LHBS is hours away.... and so I can mill fresh... sorta makes sense. If your LHBS ain't that far away - you buy your grain bill from them for your specific brew - and they mill it for nix - maybe easier that way? And just try a few different crush sizes? Anyway... many different ways to the top of the mountain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyBrew2 Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 Haha yeah I think milling my own will be the future but I need a dedicated brew area where I can store all my brewing gear. Just not possible in this small rental. Old mate will just have to be told to adjust his mill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 7 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said: Hairy - Mate - Can I please bog you for a general starter Wheat Beer AG Recipe ? Or should I just go 50:50 with Wheat and Pilz malt... that sounds possible... got a bag of each in the larder at the moment Hop ideas to accompany this? I might wait until things warm up though - as I should be running at 18-20 should I not - am happy for the not so funky flavours... Got Saaz Spalt Galaxy Ella Herrsbrucker at the moment.... and have heard that Mandarina is good... Your thoughts? I don’t have my ones handy but they are really simple beers. 50% Pilsner malt 50% wheat malt Bitter with a noble hop like Hallertau. Small late hop if you desire but it is all about the yeast. BTW, I have a Mashmaster Mini Mill and always thought it was from Germany. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 This might help too: https://byo.com/article/german-hefeweizen-style-profile/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Must be a bloody noisy drill BB mine is quiet enough not to need ear protection. Your comment on the dust leads me to think it might be running too fast. I get a little dust/flour but it's not a lot. I dunno what RPM the drill is running at but the mill rollers aren't turning much faster than if I did it by hand. The faster it goes the more it tends to pulverise the grain rather than simply crack it open. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Lao Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 (edited) Giving the grains a stir during the mash is defo the way to go with the Robobrew in my experience with it. Had an extremely slow sparge my first time round, so from that brew on I used to stir the grain every 10-15 mins, to prevent it compacting at the bottom. Also would keep the top screen off and keep the recirc pump on during the mash. I found this helped my sparge times and efficiency. Also found Maris Otter to be really easy / fast when sparging compared to other pale ale malts bought from Brewmart. Not sure if this was a coincidence or whether the milling was different with this grain? Cheers James Edited July 16, 2019 by James Lao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealthing691 Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 if you have a robobrew I don't use the finer mesh and find it runs much better .Milling is a problem too. After hearing people on other forums saying that they don't use the finer mesh I gave it a go and haven't looked back cheers Brian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 6 hours ago, Hairy said: I don’t have my ones handy but they are really simple beers. 50% Pilsner malt 50% wheat malt Bitter with a noble hop like Hallertau. Small late hop if you desire but it is all about the yeast. Gold Hairy - thanks mate. Luvyerwork. Mate we had an earlier thread at one stage late last year/earlier this year and from that I went with WB06 my last (kit) one - and thought the result was ok. Do you prefer another yeast? Will chase some Hallertau. Thanks mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 2 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said: Must be a bloody noisy drill BB mine is quiet enough not to need ear protection. Your comment on the dust leads me to think it might be running too fast. I get a little dust/flour but it's not a lot. I dunno what RPM the drill is running at but the mill rollers aren't turning much faster than if I did it by hand. The faster it goes the more it tends to pulverise the grain rather than simply crack it open. Yeeehhaaaa… I love cranking that baby. I am 'hearing shy' tho Kelsey as have got hearing damage from too much machinery in my life and am desperately trying to save what I have got left ; ) The dust - is not that bad - but I reckon I might have a go at running on the slower setting - cool thanks mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 For a Hefeweizen I prefer Wyeast 3068. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 6 hours ago, Hairy said: BTW, I have a Mashmaster Mini Mill and always thought it was from Germany. Frank is in Everton Park... in BrisVegas. And I thought he built them... Unless he gets the rollers machined in FRG? Certainly fits the 'forsprung durch technik' mold ; ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 or if you prefer... mould ; ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 That's why I use a drill driver, it can run on low speed but the high torque allows it to easily drive the mill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyBrew2 Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 4 hours ago, James Lao said: Giving the grains a stir during the mash is defo the way to go with the Robobrew in my experience with it. Had an extremely slow sparge my first time round, so from that brew on I used to stir the grain every 10-15 mins, to prevent it compacting at the bottom. Also would keep the top screen off and keep the recirc pump on during the mash. I found this helped my sparge times and efficiency. Also found Maris Otter to be really easy / fast when sparging compared to other pale ale malts bought from Brewmart. Not sure if this was a coincidence or whether the milling was different with this grain? Cheers James Cheers James. I never put the top lid on and am a very avid stirrer also. I do recirc but found it was going to flow down the middle pipe if I didn’t switch it off. I let it flow down it first time around and I got a bit of junk in the wort. Good to know about the marris otter. Would that grain suit IPA’s etc ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyBrew2 Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 3 hours ago, therealthing691 said: if you have a robobrew I don't use the finer mesh and find it runs much better .Milling is a problem too. After hearing people on other forums saying that they don't use the finer mesh I gave it a go and haven't looked back cheers Brian I’m gonna give this a try next time. I think it was the main culprit yesterday 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 I used to stir the mash intermittently but I don't bother anymore other than during heating phases to check temperature (up to mash out for example). I didn't find it of any real benefit. But, different brewing systems probably require different processes at times. I do give it a great big stir at the beginning, but then just let it sit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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