Did Flaked Maize block up my MT

[Matt.99]

Hi All - Is Flaked Maize associated with brewing blockages?...

I brewed a Lager yesterday and altered my ingredients slightly to include 1 kg of Flaked Maize along with 7kg of Lager Malt (and a tiny bit of Caramunich for colour). I run a HERMS and have the wort on constant recirculation but for some reason I encountered a serious blockage out of the MashTun. It was so bad that the wort wouldn't pump and I couldn't raise the temp from the 50 degrees protein rest to my target of 65 degrees. I had to uncouple the MT, remove the Mash and clean the false bottom and outlet of the MT and then continue. So I overcame that...just...and what a flipping mess.

Then as if to compound my misery, after a 90 minute boil, the damn wort blocked out of the HLT. I've brewed dozens and dozens of Lagers and never had this problem before, even with my current set up so it appears to centre around the new ingredient of Flaked Maize. I have used it before but not as much as 12% of the overall batch.

Has anyone else had problems with Maize and blockages or could it something else?

Cheers

[Down2Die]

I dont have any suggestions sorry but I do have a bag here of maize and some larger malt can you post up the recipe you used...

[Matt.99]

Hi there. Sure

52 Ltrs water for 44 ltrs of pre-boil wort :

7 kg Lager Malt
1 Kg Flaked Maize
150 grams CaraMunich

Bittering Hops - 40 grams NZ Southern Cross (12.3% AA) for target 30 IBU (the OG was 1.046)
Aroma Hops - 65 grams Saaz

Pitched WL830 yeast

[a-slayer]

I have had a blocked filter from maize, whatever I did I could not get it to run as the damn stuff seemed to set round the filter. After that fiasco I have never used maize again and always put a muslin bag over my copper pipe filter, never had a problem since.