Hi Guys
I brewed a english special bitter over the weekend and everything went well....except for a couple of "minor" things:
1. My buddy forgot to tell him that he returned our big sparge water brewing pot to his friend and so we were stuck with this dinky little pot. This resulted in the barley being exposed a couple of times during the sparge.
2. The sparge water may have been a little too hot at some points during the sparging process (around 80 degrees).
What kind of negative consequences can I expect to see????
Next question:
I am thinking about brewing a wheat beer sometime soon. I have all the ingredients, but I don't have rice hulls. I'm guessing, that if I were to forget about the rice hulls and brew the beer anyway, taste probably wouldn't be affected, but I may end up with a stuck sparge.
What do you guys think? Is there something I can replace the rice hulls with? Grain bill calls for 6lb pils and 3lbs flaked wheat.
grubac
...and what if I don't have rice hulls?
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mysterio
Re: ...and what if I don't have rice hulls?
Hi there.
Probably no negative consequences from what you did, the sparge water was a tad to warm but as long as you didnt oversparge you'll be fine. You may have got a little tannin extraction from the grain husk, possibly. If you get a slight dry sensation in the mouthfeel then you know what to blame. This usually drops out given time.
Are you brewing from the UK or the US? I'm guessing US because of the Lb's instead of Kg's. Oat husks are more easily available here in the UK and are normally used as a filtering aid. Rice hulls i've never seen for sale over here. You could try malted wheat which sparges easier.
Probably no negative consequences from what you did, the sparge water was a tad to warm but as long as you didnt oversparge you'll be fine. You may have got a little tannin extraction from the grain husk, possibly. If you get a slight dry sensation in the mouthfeel then you know what to blame. This usually drops out given time.
Are you brewing from the UK or the US? I'm guessing US because of the Lb's instead of Kg's. Oat husks are more easily available here in the UK and are normally used as a filtering aid. Rice hulls i've never seen for sale over here. You could try malted wheat which sparges easier.
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adm
Re: ...and what if I don't have rice hulls?
I did a wheat beer last week with no rice hulls - and the sparge was tricky. I was batch sparging though and the first batch went just fine, but the second batch stuck. I gave it another stir, blew through the tube and let it settle again and it was OK....slow, but it got there.
You can get oat husks from Hop & Grape - which are essentially the same thing.
Alternatively - I think you could maybe do some form of step or decoction mash which might help, but would be trickier to do - there's a discussion of this in the Classic Styles book for German Weiss Beers - but I don't have it in front of me so can't give you any detail right now.
You can get oat husks from Hop & Grape - which are essentially the same thing.
Alternatively - I think you could maybe do some form of step or decoction mash which might help, but would be trickier to do - there's a discussion of this in the Classic Styles book for German Weiss Beers - but I don't have it in front of me so can't give you any detail right now.
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grubac
Re: ...and what if I don't have rice hulls?
Thanks for the quick replys.
I'm actually in Europe. The grain bill I listed was taken from the wheat beer recipe in John J Palmer's How to Brew Book, hence the lbs.
The recipe actually states, like you said, that I could switch the flaked wheat with actual wheat malt, so I think I'll go with that and forget about the rice hulls.
I am, however, interested in knowing what the flaked wheat actually adds to the beer and how this differs from what wheat malt adds.
grubac
I'm actually in Europe. The grain bill I listed was taken from the wheat beer recipe in John J Palmer's How to Brew Book, hence the lbs.
The recipe actually states, like you said, that I could switch the flaked wheat with actual wheat malt, so I think I'll go with that and forget about the rice hulls.
I am, however, interested in knowing what the flaked wheat actually adds to the beer and how this differs from what wheat malt adds.
grubac
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mysterio
Re: ...and what if I don't have rice hulls?
Re the difference between flaked and malted wheat.
The first thing you notice with flaked wheat in the finished beer is the much paler colour. You get more of a yellowy off-white like hoegaarden. The flavour tends to be a little more neutral.
Malted wheat has a slightly maltier flavour, more orangey colour in the beer, and it seems to me like you get a little more mouthfeel from it too. Primarily used the the German wheat beers.
The first thing you notice with flaked wheat in the finished beer is the much paler colour. You get more of a yellowy off-white like hoegaarden. The flavour tends to be a little more neutral.
Malted wheat has a slightly maltier flavour, more orangey colour in the beer, and it seems to me like you get a little more mouthfeel from it too. Primarily used the the German wheat beers.