Rice hull to Wheat ratio?

[el_mocoso]

I've been helping at a local BP and we have been having some trouble with the house wheat. The recipe we have been using is as follows:

#300 White wheat malt
#200 Pilsen Malt
#30 Rice hulls

We have been getting A stuck mash and bad efficiency.

Does this ratio sound all right? or is it the process. We have added all the hulls at once and stirred and also tried adding half and half at a time.

The brew master also said the hulls clog up the auger, so we have been dumping them into the Mash Tun directly while the rest of the grain goes through the auger. Any advice would be appreciated. Also, the Recipe might not be 100 percent correct.

TIA

el

[tarmadilo]

I've never used rice hulls. I do use a 50/50 blend of malted barley and malted wheat. Maybe your mill is set too fine?

Go for a nice wet mash, and keep about four inches of sparge water on top.

Good luck!

Tim

[Sir Brewsalot]

Yeah, I'd keep the hulls out of the auger too - I had a dreadful time of it once, and I think I even put a post in here about it someplace. Never again!

Along with seconding the previous suggestions of mill gap and water to grain mix, one thought I had was to balance out the bill to be equal parts pilsen and wheat - if your intended flavor profile will permit it. (Also suggested in the last post I suppose....) It may also help conversion too - can anyone comment on the enzymatic power of this portion of barley in a grain bill w/ wheat? Are we pushing a limit here?

Scott

[el_mocoso]

Thanks for the quick replies.

Unfortunately, the brewer buys precrushed grains from Briess and he inherited the recipe from the previous brewer. It is a standard house beer, so I dont know if he is able to change it.

We do use a slower than usual run-off, but maybe it is still too fast.

Oh well, he was also going to do some research, so maybe he will find something, or maybe we might have to accept a long brew day.

Thanks again, and Cheers

el

[Mad-Brewer]

I use rice hulls often with great results. I typically aim at 10% of the total grain bill when doing a lot of wheat in the mix. I have also not used it, but I find the run off is much faster with them.

[Moonlight]

I generally eyeball how many hulls there would be if the wheat or rye I'm using had the appropriate husk that barley would. Hell with weighing the damn things. They are useless unless mixed pretty much exactly where the non-barley grains are in your mash bed, as their sole purpose is to substitute for the missing husks to promote loose bed and therefore easier runoff.

[tarmadilo]

Unfortunately, the brewer buys precrushed grains from Briess and he inherited the recipe from the previous brewer. It is a standard house beer, so I dont know if he is able to change it.

I'd reckon that changing to a 50/50 blend of Pilsner to wheat malt would be pretty much indetectable to 99% (or more) of your customers!

You might also contact Briess about the problem, perhaps they can adjust the grind for you.

Cheers, Tim

[rafters_brewer]

Rice hull addition point

My 14B wheat is a 50/50 pale/wheat mixture and recently I've been experimenting with ~5% rice hulls to speed up the runoff a bit. I've been adding them to the foundation water prior to mashing-in. However, I don't have an agitator (except these arms and a paddle) and the hulls seem to congregate on the opposite side of the mashtun.

When do you guys usually add the hulls? The goal is to have the hulls on the bottom of the mash or mixed evenly throughout, yes?

Thanks

[el_mocoso]

Thanks

Thanks for all the tips. I hope to discuss some of the recomendations with the boss.

cheers

el