Grain Crush Too Fine Biab

[tribalfish]

Hi all,

I am aware that when brewing traditionally, if your grain crush is too fine then you run the risk of a stuck sparge.

If brewing via the BIAB method, would it matter that your crush was floury (floury, Is that a word?)
Full volume would mean no sparge to get stuck.

I have built my own grain crusher and before adjusting it to be a bit finer, I thought I would throw it out there to see what the brewing community thought.

Tribal.

 

[RetsamHsam]

I don't BIAB so I might be wrong, but from what I have read you can definitely get away with a much finer crush than with traditional systems.

I'd imagine you would still need some grain husks in the mix though so I wouldn't go to fine. Maybe just make small adjustments for each brew until you find that the run off is getting a little too slow for your liking and then take it back a notch.

 

[crundle]

You can get away with a fine crush with BIAB, as you say there is no sparge to get stuck, but there will be a cost to going too fine. As the crush gets finer, there will be more particulates that will get through the fine mesh of the Swiss Voile bag, so you will end up with a cloudier mash than you would otherwise with a coarser crush, but you may gain an increase in extraction efficiency as a result of the greater surface area of grain for the enzymes to work on with a full volume mash.

The increased cloudiness may not be too much of an issue though, as cloudy worts are common for BIAB, and the particles will drop out in the fermenter with no problems. I am not sure if there is a risk of greater tannin extraction though, but it would be a good idea to make gradual adjustments to the setting on your mill and take note of any changes in your calculated efficiencies and taste perception.

I don't have a mill myself, but I have been reading quite a bit on grain crush in regards to efficiency of extraction, so I hope the above is of some use to you. If you were to make successive batches of exactly the same beer with a progressively finer crush, the results would be quite interesting to see.

cheers,

Crundle

 

[QldKev]

I'm running a monster mill, and also BIAB. Whilst a super fine crush sounds like the go, I keep thinking if I go too fine won't I end up with more flour dust, hence start loosing the effeciency I was chasing to start with.

QldKev

 

[Bribie G]

I had a couple of batches of grain 'double crushed' by Ross and they turned out ok. I find that after boiling and using Whirlfloc, and allowing to settle well before draining, I end up with crystal clear wort into the cube anyway.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Dont go to crazy you may end up with a damper in the bag.You still want to maintain some free space between the grains so it will drain.
GB

 

[tribalfish]

Thanks for everyone's input.

I must say I'm glad the replies I got were constructive and helpfull, not all about "search yourself, this question has been answered before!"

I'm sure there are alot of sensible justified questions out there, that are not being answered because members are too scared of being ridiculed publicly.

And I don't mean the "Help Butters, my airlock isn't bubbling" type.

Thanks again everyone, I will make small incremental adjustments and monitor my efficiency.

Cheers, Tribal.

 

[t2000kw]

That's one of the fine things about this Aussie forum. They don't tell you to Google the web or search the forum history here.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

That's one of the fine things about this Aussie forum. They don't tell you to Google the web or search the forum history here.

Godammit - if you had done a thorough search on being told to go and search for it.. you would know that people regularly get told to do just that