Wetting Grain Before Milling and Risk of Lacto ?

[Stubbie]

I suppose like many all grain brewers I've been the victim of the occasional stuck sparge, perhaps moreso when I tended to crush fairly fine, but even still with a courser crush (can't remember the exact feeler gauge measurement but its something like 1.1mm). Anyway, I have a double batch of lager planned for tomorrow and thought the session would provide a good opportunity to put to the test the effectiveness of wetting grain as a means of improving the sparge. My usual routine is to set up the afternoon or evening before a planned brew, including weighing and cracking the grain, so that the morning session can get underway with minimal fuss (or focus on my part in the event I'm somewhat tired from the evening before!).

So, this afternoon I was midway through milling the grain and marvelling at the resultant whole husks and slightly moistened grain when it suddenly dawned on me I might be setting myself up for lacto? Wet grain overnight = lacto, maybe? I know its only a 100ml of water in 8kg of grain, but I wonder what the risk of forming lacto is? Hmmm, might have to amend the recipe name to Lacto Lager?

Perhaps I'm being pedantic (I certainly hope so). As a mitigation, I've put my cracked grain in the fridge to keep temps as cool as possible.

It's had me thinking. So what's the risk?

Cheers
Stubbie

 

[yankinoz]

No worries would be my guess. Even a small amount of moisture in milled grain will activate lactobacilli, but in a fridge overnight the amount of lacto fermenttion should be slight. At worst you'll get a very slight drop in pH. If you have a pH meter you can check and compensate by adjusting brewing salts as needed, but I'd bet you won't have to.

Lactobacilli do work fast at temperatures well above room temp, but only slowly at fridge temps. That was the right move.

 

[Stubbie]

Thanks Yankinoz.

Thought the risk was low, but I just couldn't be too sure. Melbourne overnight temps aren't exactly warm atm, but storing the cracked grain in the fridge seemed like a sensible move.

A fall in pH never occurred to me, but of course it makes sense. Given I'm brewing a pale lager, a small drop in pH wont go astray, I suppose.

FWIW Definitely an improved sparge this morning such that I'm an almost certain convert to wetting grain before milling.

Cheers
Stubbie

 

[natacus]

I spray as it mills. So much better for lautering.

 

[dr K]

Spraying as it mills, or in my case spraying just before has excellent benefits, on the other hand I hardly ever do it as it is just one more step that I have to remember.
Spraying just before swells the grains just tad and gives a slightly better cruck.


K

 

[seamad]

I weigh my grain out night before and fill HLT etc but crack grain in the morning after adding some water and leaving for 10 minutes. Even then with sticky grains ( raw wheat, rye etc ) nothing beats a couple of handfuls of rice hulls. Running a RIMS system so flow is pretty important.