Brewed the brut IPA tonight. I fly sparge and the run off was super quick. I mean a fly sparge completed in 25 mins. I even had my ball valve dialed back as far as I could. My efficiency was dead on and I hit my targeted OG.
The ONLY thing I could think of is the liquification of the mash broke down all the sugars except the husk allowing for an excellent filter bed and easy run off.
Thoughts?
Makes sense that the less starch, more sugar would be thinner. If that makes any sense. Any time mine runs off quickly I worry it’s channeling but never really had a problem.
What hops are you using for this? With the extra enzymes breaking down sugars…did the leftover grain look any different?
No, the grains didn’t appear to be any different. @hd4mark I too was concerned with channeling but as I said everything was dead on. Crazy thing is I had airlock activity within 5 hours!
Hops are Nelson Sauvin and Mosaic.
Starch conversion is commonly very close to 100% if your crush is decent, and if your crush isn’t good, that unconverted starch is stuck in the big grain particles, not floating around in the wort. So unlikely that better conversion is the issue.
More likely the explanation is in the crush or the properties of the grain.
Is it humid weather? If your grain absorbed some water from the air, it can soften the husks and lead to a better crush; that is the principle behind grain conditioning. I’d think that there could be a short period of time to achieve that from atmospheric moisture before the grain goes stale, though I wouldn’t attempt it on purpose.
Bruts are to be dry… so the hot wort just whistled right through it…
Sneezles61
I’m not a fly sparger, so forgive the dumb questions, but how much slower is your average sparge? Also, how do you decide when your sparge is done? Just the runoff volume, or the SG of the runoff at the end of the sparge?
I think rebuiltcellars is on the right track…seems like it would have to be the crush or the grains themselves.
The other thing I’d add (and I’d have to think a little more to determine if there’s anything to this idea) it seems at some point the valve itself will be the limiting factor in the runoff rate. Any chance something physically loosened up or otherwise changed in your valve that increased the flow rate for roughly the same position? If so, guess that implies your runoff was slower than it needed to be in your previous batches.
Just thinking out loud.
Back a long time ago, when I fly sparged… I was instructed to keep the wort just below the top of the grains until the HLT ran dry… I would watch my gravity, and when it was down to 1.008, I would stop collecting… What I was told is, it would cause a harsh tasting brew… Fast forward to today… Now I understand why… It really has more to do with pH…
I think Loopie, being a long time brewer, has his way of brewing about down pat, and Gambinus was smiling at him on his brew day! Its great when things just go as planned/hoped… You all know it seems there is some quirk just about every brew day… Either way, brew day is so great! Sneezles61
Typically a fly sparge should last 45-60 mins. @porkchop is correct about monitoring the SG and stopping around 1.008. I monitored for years, never even came close before ending up with my correct volume.
I didn’t change my crush and the Helles I brewed yesterday didn’t exhibit those characteristics. I still feel the liquefaction of the starches allowed for a quicker flow.
Insert Chappelles show Redman Toilet Cleaner Video here:
It’s the enzymes and sh&t!
Sorry if I missed it loopie, but was there a hypothesis for what would cause “liquification of the starches” for that beer to be different from your average ones?
Part of brut ipa’s is adding an enzyme to the mash that promotes ultra conversion.
Correct, it’s known as amyloglucosidase. It converts the remaining dextrine to glucose.
Oh cool…have to admit this is the first I’ve heard of a brut IPA. I’m intrigued!
No worries. That’s why I think the runoff was crazy quick. I’ve never tried one so I’m not sure how mine will compare to commercially available brute IPAs.
Id love to find a commercial example.
Very interesting; didn’t know about the enzyme addition. Have you done this before? How’s the finished beer turn out? My worry would be that it is exceptionally dry with little body. Let us know the final outcome.
This is the first time I made one. The style calls for an exceptionally dry finish, like Brut champagne. Hence the name. I’ve never had one so as I mentioned I’m not sure how my interpretation will compare.
