In a couple of days I’m going to brew a Hefe which will be my first AG wheat beer. I’ve heard/read that the mash can “goop” up and you could easily get a stuck mash. I’ve always mashed with a single infusion and then mashout at the end.
Would it be best to do a multi step doing a protein rest for 15 to 20 and then a sacch rest for 40? Is this a good idea because of the high protein in wheat malt? Like I said I’ve never done it before, but hey, there’s a first time for everything.
Also I read that if you get a good mash then doing a batch sparge (as opposed to fly which I usually do) will also help with not getting a stuck mash. I don’t even know if that’s correct or not, which is why I’m asking that question here.
You can do a protein rest, although it is probably not necessary. The stuck mash problem is related more to wheat’s lack of a husk to help create a filter bed in the mash than to the protein. I have done both fly and batch sparges with wheat beers, and the batch sparge does seem to be less likely to get stuck or slow than fly sparging. I did a 100% wheat beer with about 1/2 lb of wheat hulls via batch sparge this year with no problems. If you do fly sparge and you have more than 50% wheat, you could always add some rice hulls to help keep things running. They won’t affect the beer and they are pretty cheap.
