help--batch sparge nearly stuck

[jro238]

Hey all,

I finally got a grain mill because my efficiency from LHBS crush was ~65%. I'm currently mashing/lautering a pumpkin ale and am pretty sure between the canned pumpkin and (perhaps) too fine a crush, my latuering is going slowwwwwwwww (I'm batch sparging). I've tried dumping my mash into a different bucket (after the 60 minutes), cleaning the cPVC manifold, and pouring it back in without any effect. I've also blown back into my cooler mash tun a couple times when the flow stopped. It is currently draining, but I think it'll take a couple hours to completely finish. Any suggestions?

 

[jrgtr42]

Sadly there isn't much you can do right now, since things are in process. Guess you just need to take your time, and blow out the spigot when you need to.

IN the future you want to have the grind set so that the husk is pretty much intact, and the kernel of the grain is broken into 2 or 3 pieces.
With something like this, where you also have canned pumpkin (or any adjunct of the sort) you might want to think about tossing a pound or so of rice hulls - they don't add anything to the beer itself, but makes the mash less dense.

 

[jro238]

yeah, kinda what I was afraid of. Unfortunately no rice hulls in the grain stash right now so I guess i'll just have to rahahb