Mash Paddle Treatment

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martyjhuebs

martyjhuebs

Naked Gnome Brew Co
Joined
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Just got my Oak Mash Paddle for Christmas and just got done treating it with Butcher Block Conditioner. The conditioner has mineral oil and beeswax in it. Anyone ever used this stuff? As a side note, after applying a thick layer I hit it with a torch to help it soak in before wiping off the excess. I will wait at least a week before using it. Hopefully nothing bleeds out into the mash.
 
Hopefully the mineral oil won't leach out in a hot mash.
I've never treated my maple paddle with anything other than wort :)

Cheers!
 
I wouldn't even think of applying an oil or treatment to the wood. At this point, I would boil a big pot of water and let the paddle soak for an hour. My paddle is bare wood that has been 'treated' in wort.
 
I never put anything on my mash paddle (it's ash). I've had it for about 10 years or so, and I just rinse it after brewing and hang it back on the wall.
 
I made an oak mash paddle and treated it with mineral oil. After 1 brew it looked raw again from the oil leaching out. I didn't notice any issues with that brew, but effectively it was a waste of time.

Like yooper I would just rinse it off and hang it back on the wall. It is now a permanent decoration in my garage as I am using underletting to dough in now, so no more stirring the mash.

Also despite other people naysaying using oak, I did not pick up any oakiness from using an oak mash paddle for the 30+ brews I made using it.
 
I used to have an oak mash paddle that I used for probably 20-30 brews (before dropping and breaking it in a drunken brewing accident. lol). I never treated it with anything. I never got any off flavors or oakiness in the brew... at least none that my palate could detect. I replaced my oak paddle with a maple one, and, again, left it untreated.

Stirring hot wort with an oil-soaked mash paddle sounds like a bad plan to me. Hopefully it won't leach out and cause any off-flavors or affect head retention... But I'd be worried about that. If I were you, I'd heat up some water and stir with your mash paddle and see if it leaves behind an oily film on top. If it doesn't, you may be good. If it does, I'd keep doing that until it no longer does...
 
Thanks for the input everyone! For what it's worth, I don't every stir my wort.. I simply let the boil do it for me since I have too much hardware inside my kettle. The paddle is strictly for mashing and once the RIMS tube kicks on I don't touch it after that.
 
Pretty sure nobody was referring to actually stirring a BK with a mash paddle.
Doughing-in strike temperature and mash fluidity would be plenty enough to suck the oils out of that paddle...and likely liquify the bees wax, too...

Cheers!
 
martyjhuebs said:
Thanks for the input everyone! For what it's worth, I don't every stir my wort.. I simply let the boil do it for me since I have too much hardware inside my kettle. The paddle is strictly for mashing and once the RIMS tube kicks on I don't touch it after that.
Click to expand...

I had actually misspoke when I said wort, I meant during mashing. I agree with day_trippr; I think mash temps would still be enough to leach oils/wax from your paddle.
 
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ruger988 said:
You guys actually mash in with wood mash paddles? I can't imagine that, $12 steel grout mixer from amazon and a drill, super quick/easy mash in.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FSAUXY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Click to expand...

Well that just takes all the fun out of it! You might as well just go buy a 6 pack at the corner store ;)

I made my paddle out of a piece of maple. Easiest way to get all of that off is with some really hot water, boil a pot of water and scrub that thing down, make sure you clean out the pot really well after as well. Let it dry, and hit it with some 600 grit sandpaper, wash it again and hang it up to dry. Mash has a PH of around 5, so its acidic, that combine with the heat will strip any oils you put on your paddle, you are better off leaving it raw.

1231161906.jpg
 
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max384 said:
It depends what your mash tun is made of. If your tun is stainless steel, no worries. Mine is an igloo cooler. A steel grout mixer would scratch the hell out of the sides of it.
Click to expand...

Not to mention that getting caught on a thermometer probe, a hose clamp, or the false bottom handle.
 
D-west said:
Not to mention that getting caught on a thermometer probe, a hose clamp, or the false bottom handle.
Click to expand...

Over the last 5 years, I've used one with everything from a 5-gallon igloo, to a bottom drain keggle, to my current 80gal mash tun with 8" thermo probe sticking in the side. Doesn't spin fast enough to hurt anything with the resistance of the grain. At the 5gal level, no harm in a mash paddle... with 190# of grain to mash, I enjoy the shortcut!
 
ruger988 said:
Over the last 5 years, I've used one with everything from a 5-gallon igloo, to a bottom drain keggle, to my current 80gal mash tun with 8" thermo probe sticking in the side. Doesn't spin fast enough to hurt anything with the resistance of the grain. At the 5gal level, no harm in a mash paddle... with 190# of grain to mash, I enjoy the shortcut!
Click to expand...

Yeah, if I were mashing in 190 lbs, I'd be using something other than a mash paddle too. As it is, I'm usually in the 10-20 lb range, so no big deal using a mash paddle.

Do you have a nano-brewery? Or just do big batches for yourself?
 
ruger988 said:
Over the last 5 years, I've used one with everything from a 5-gallon igloo, to a bottom drain keggle, to my current 80gal mash tun with 8" thermo probe sticking in the side. Doesn't spin fast enough to hurt anything with the resistance of the grain. At the 5gal level, no harm in a mash paddle... with 190# of grain to mash, I enjoy the shortcut!
Click to expand...

That is a whole different ball game if you can crawl into your tun! lol
 
Making mine out of maple. Started with a scrap of 6/4, planed it, ran it through the CNC. Will finish it up when I go back to work. Only treatment it's getting is the hot wort.

mB2x1hP.jpg
 
My mash paddle was made from a limb of white oak that fell in my back yard. A little sawing with my table saw and some sanding. 0$ except for some electricity. "Oiled" with wort.....
 
M0KCE said:
Making mine out of maple. Started with a scrap of 6/4, planed it, ran it through the CNC. Will finish it up when I go back to work. Only treatment it's getting is the hot wort.

mB2x1hP.jpg
Click to expand...

Must be terrible working at a place that allows you to use a CNC machine :)
 
Horrible. There are other things that make it a terrible place to work as well.
wR6EqUr.jpg
 
max384 said:
Yeah, if I were mashing in 190 lbs, I'd be using something other than a mash paddle too. As it is, I'm usually in the 10-20 lb range, so no big deal using a mash paddle.

Do you have a nano-brewery? Or just do big batches for yourself?
Click to expand...

Went from home brewing, to nano-in-planing, to taking the brewhouse I bought to run it as a pilot for a local micro. Most of the perks and .1% of the headache.
 
My kid has a friend that he went to college with that works at the brewery. Free beer is free beer, and hey, it's not Coors.
 

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