Wheat beer and Boiler Issues?

[Brewedout]

I brewed my first wheat beer for Christmas last year, which turned out to be a very enjoyable drink : However I did have one issue at the end of the boil, I lost about 3-4 litres due to the filter getting stuck. My filter is made up from a rectangular section of 15mm copper pipe with slots every 10mm on the underside, this sits flush to the bottom of the boiler. In all of my other brews a stuck boiler has never been an issue.

As I'm planning on making a Dunkel Weissbier this time, I want to try and avoid this kind of a loss at the end of the boil. So here is my question :hmm: , was I just unlucky (with the wheatbeer) and should I just get on with the Dunkel Weissbier brew, or should I make some alterations to the kit?
I have considered using 22mm pipe, moving the filter to the side of the boiler rather than the centre (so it is not directly underneath the immersion cooler), or getting some sort of mesh to sit above the pipework.

Has anyone else suffered this kind on an issue?

 

[pittsy]

i do wheats all the time how i solved stuck mash is by get a flat type of rice sieve that just sat ontop of my hop strainer , now it runs faster and no stuck mash

 

[Brewedout]

i do wheats all the time how i solved stuck mash is by get a flat type of rice sieve that just sat ontop of my hop strainer , now it runs faster and no stuck mash

Did you use this in your boiler or your mash run?

 

[artiums_enteri]

I'm guessing you are having issues with the mash/lautertun by the sounds of it. Pitsy is right on with his advice. Wheat beers can create a stuck mash very quickly, but the addition of rice hulls to the mash acts as a pretty effective filter. I get them at any local brew shop, I would imagine they would be pretty easily obtained on your end. If not I'd ask the brew shop owner what works to act as a mash filter for wheat beers. Anyone who has made two wheats in his career will know exactly what you are referring to.

 

[pittsy]

Yeah me mash tun

 

[Brewedout]

My mash tun didn't get stuck, it was the boiler. Would it be appropriate to use a mesh filter here or is the hop filter in need of a re-design for wheat beer?

 

[Easy Peasie]

I sometimes end up with a litre or 2 stuck in the boiler. I just give the tube a quick suck (pardon the pun) and the last couple of litres miraculously appear, however do use a sie :thumbof some sort as it usually gets some crap in with it too. :thumb:

 

[pittsy]

never had prob with boiler hop strainer , i take it you use mash tun, then the wort from tun goes into boiler etc then a blocked hop strainer when draining to fv etc after boil has complete ,hmmm id say it was more your hops rather than wheat wort perhaps if you use a sieve at mash tun stage it would stop some of the bits getting into your boiler thus preventing problem

 

[artiums_enteri]

Maybe it's my system, but I've never had a clog in my boil kettle. My setup is not very sophisticated in that sense just using a 1/2 inch ball valve placed 1 inch from the bottom of my kettle. I always calculate to loose 1 gallon at the end of my boil in trub wich is just cold break material and hop residue I don't want in my fermenter anyway. By the time I stop my run off I have 5 gallons in my fermenter and 1 gallon of brownish green wort left in the kettle. Perhaps if you adjust your final volume to leave 1 gallon or so behind you won't get clogs in the run off valve.

 

[Brewedout]

As my issue seems to be uncommon I'm going to give my next wheat beer another try without meddling. The boiler/kettle works perfectly for my non wheat beers. Really appreciate your thoughts and experiences on this guys. Will soon know the answer as I'm brewing this weekend.

 

[Brewedout]

As my issue seems to be uncommon I'm going to give my next wheat beer another try without meddling. The boiler/kettle works perfectly for my non wheat beers. Really appreciate your thoughts and experiences on this guys. Will soon know the answer as I'm brewing this weekend.

Gave it a go, I achieved 23.5L from the intended 25L however it took 'forever' for the wort to drain out. Do you guys find that there is a lot of trub left in the boiler/kettle once you have finished? I seemed to have a lot.

Hmmm :wha:

 

[pittsy]

yes , there is but mine flows out ok say around 10 mins to empty

 

[Brewedout]

yes , there is but mine flows out ok say around 10 mins to empty

What type of hop filter do you use? I'm using 15mm copper pipe with slots cut in, this presses against the bottom of the boiler.

 

[pittsy]

i ve got a home made copper pipe with a swan neck bend in with 3mm holes drilled on the underneath only that almost touches base of pot

 

[Brewedout]

Hmm I will try a different hop filter design for my next one, probably sit it a little higher off the bottom. Thanks