Wet Milling Equipment and settings

[Techbrau]

I think it's still worth conditioning with room temperature water because it softens the husk enough for it to stay intact through milling.

I don't think 80c water stays at 80c for very long once it contacts the malt. It will quickly cool down to slightly above room temperature. Conditioning with steam is altogether a different matter and is ultimately the best way to go because it would be more effective at deactivating the undesirable enzymes that live in the husk and outer layers of the malt.

[Weizenberg]

In our setup, figuring out how to condition malt so that LOX is disabled as much as possible would be a logical step for further refinement.

I already take other precautions to eliminate unwanted by-priducts from husk, so it may not be such an issue.

Considering how wet mills work, i.e. Having the entire charge in a drum, then running hot water over it (80C), possibly via shower heads, I can see a similar setup reasonably easy to implement for the home brewer.

I may give this a go some day. Suppressing LOX in the husk should be key to LODO, especially when considering that some people are now encouraged to introduce extra lipids adding fermenting yeast to their mash water.

[Natebriscoe]

So the tightest gap the mm3 mills can go is about .030, would probably explain why I can't ever up my efficiency.

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[TheHairyHop]

I am not entirely familiar with the need to suppress LOX. Is there a resource I can be pointed to?

[Weizenberg]

[caedus]

3.1.2.6 Kunze Version 5

However, even the complete removal of oxygen would not be able to prevent enzymic degradation by the lipoxygenases. The lipoxygenases (LOX) are formed during germination and preferably stored in the acrospire and rootlet s. In malt the enzyme is therefore particularly enriched in the acrospire. The enzyme has an optimum pH value of 6.0 and is very susceptible to high temperatures. A considerable proportion of the lipoxygenases (LOX) is therefore destroyed during kilning, more in the case of dark malt than of pale. Nevertheless, more than a third of the lipoxygenases remain activated in the malt. Through milling, the lipoxygenases (LOX) present in the acrospire are quickly activated and at the still frequent low mashing temperatures and high pH value of the mashing water are able to split the unsaturated fatty acids in a relatively short time and thereby produce autooxidation products, which can later lead to ageing carbonyls.

Even very small amounts of hydroxy fatty acids which find their way in the form of intermediate products into beer represent a danger for the flavour stability of the beer. Unsaturated fatty acids are very quickly degraded to intermediate products which come into question as a precursor for the stale flavour. In Fig. 3.44, the process of lipid degradation during mashing is shown in abridged form [352, 353); the intermediate products are generally summarised under the denotation hydroxy acids or hydroxy fatty acids. Oxidation of the unsaturated fatty acids begins with the destruction of the reduced system of the malted corn, i.e. with comminution.

Since, however, unsaturated fatty acids are always present in malt, their oxidation can only be prevented by the strict avoidance of oxygen.

Essentially it leads to shorter shelf life and flavor instability.

Weizen - not everyone can afford copies of these books, linking a page to the book is a little rude in my opinion. I was lucky enough to find some images on Google and facebook to grab some of these quotes. Its all in the hope that we can educate eachother and become better brewers for it.

[Weizenberg]

Indeed.

Which is one of the reasons why I disagree with Blisch's method of degassing water with yeast. Just let that paragraph above sink in a little.

One should always put one's theories through sufficient scrutiny,
ESP where food is concerned.

It's not wise to dismiss any constructive critical feedback.

[TheHairyHop]

According to this paper, LOX in tomatoes is rapidly (less than a minute) deactivated at 60C and above.

http://www.fruitandvegetable.ucdavis.ed ... 217065.pdf

Obviously, the application may not be straightforward. What is the generally accepted deactivation temperature in malt? From my perspective, this seems to present evidence supporting the yeast method when single striking to mash temp (which would be above 60C).

[bjanat]

I've tried the yeast method, but added boiling water with SMB to reach strike temperature, I imagined I could get away with less SMB that way.


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[Weizenberg]

If the water used is at 80C then it most likely has a much lower temperature as it hits the husk. That's something to keep in mind.

I haven't heard of steam conditionsing, although steamers are readily available in many breweries. Maybe the concern would be that the temperature would be too high and damadge other important enzymes (amylases etc...)

One can experiment, but for a reliable result it would be best to stick to the textbook methods.