Getting the stems out

Sunfire96

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As some of you may remember, I recently bought some grain with an abnormally high amount of extra plant material (stems mostly). I had such a hard time grinding this grain that I'd like to remove the unwanted material before my next batch. Anyone have any clever ideas on how to make this happen?

The stems are thinner than the grain, but much longer. I have various sieves, colanders, what have you. I'm thinking I could put some on a tray/cookie sheet and shake at an angle, so that the heavier grains slide down and some of the stems are left behind? Panning for grains?

I know it's going to be tedious anyway that i do it, but I'm hoping the masterminds here will come up with something clever :)
 
So the homebrew shop wouldn't swap them out for you?
Sorry, I don't have any ideas for separating
 
I ordered online from William's. They gave me a refund but didn't send new grain. I mentioned in the other post, the person I spoke to did not seem concerned/convinced my grain was an issue even with an included picture. I asked if the rest of this batch looked like this, and was told, "This is Maris Otter from Crisp Malting of England. We have sold thousands of pounds of this, so I am not sure." So doesn't seem like he was that interested in solving the actual problem, but I'm still thankful for the refund. I'm also a little frustrated because the site listed it as Thomas Fawcett, not Crisp (not that I care, but I would like to know exactly what I'm buying)

Sorry, I'm still grumpy at them :confused:
 
Shame on them of not making you whole with sending you a new batch. You must have had a dullard on the phone that not only didn't care about your order or your future business but they also didn't care about the bad press that they are now getting on this forum! I've used them before and didn't have any problems other them not having any record of my last order which wasn't a big deal to my current order but it still threw a red flag and made me even more thankful for the LHBS that I trust and is on the drive home from work.

But back to your problem....given the irregularities of grain size using a colander or sieve or even a one the size of hardware cloth isn't gonna work to catch the twigs to any worthwhile amount....twigs versus sticks versus branches...I think your cookie sheet method is gonna have to be the only recourse you have as that's what's going to bring the twigs to the surface.

Good thing you didn't get it ground by William's!
 
Let the great Sorting begin! Good thing I have 8 hours of football in my future and some homebrews in the fridge
20210124_110414.jpg
 
Let the great Sorting begin! Good thing I have 8 hours of football in my future and some homebrews in the fridge
View attachment 13844
Have you had any luck shaking and then blowing the debris off the top? That's what I'd try I'm imagining the stems would be lighter than the grains.
This is what the thrashing machines do send a force of air throught the grains the grains drop the thrash gets blown out the back of the harvester.
 
Do you have some sort of air blower? If so, you can blow air up through the grain while lightly shaking it. The lighter chaff will sort to the top while the heavier grain falls to the bottom.

Or you can use the 3rd world method of tossing grain in the air from a pan on a windy day.
 
That's
I ordered online from William's. They gave me a refund but didn't send new grain. I mentioned in the other post, the person I spoke to did not seem concerned/convinced my grain was an issue even with an included picture. I asked if the rest of this batch looked like this, and was told, "This is Maris Otter from Crisp Malting of England. We have sold thousands of pounds of this, so I am not sure." So doesn't seem like he was that interested in solving the actual problem, but I'm still thankful for the refund. I'm also a little frustrated because the site listed it as Thomas Fawcett, not Crisp (not that I care, but I would like to know exactly what I'm buying)

Sorry, I'm still grumpy at them :confused:
That's to bad. I've always received excellent service from Williams Brewing.
 
First I'd try the free, fan or toss-it-in-the-air method. But if that doesn't work, 1/8" (3mm) hardware cloth might work. You could make a frame from 1" x 2" wood and staple the mesh to that. If that doesn't work then get the neighborhood kids together (masked of course) and tell them that you have invented a new kind of pick-up-sticks game. :D
 
I ordered online from William's. They gave me a refund but didn't send new grain. I mentioned in the other post, the person I spoke to did not seem concerned/convinced my grain was an issue even with an included picture. I asked if the rest of this batch looked like this, and was told, "This is Maris Otter from Crisp Malting of England. We have sold thousands of pounds of this, so I am not sure." So doesn't seem like he was that interested in solving the actual problem, but I'm still thankful for the refund. I'm also a little frustrated because the site listed it as Thomas Fawcett, not Crisp (not that I care, but I would like to know exactly what I'm buying)

Sorry, I'm still grumpy at them :confused:
I would be grumpy too
 
How much grain are we talking about? If we're talking 5-8 lbs then building any contraption will likely be more than the cost of the grain. If we're talking about a 50 lb sack, then it would definitely be worth it.

Edit: Nevermind...I see Post #6 has a picture of the grain.
 
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As mentioned above, use the process used by farmers for centuries: pour grain slowly down through the air into a bucket from about 3 feet up, with a household fan blowing across the path. The lighter chaff gets blown away, the heavier grain falls into the bucket. 10 minutes for 12 pounds maybe?
 
I can't believe a good maltster let that crap out the door. What brand is it so I can avoid it?
 
I haven't ever had an issue with Crisp MO, but will keep an eye next time I buy
 

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