I am going to do an adjunct beer and don’t have any rice hulls readily available. I was thinking about using the dropped pine (fir/redwood) needles that abound in my yard instead. If I don’t add them until just before first runnings (batch sparge), do you think I will have issues with excessive acidity? Flavor? (They are, after all, the dried red dropped needles, not the fresh and green ones.)
I don’t bother with rice hulls even in 50%+ wheat beers. if it get’s stuck, just stir it up, re-vorlauf and start again. worst case scenerio it will take you an extra 30 minutes to sparge.
I never use rice hulls and I brew wheat beers all the time. Of course, some systems get stuck easier than others but I’ve never had a MT that required them and I have had several renditions. If you are using a braided screen ala Denny C. batch sparge you should be good to go without them.
As far as pine needles go, I’d be careful there. You might steep some first and see if they give any flavor. I’d personally try to run my batch sparge without them.
About the only time I need rice hulls is with malted rye - and that is not an adjunct. 
Around here people buy pine needles for mulch because they smell nice, so…
Not sure which adjunct, but I’ve made cream ale with 25% corn and no hulls needed.
I have never used rice hulls, and I have used 40% corn grits.
Didn’t your mom tell you not to pick stuff up off the ground and put it in your beer?
Dough in slowly and mix well, runoff slower than normal. You’ll be fine.
Worst case, as Mort pointed out, it will be a hassle and take longer, but you’re trading that hassle for the extra trip to the LHBS, right?
Doug, I pretty much agree with the others, but tell us your recipe. Is your mash tun prone to stuck runoffs?
Denny, My mash is not particularly prone to stuck mashes. The only time I really had any trouble was when I added a can of pumpkin. I don’t really have a recipe yet but I was planning to do something with corn in some form or another. I probably won’t worry about a stuck mash too much.
I did a CAP a few weeks ago and use 30% corn. I did a cereal mash and had no problem at all with stuck runoff. for whatever that’s worth
I started using a voile bag, for brew in a bag, in my mashtun. No more stuck runoffs. You can pull the bag if it starts to get stuck or slow, no need to vorlauf most of the time, and you can pull the bag after you’re done sparging, put it in a bucket to clean later, and just spray out the mashtun. It’s quite easy.
Something to consider…
If you happen to be in town to visit before then, lemme know. I’ve got a bag you can have.
Very interesting idea indeed!
Works great. I do what is essentially BIAB, but in a beverage cooler to help hold mash temps better. Cleanup is a breeze, too.