Hello is it really necessary on a homebrew level to do a mash-out step?
I used to do it but really in a 5 gallon batch your draining so fast I don’t think it matters. I believe the mash out is to raise the temperature to stop conversion. I do BIAB and do a hot water pour over but that’s more of a sparge
1 Like
At our level it really depends on if you fly sparge or batch sparge. Since fly sparge takes so long it is beneficial to get to mash out to stop conversion. If you batch sparge you runoff so quickly that you can stop conversion by brining it to a boil.
2 Likes
My process is to pump the first runnings into the kettle. I then add 168 degree sparge water and recirc it for 5-10 minutes. I stir the mash and pump the sparge into my kettle. Not really a mashout but my efficiency is around 75%-80%.
1 Like
I have never mashed out. I figure that even at slow fly sparge speed the next step is to bring it to a boil anyway. I fire the burner up when the kettle is about 1/4 full to start heating the wort up faster anyway.
1 Like
I was under the impression it was used to try get as much sugar as you can out of the grain… Why would you need to stop conversion… its not an indefinite adventure… Sneezles61
If you’re brewing and want to only get a specific FG for consistency purposes I presume.
1 Like
No, mashout doesn’t matter for homebrewers unless maybe you’re a fly sparger and have the mash and sparge sitting around for several hours. Otherwise skip the mashout step.
2 Likes
I see people with setups and doing things like a mini commercial brewery all the time. Not really necessary on a small scale but if you like playing not hurting anything either
2 Likes
No, the purpose is to stop conversion. When you fly sparge, especially on large systems, it can tale 12-3 hours for the sparge. All that time you’re in conversion range, and increasing the fermentability of the wort. A mashout fixes the fermentability at whatever level you like. But you need to hold the mashout temp for at least 20 min. to do that. Many of us (me, for one) sparge at hot temps to make sure conversion is complete, but we don’t go high enough or long enough for it to truly be a mashout. Some people have the mistaken idea that a hotter sparge reduces the viscosity of the sugar and gets more out. But we haven’t reached the limit of sugar solubility at mash temps unless your gravity is over 1.300. In that case, hotter water would help.
1 Like
I was taught the later piece of your paragraph… Thank you for all your knowledge. Sneezles61
