I was wondering how you go about doing steps with a cooler.
Just for the sake of argument, let’s assume;
10 gallon cooler for mash tun.
dough-in at 120, sach at 150, mashout at 170.
How do I heat the mash since I cannot put the cooler on the burner?
Thanks!
Do this also google decoction mash and there are a number of videos on YouTube on how to do it.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter16-4.htmlStart with a really low mash ratio, .75qt/lb. Then use boiling water to raise the temp. It’s a pain to get the temps right.
This could help.
http://www.brewheads.com/tempchange.php[quote=“Nighthawk”]Start with a really low mash ratio, .75qt/lb. Then use boiling water to raise the temp. It’s a pain to get the temps right.
This could help.
http://www.brewheads.com/tempchange.php[/quote]That’s the way I do it. That said, I’ve found little to no benefit to doing step mashes. I still do one once in a while, but it’s to see if maybe I missed something before, not because I expect it to make a difference in the beer.
[quote=“Denny”][quote=“Nighthawk”]Start with a really low mash ratio, .75qt/lb. Then use boiling water to raise the temp. It’s a pain to get the temps right.
This could help.
http://www.brewheads.com/tempchange.php[/quote]That’s the way I do it. That said, I’ve found little to no benefit to doing step mashes. I still do one once in a while, but it’s to see if maybe I missed something before, not because I expect it to make a difference in the beer.[/quote]
So what do you do, Denny? (ex. 150 for one hour, etc.)
Batch sparge or fly sparge?
I batch sparge. The procedure noted by Nighthawk is what I do on the very rare occasion I do a step mash. I use Beersmith to formulate all of my recipes and it supports custom mash profiles. I’ve had very good luck using the calculated infusion temp whether only doing a sach rest or a protein rest followed by a sach rest. The key is to ensure you have entered the right starting values (grain temp, tun starting temp, etc.).
You can try Beersmith for free for 21 days.
http://beersmith.com/download-beersmith/[quote=“Gonzo”][quote=“Denny”][quote=“Nighthawk”]Start with a really low mash ratio, .75qt/lb. Then use boiling water to raise the temp. It’s a pain to get the temps right.
This could help.
http://www.brewheads.com/tempchange.php[/quote]That’s the way I do it. That said, I’ve found little to no benefit to doing step mashes. I still do one once in a while, but it’s to see if maybe I missed something before, not because I expect it to make a difference in the beer.[/quote]
So what do you do, Denny? (ex. 150 for one hour, etc.)[/quote]
I pick an appropriate temp and time for the style. For example, an IPA might be 153 for 60 min. A tripel might be 148 for 90 min.
I see…So is it the darker the grain, the longer the rest, at a lower temp? Or is it a gravity thing? I usually dough in at 120, but don’t hold it there, I just keep going until I hit 150 or so, then do my rest, and a mashout. However, that is easy as I am doing small batch BIAB on my electric stove top. I just happen to have a few spare Igloos laying around and need only the larger pot to do 5 gallon all grain batches, hence my original question.
Thanks again for all your help!
[quote=“Gonzo”]I see…So is it the darker the grain, the longer the rest, at a lower temp? Or is it a gravity thing? I usually dough in at 120, but don’t hold it there, I just keep going until I hit 150 or so, then do my rest, and a mashout. However, that is easy as I am doing small batch BIAB on my electric stove top. I just happen to have a few spare Igloos laying around and need only the larger pot to do 5 gallon all grain batches, hence my original question.
Thanks again for all your help![/quote]
Nope. For instance, a tripel is very light…all pils malt and sugar. It has to do with the style of beer and what I want the final body to be like.
[quote=“Denny”]
Nope. For instance, a tripel is very light…all pils malt and sugar. It has to do with the style of beer and what I want the final body to be like.[/quote]
What Denny is trying to say is that mash temps and times will help determine the body of the beer. Example; if you want a lighter bodied, drier finished beer, mash at a slightly lower temp for longer period, but if you’re going for that full-bodied, maybe even chewy quality, higher temps, with shorter rests. …at least I’m almost positive that’s the general ROT.
[quote=“HellBound”][quote=“Denny”]
Nope. For instance, a tripel is very light…all pils malt and sugar. It has to do with the style of beer and what I want the final body to be like.[/quote]
What Denny is trying to say is that mash temps and times will help determine the body of the beer. Example; if you want a lighter bodied, drier finished beer, mash at a slightly lower temp for longer period, but if you’re going for that full-bodied, maybe even chewy quality, higher temps, with shorter rests. …at least I’m almost positive that’s the general ROT.[/quote]
So if I brew a porter or Stout I want to mash at higher temp and shorter rest? I’m looking at moving from extract brewing to BIAB as soon as possible and most of what I’ve been reading seemed to make me think 155 was the standard magic temp for mashing…
[quote=“dannyboy58”]
So if I brew a porter or Stout I want to mash at higher temp and shorter rest? I’m looking at moving from extract brewing to BIAB as soon as possible and most of what I’ve been reading seemed to make me think 155 was the standard magic temp for mashing…[/quote]
There is a lot of debate about whether there is an optimal temp for mashing and, if so, what it is. The generally accepted range is 150-154 for most styles. Lower end of the range (or even down into the upper-140’s for higher attenuation, lighter body and drier finish. Upper end of the range (or slightly higher) if you want a sweeter finish with more body. But there are other ways to affect body and finish, such as use of certain adjuncts and crystal malts.
I’m not sure about the shorter rest bit. I don’t remember reading anything about that, but I suppose it could be true. I have found that my mash efficiency tends to be slightly higher if I mash longer than 60 minutes, but I have not noted whether the final product is any more attenuative or what the affect is on body/finish.
Remember that pH is the other critical factor when mashing.
As you start out brewing all-grain, I recommend keeping it simple and aiming for the middle of the range while you master the overall process. Then after you are comfortable with your process and are able to execute with consistent results, experiment with mash temp and other variables (one at a time) if you want to.
I pretty much use either a 60 or 90 min. mash. The longer mash is fro lighter bodied beers like tripel or pils, while 60 min,. is what I use for most other styles. In addition, the lower the mash temp you use, the longer conversion takes. For maximum “digestibilty” I like to mash at about 148, so the longer mash for those styles not only helps ensure fermentability but complete conversion also. For example, AIPA I go 153 for 60 min. I just brewed a doppelbock and used 155 for 60 min.
So, what’s the difference between a 90 min mash vs a 60 min at say, 153F?
Ah, OK. That makes sense. If I understand your point, the longer mash is meant to compensate for the fact that lower temp results in slower conversion–not because the longer mash results in extraction of different enzymes (the lower temp is responsible for that).
This is another way of saying that there are different enzyme activities at different temperatures, which affects the fermentability of the wort. Higher temperatures allow alpha amylase to predominate and the sugar chains are longer, resulting in less fermentable wort (higher gravity). Lower temperatures (still in a range around 150F) allow both alpha and beta amylase to work, breaking up the longer chains to produce shorter chain sugars that are more readily metabolized by yeast, resulting in a thinner body (lower gravity). This is a gross generalization of some pretty complex issues, but it is essentially the case. There are other aspects about the lower end of the mash temp range, which require longer periods to rid unwanted by products and longer boils in some cases.
This is probably not very helpful now that I look back on it, but you can get a lot more information out there, if you want the specific chemistry on the issue.
:cheers:
The 90 min. mash will be slightly more fermentable and should have a lower FG.
The 90 min. mash will be slightly more fermentable and should have a lower FG.[/quote]
I’ll soon see. I have an IPA that I mashed at 153 for almost 5 hours that’s just about ready. We’ll see what the FG ends up being.
