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farrout · 08-02-2009, 12:59 AM

Hey guys, I am finally doing my first all grain tomorrow(psyched as hell!!) and I have one last question. Should I stir the mash at all during the saccharification rest, or should I just let it sit after I dough in?
Thanks.

BeerPressure · 08-02-2009, 01:24 AM

I would just stir it when you dough in and leave it for the entire hour. If youre using a cooler you dont want to fiddle with the lid too much and let heat escape.

squeekysheep · 08-02-2009, 01:49 AM

once you hit your temp leave it alone.

**wilserbrewer** · 08-02-2009, 01:56 AM

Hey its all good...some stir some don't?? Just don't be opening the cooler every 5 min. to stir and check temp. or you will likely have temp. loss. Do stir well at the beginning, and check your mash temp after a good five minutes or so, otherwise the mash will not have stabilized and you will have false readings and panic.

For a first time, it may not be a bad idea to have a small pot of boiling water if you need to boost temp, or 4-5 ice cubes will cut a couple of degrees. (after the mash is stable of couse...at least 5 min!)

farrout · 08-02-2009, 02:22 AM

Cool thanks guys, I'm not using a cooler so Im not worried about temp loss. Im using a 10gallon pot on a burner, so I can tweak the temp as needed, but hopefully not to much. Thanks again.

IXVolt · 08-02-2009, 05:30 AM

Do you think the heat will be even through-out the grain bed, if you use a burner? Just a thought.

s1080 · 08-02-2009, 11:30 AM

Just watch it carefully and don't burn the grain

Good Luck!

Kauai_Kahuna · 08-02-2009, 12:08 PM

And just a hint, never say " last question. "
I know just when I think I know it all, something happens to remind me I don't know S..+
If I'm doing multi steps, or deconnations, I stir. If I'm doing a single step mash I get it mixed up, temp right and leave it alone. I enjoy being able to sit back and relax during the mash, but usually I'm racking something or cleaning. Someday I will be able to homebrew without making a mess but it was not that way today.

**wilserbrewer** · 08-02-2009, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farrout

Cool thanks guys, I'm not using a cooler so Im not worried about temp loss. Im using a 10gallon pot on a burner, so I can tweak the temp as needed, but hopefully not to much. Thanks again.

OK...now I'm nervous...I would be very careful direct firing a mash tun unless I was stirring the mash. I would also use a fairly thin / wet mash if I was to direct fire as you are planning.

Instead of heating the mash tun to maintain temps, some just wrap it up in a few blankets or a sleeping bag to retain heat.

farrout · 08-05-2009, 10:46 PM

Well everything went fine during the mash, I got the temp to 170, dough in, them was down to about 149. So them I put a heavy blanket over the pot, in a half hour the temp only dropped 2 degrees, so I turned on the burner and stirred. Got the temp to 154, then put the blanket back on it for a half hour. I basically did a little step mash, I wanted the temp to be between 148-152 becasue I want it to be a dry beer. The only problem came after the boil, when I used my immersion wort chiller for the first time. The hose touched the burner right after flame out and melted (I hadnt noticed right away). So when I turned on the water, aww!!, water was spraying everywhere. Like most first time all grain brewers I could have used a bit more water, I ended up with about 4.5 gallons of wort after boil (whatever,RDWHAHB). All in all I was happy with the way things went, thanks for all the great posts and threads on this site, it helped out a ton!