Is a 30 minute mash pretty standard for a beer this heavy? I was planning on doing an hour long mash on Saturday as I did with my Hefe last weekend. If it's not needed then I guess I can save myself 30 minutes.
I have been trying to sparge 7 gallons to boil down to 5.5 so after secondary I actually end up with 5 gallons to bottle.
The only reason that I step mash is because of the oatmeal... it is supposed to break down the gums so that you can have an easier sparge... I step mash almost everyhting that I brew.
Pol, what temp do you protein rest for the oatmeal?
BTW - the following quote is from John Palmer. Since the oatmeal is < 25%, I wonder if it's a good thing. Maybe it would be better to cook the oatmeal separately and then add it to the mash. If I do a protein rest, I think I'll make it a short one.
Quote:
The typical Protein Rest at 120 - 130°F is used to break up proteins which might otherwise cause chill haze and can improve the head retention. This rest should only be used when using moderately-modified malts, or when using fully modified malts with a large proportion (>25%) of unmalted grain, e.g. flaked barley, wheat, rye, or oatmeal. Using this rest in a mash consisting mainly of fully modified malts would break up the proteins responsible for body and head retention and result in a thin, watery beer. The standard time for a protein rest is 20 - 30 minutes.
Well after dough in I hit 156*F but I'm stirring every 15 minutes so I think I'll end up around where I want to be. Hopefully I'll get a better efficiency this time around. My round Igloo holds temps pretty well...especially when I preheat with boiling water.
EDIT: Pre-boil Gravity= 1.035 so I missed my target by .005. I'm getting near the end of the boil now.
Last edited by CollinsBrew; 05-20-2007 at 01:24 AM.
Looks like Palmer also states that for Oatmeal, a rest between 98-113F will help break down the gums without afecting the other protiens in the mash...
At first, I thought that I was going to experience a stuck sparge especially since I did a single step mash and I had a little bit of trouble trying to vorlauf but after a couple tries it ran smoothly. I think it was more of a siphon thing than a gummy oatmeal thing.
I did my Oatmeal Stout in a cooler, with multiple infusions, it was easier than decocting... Rest at 122F for 20 minutes, I used .9qt/lb with 12 lbs of grain, then I added another 8qt of boiling water to rest it at 153F for an hour, then mashed out with 9qt of boiling water. I never had a stuck mash, it went really well, 79%eff and 75% attenuation, 6% ABV.
I was looking at your recipe, I am putting one togther, trying to work out the mash/sparge volumes to keep the boil volume reasonable for my 30 qt pot. What volume did you sparge with? Why use 7lbs MO and the 2lb 2-row? Why not 9lb MO?
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