Mash in motion?

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vasie

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Has anyone investigated the relationship between how much the mash is stirred and the mash efficiency? I would have to assume that lots of stirring would improve enzimatic action and help maintain a temperature balance. This is assuming that you can stir it without losing a lot of heat from an open lid and avoid some nasty oxidation problems.
 
Well, big brewers do it (BMC and others), so it must help efficiency. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to rig something up using a high-torque, low-speed motor and a bit of ingenuity. I think there's this kind of a setup in DIY.
 
Initially stirring up the mash helps to eliminate hot/cold spots in the mash. Once the mash temp stabilizes it's best to leave it alone. Constant stirring, among other things can grossly effect your wort's clarity.
 
IIRC, alpha amylase is highly water-soluable, so stirring should be unnecessary. Not sure about beta, though.

Usually, when people do have some kind of automated stirrer, it seems to be because they are somehow adding heat to the mash (with steam, or a RIMS/HERMS setup, or something like that) and they need to make sure that heat gets dispersed evenly through the mash. I don't know about how the big boys are set up to know whether that's the case for them or not.
 
I stir all of my mashes briefly every 15 minutes during the mash... why? The tuns lose heat from the lids and the sides, causing colder areas in the mash. So I simply spend 15 seconds mixing it up, not beating the heck out of it, but mixing it, to help assimilate temps. Never experienced darker brews because of it.

Pol
 
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