More questions for first AB brew day!

Can i use step mashing for any brew kit i order online? Also if i do use step mashing where can i find info about calculating acid rest and protein rest temps, i have found general info of 122 for protein rest and 95 for acid rest, i didnt know if this changed with the different types of grains or if thats standard for all grains, they never gave how long to hold those temps either. Last question for now, i dont have a brewpot with a valve in it, if i do mash in my pot do i just pour the finished product in my mash tun and wait for the grain to settle and continue as normal, i didnt know if that would introduce oxygen or if that would have any negative effect. Thanks for all the advice, this site has been awesome! Cheers!

Check out this site.. http://www.brewersfriend.com/stats/ There are lots of useful calculators on there. I don't see any reason that you can't step mash a kit. Some steps like the acid rest or protein rest might not be necessary, but that's all debatable. Good luck with your brew!

cpatel479 said:

Check out this site.. http://www.brewersfriend.com/stats/ There are lots of useful calculators on there. I don't see any reason that you can't step mash a kit. Some steps like the acid rest or protein rest might not be necessary, but that's all debatable. Good luck with your brew!

Click to expand...

Here is a better link. That last link takes you to all of the calculators, but this link is specific to infusion mashs..

http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash/

I don't believe anyone does an acid rest anymore. There is a different rest, confusingly called ferulic acid rest, that many people do for Hefeweizen-type beers, which I do at 113 degrees. Protein rests are also not necessary for most beer styles and malts, and can in fact be detrimental to head retention if I recall correctly.

Pouring the mash between vessels isn't ideal, but the effect that this causes (Hot Side Aeration) is not something 99% of tasters will be able to pick up in the final beer. I have done this myself (step mash in kettle, pour into mash tun to lauter and sparge), and didn't perceive any problems.

Thanks for the advice i think i will skip the step mashing, a thought on the yeast though, i am the having the yeast shipped to me and the temp outside is going to reach around 90 on the day it will be delivered, i cant control the temp of the yeast while in transit, could the liquid yeast die before it gets to me, is there anyway to tell if the yeast is ok before i brew?

It's unlikely that all the cells will die, but it may very well be stressed. You should do a yeast starter to check the yeast and build up its numbers before pitching it into your main batch.

I saw a guy who had a MLT with out a drain. He had a manifold and a pipe rising up out of the MLT which he put some clear hose on and since your not concerned with sanitation he started the flow by syphon (by sucking it, hence clear hose so he could see when syphon was started to avoid burns). It worked for him. I takes about 10min and only a few dollars to make a manifold from copper or cpvc.

+1 for yeast starters, they are a must for all liquid yeast use a calc tool to calculate cell count like Mr Malty.

Clem