Infusion vs. step mashing...

OK. gents, first in what will likely be a series of very easy questions as I prep for my first AG/mostly-AG brew next weekend...

Re-reading Papa Charlie, Complete Joy, on mashing procedures. He talks about infusion mashing if the malt is highly modified, but doing a step mashj if undermodified malted barley is used.

But - I'll be damned if I can figure out what an undermodified malted barley would be...

When would I use step mashing? Prolly gonna do his Good Life Pale Alewhich alls for a pale ale-type malt, Munich malt, and a little bit of crystal; gotta believe there's nothing undermodified there. But, I'm confused when I would do one over the other, and if a step mash accomplished anything else that would result in a better end product (sounds like head formation is improved).

Funny, I've been searching the net looking for something similar for my first AG on Tuesday.

What I've found is 2-row has lots of enzymes and will more than cover your Munich and Crystal.

My IPA will have some Victory in there as well. I've come to the conclusion that a 155deg target temp followed by 170deg. sparge will be just fine.

A protien rest would help clarity from what I've read, but going from protien temps to 155 seems like a feat to me with my limited space of 6gal. mash/lauter tun.

Also, I'm going to attempt to find some Ph sticks and some iodine. Though I currently have no way to adjust the mash Ph if it's off.

What are you doing for a recipe?

Another stupid question; "pale ale-type malt"; is that generic 2-row, or is there something special I should be looking for? Can't recall what the HBS has for grains in stock, I remember the 2-row in addition to the crystals, chococolates, etc., but there was a whole section I paid no attention to. Guess I'll find out...

2 row Pale and Pale Ale malt are slightly different if I recall correctly - Pale Ale malt is a little darker.

Is pale ale malt fully modified, i.e. I don't need to do a step infusion?

Lots of the guys who are winning competitions (nationals included) use single infusions - for everything. Keep it simple for your first AG. Mash at 154 and be done with it. Todays malts are very well modified and don't require all the fancy steps anymore.

Exo said:

Also, I'm going to attempt to find some Ph sticks and some iodine.

Click to expand...

Iodine at Walgreens first aid section . . . about $1
PH sticks and 5.2 at your LHBS, dunno price but IIRC not that much

Chairman Cheyco said:

Lots of the guys who are winning competitions (nationals included) use single infusions - for everything. Keep it simple for your first AG. Mash at 154 and be done with it. Todays malts are very well modified and don't require all the fancy steps anymore.

Click to expand...

Very good advice. You will probably have a harder time finding unmodified malt vs. modified at the brew stores.

bird, I'm doing my Walker-san clone of Kaduva IPA on Tuesday. Recipe's in my sig. I believe I'll be doing a 1-step infusion at around 154deg.

Todays malt is fully modified and doesn't require a protein rest, this goes for Pilsner malt, too. Papazian's book is a great resource but a lot has changed since it has been written/revised. You should only use a protein rest if you've got some under modified malt, which you'd have to go out of your way to source.

I have experimented using a protein rest with normal maris otter malt and it left the beer a bit watery tasting. However, if you're using some weird adjuncts like oats, it may be beneficial to the clarity.

Single infusion is the way to go most of the time for ales IMO.

Great info, everybody. Learning new stuff all the time. Good luck with the IPA, Exo, I've got an extract version of that I'm itchin' to crack in another couple weeks.

Unmodified malt is malt that is either slow to germinate in malting or malt that has been germinated for a short time. All USA malts are well modified as well as most European malts. You really have to search for an unmodified malt these days. Malting barley varieties have been improved over the years such that slow modifying malts are gone. Modified malts have a higher level of enzymes for breaking down starch and proteins in your mash. And, since they modify well in the malting process, they come with a good level of soluble nitrogen in the form of peptides and amino acids to feed the yeast during fermentation. Thus, for modified malts, a step mash using a protein rest at about 122 degrees F, is not necessary to generate soluble nitrogen. However, if you are making a beer that uses an adjunct grain starch, such as corn or rice starch, you will need to do a step mash with a protein rest to boost the soluble nitrogen content of your wort to overcome the added sugar levels generated from the starch so the yeast has sufficient nitrogen. In general, all grain brews do not require a step mash. I often do a step mash for my lagers. The added solubel protein levels improve the foam properties in the beer.

Pale ale malt is a base malt (versus a specialty malt like munich or caramel malts) that is generally made from 2 rowed barley like other base malts, but to a slightly higher color. Most base malts are about 1.8 - 2.2 L. Pale ale malts are around a color of 3 L. With the added color you get a little more of a toasted flavor.

I hope this answers your questions.

Dr Malt