Single Infusion Question

I see that a lot of people use programs to help figure out their proper techniques, but do the programs cover single infusion mashing? (The dos and donts)

If not, which brews should you stay away from if you only want to do single infusion? Is there a particular grain type that will not perform properly using this method...or will all grain have the ability to mash this way (Just at different temperatures for one hour)?

Thanks!

I am also dealing with this question. I know that all of the specialty malts your good to go with, but they are not base malts.

I know that highly modified base malts like Pale Ale 2 row is good, though 6 row is not. Are there any other highly modified base malts that you can use?

Trying to figure out which ones of the head retaining malts are good..... wheat.... barely.... oats....

Any modern malt should be good enough for single infusion mashing. Especially for English and American 2-row, this is the preferred method of mashing, as these malts are usually highly modified and all the other mashing rests have already been "performed" by the maltster.

There are some malts (especially wheat) that benefit from additional rests when used in significant quantities in the grist.

If you have a lot of unmalted grains, your mash will have to be the most complex as there is a lot that needs to be done with the grains. But just a few oz of these grains will not necessitate additional rests yet.

Kai

cgcaudle said:

..or will all grain have the ability to mash this way (Just at different temperatures for one hour)?Thanks!

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slightly off, but still applicable
My 2 cents - get a starch testing kit and get familiar with what it affords you.
AG homebrewers realize that as much as we try, no 2 batches are the same. knowing when your mashing is complete is the key to time savings without the loss of fermentables. So for some malts 30 min @ x temp is good enough while others may take 90 min at y temp to achieve the character you want

Thanks for the input guys!

Kaiser, what resting schedule should I follow for using wheat? I realize different percentages would different rest times, but how long for different ratios of malt to wheat?

cgcaudle said:

what resting schedule should I follow for using wheat?

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Here is my favorite wheat mash schedule:

Mix crushed barley with hot water at a ratio of 1 to 1 1/4 quarts per pound so that the grain settles between 148 and 158 degrees (Drier beer on the lower end, sweeter on the high) Let the mash rest for 1 hour before sparging.

Mix the crushed wheat malt with the spent grains from barley mash and feed it to the chickens. Avoid feeding this to other livestock for the reasons listed in a former post of mine https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6324 :cross:

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

cgcaudle said:

Thanks for the input guys!

Kaiser, what resting schedule should I follow for using wheat? I realize different percentages would different rest times, but how long for different ratios of malt to wheat?

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30 mins at 122F followed by 60 to 90 mins at 150F is more than adequate. You could finish off with another 10 mins at 170F if theres room in your mash tun but its not vital.

mysterio said:

30 mins at 122F followed by 60 to 90 mins at 150F is more than adequate. You could finish off with another 10 mins at 170F if theres room in your mash tun but its not vital.

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That would be a good mash schedule for a wheat beer. I haven't done single infusion wheats yet, so I lack the comparison.

The good thing is, that the protein rest benefits from a thicker mash. This means you can mash in with ~1.8 L/Kg and add boiling water to raise the mash temp to the saccrification rest which will have a thickness of about 3.0 L/Kg. Beersmith/Promash are pretty good for figuring out the amout of water that needs to be added. Just make sure that you leave yourself some head space in the mash tun.

Kai

I've done step mashes both with decoctions and with infusions for wheat beers in the past and have had few problems. It does complicate things and extends the mash time quite a bit but it's perfectly doable.

but..

The last wheat (soon to be cherry wheat for SWMBO) was a single infusion at 152 for 90 minutes. The grist was 60% wheat. I used 1 lb of rice hulls and had zero problems with stuck sparges... I think .5 lbs would have been plenty.

The temperature rests just aren't necessary. You might get slightly better efficiency but that's hardly worth it. With adjuncts like wheat and rye the mash can be very very sticky and can easily cause stuck sparges.. a protein rest will allow the enzymes to break down the proteins and allow the mash to thin out a bit... but rice hulls are a much easier solution to stuck sparges. FYI, a protein rest when using highly modified malts can result in a thin, watery beer.. it's best reserved for rye and wheat beers though, even then, I just don't think it's necessary or worth it.

The only temperature rest that might be worthwhile is the mashout - just take most of the runnings out of the grainbed, boil them and add them back to the grainbed to get the temp up to 165F or so. You'll get slightly higher efficiency this way and the grainbed will loosen up a bit with the higher temps and most importantly you'll denature the enzymes and will thus stop any further conversion that might have otherwise taken place during the sparging... this way you can lock in the fermentable profile and ensure that the fermentable/unfermentable ratio you were shooting for with your mash temp isn't thrown off by an extra hour of enzymatic activity/sugar break down during sparging. Still, I've skipped this step more often than I've done it and I never notice a difference.

I know it's fun to try and do the most complex mash schedule imaginable just for bragging rights or to prove to yourself that you can do it but a regular old infusion mash works just great and there is much less to worry about and much less to go wrong.

Thanks for the replies.
What about cooking wheat? I've heard of people cooking certain grains prior to mashing them. Which ones do you have to cook and how long prior to mashing?

And why??

Thanks!

cgcaudle said:

Thanks for the replies.
What about cooking wheat? I've heard of people cooking certain grains prior to mashing them. Which ones do you have to cook and how long prior to mashing?

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You want to cook unmalted grains before mashing. This will gelatinize the starches and make them more accessible for the enzymes. Especially rice needs this treatment since its starch gelatinization temp is higher than the usual mash temps. You do this by making a "cereal-mash" with your cracked grains and some base malt. Bring it slowly to a boil and boil it for a while. Then add this to the rest of your mash and run through beta-glucanase, protein and saccrification rest.

You can also by flaked adjuncts which have already been boiled and will not require the cereal mash.

Kai