Chart of mash temps and water/grain mash ratio by style

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kellzey

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I'm looking for a some sort of 'chart' that lists styles of beer and recommended mash temps based on the style... and also recommended grain/water mash ratios based on style.

Does something like that exist?
 
Not sure why.

You should always follow around 1.5 ish qt per lb, you want your main mash run off be the majority of your wort and use your sparge to top off (your system also limits your ability on what and how much to use). Your mash temp can be found by the BJCP under the mouth feel section.
 
Not necessarily true. You can alter the mash thickness if you want a dryer style beer (ratio 1.5 or greater) or a maltier beer (ratio of 1.25 or less)
 
Usually the mash temp is determined by how much body a brew has. A full body brew will mash at a higher temperature than a light body brew. Such as 156-158F for a full body, but 148-150F for a light body brew.

Water to grain ratio will play a part in your mash efficiency, and also be impacted by the size of your mash tun. I typically select a ratio that works for my mash tun, allowing me to sparge with a good amount.
 
Not necessarily true. You can alter the mash thickness if you want a dryer style beer (ratio 1.5 or greater) or a maltier beer (ratio of 1.25 or less)

I have never heard of that... Where is the resource you received that information from?

Mash thickness is really determined by the volume of your mash tun and your grain bill.
 
Check out this mash math # of pounds of grain multiplied by 1.1 to 1.3 then divided by 4 then add around 1 to 1 1/2 gl depending on your dead space under false bottom example 14lb times 1.2 = 16.8 divide by 4 = 4.2 gl add 1.5 gl= 5.7 gl works every time thanks morebeer.com
 
^^^Cool, learn something new everyday.

Well it states that a thinner mash creates a more fermentable wort. So if the style is a dryer lighter mouth feel then you would mash on the cooler side and as the info your provided states, mash thinner.
 
Raising this thread from the dead! Really fascinating topic re: mash thickness and finish/mouthfeel.

I had no idea that a thinner mash (1.5 qt/lb) would result in a drier beer. Must've missed that in Palmer's book. I've been brewing Belgian Style beers lately (Blonde, Tripel) and haven't really gotten them as dry as I'd like. I mashed the Tripel for 1 hour at 152 @ 1.25 Qt/Lb. It tasted great but could certainly be improved upon. Would a 150F mash at 1.5 qt/lb for 1 - 1.5 hrs help me get it drier? I achieved 85% attenuation with the WY3522 Ardennes yeast (OG 1.083, FG 1.012, ABV 9.2ish) so alcohol definitely wasn't a problem.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
1.5 quarts/lb converts to 3.75 litres per kg. That’s quite a thin mash.

In the UK we work on a mash thickness in the 2.5-3 litres per kg. At work that’s the range we use for all our beers.
 
1.5 quarts/lb converts to 3.75 litres per kg. That’s quite a thin mash.

In the UK we work on a mash thickness in the 2.5-3 litres per kg. At work that’s the range we use for all our beers.

That seems like a pretty thick mash if I'm doing my conversion right? Do you guys brew any Belgian-style beers or anything with a drier finish, or primarily malty beers?
 
I think the effect of thickness to fermentability is not so great as long as you stay inside the typical range of 2.25-3.x liters / kg. Temperature and time are far more important. If you like it dry, you could benefit from dropping the temperature between 146-150F and giving it a bit more time (1.5-2hrs) when using single step infusion. Also mash pH will play some role, aim for ~pH 5.3..5.5.
 
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I think BIAB with full volume mashing disproves that theory. If a thinner mash indeed produced a more fermentable wort, most all of the beers brewed using this process would be very dry, which is not the case.

The body of a beer is primarily determined by the grain bill, mash temperature and schedule, yeast attenuation, and to a much lesser degree, water composition. A very thick mash will produce a less fermentable wort, but once you reach a reasonable ratio I doubt you'd find any measurable difference, especially at the home brew scale.
 
GREAT REVIVAL of the TOPIC!!
Would a 150F mash at 1.5 qt/lb for 1 - 1.5 hrs help me get it drier?
Yes, a rest at 150F allows Alpha to release more glucose than sweet tasting, nonfermenting types of sugar. The temperature is used by distillers due to the high amount of glucose released by Alpha during liquefaction and saccharification. Glucose is simple sugar that yeast enjoys the most. Ensure that mash pH favors Alpha.
When malt is spent or rested at a low temperature it might take 1 - 1.5 hours for saccharification to occur. The length of time required for saccharification to take place is annotated on the spec sheet that comes with malt. After 30 minutes do a starch test. If the sample is blue/black thin down the mash a little and test after 15 minutes. If the sample remains blue/black check in another 15 minutes. If the sample remains blue/black after an hour welcome to starch carry over because Alpha was beaten to death somewhere along the line and denatured.
Alpha is the enzyme responsible for liquefaction and saccharification. When Alpha is active glucose is released from simple starch, amylose. The higher the rest temperature less glucose is released and more sweet tasting, nonfermenting types of sugar are released. The higher the temperature the less fermentable wort is and the beer will be on the sweet side.
About mash thickness. The thicker mash is when resting at a temperature that activates a particular enzyme, the longer the life span of the enzyme. A thick mash is used with the decoction method to preserve enzymes due to the length of time each step of the process takes. Mash is thinned out at the end to make lautering easier by reducing viscosity after enzymes have done their work.
Dryness, body and mouthfeel are tied in with conversion, dextrinization and gelatinization. This is where it starts to become complicated. During conversion at optimum temperature 145F Beta activates. Beta converts glucose released by Alpha during saccharification into fermentable, complex types of sugar. Liquefaction, saccharification and conversion takes place at the same time. After Beta denatures Alpha continues to release highly fermentable glucose until the enzyme denatures or until all of the starch becomes liquefied. When all that stuff happens wort contains a lot of fermentable, complex sugar and simple sugar, glucose which yeast rips up during primary fermentation cranking up ABV. Now here's the catch. When conversion occurs secondary fermentation is a given due to yeast only being able to burn simple types of sugar during primary fermentation leaving fermentable, complex sugar alone for awhile. During secondary fermentation yeast absorbs maltose and an enzyme in yeast converts the complex sugar back into glucose which is expelled back through the walls of the cell. The glucose is used for fuel and gravity drops close to expected FG. When conversion occurs beer doesn't require priming sugar or injecting with CO2 for carbonation. Beer naturally carbonates during conditioning when yeast converts maltotriose into glucose which becomes fuel and the CO2 released naturally carbonates the beer. Natural carbonation is much finer than artificial carbonation. During conditioning gravity falls to expected FG, the beer clears without fining or filtering and malt character increases and rounds out.
Now, here's the problem. When liquefaction, saccharification and conversion happens beer lacks body and mouthfeel and will dry and thin out during fermentation and conditioning because we left out dextrinization and gelatinization.
Amylopectin and limit dextrin are responsible for body and mouthfeel in beer. Amylopectin is hard, heat resistant, complex starch that makes up the tips of malt, it is the richest starch in malt. Contained within amylopectin is limit dextrin which are tasteless, nonfermenting types of complex sugar responsible for body and mouthfeel in beer. Now, here's another catch. To take advantage of the starch mash has to be boiled to burst the starch. When the boiling mash is added back into the main mash the temperature increases and enzymes activate, in this case the enzyme is Alpha. During dextrinization Alpha liquefies amylopectin and releases A and B limit dextrin, at the same time the mash jells up during gelatinization due to pectin. When the steps are omitted beer lacks richness and dries and thins out during fermentation and conditioning.
When infusion methods are used the temperatures aren't high enough to cause enough starch to burst before Alpha denatures. The starch is noticeable in spent mash. It is the small, white particles.
When wort is above 1065 gravity yeast sometimes skips reproduction, it's great that the gravity dropped to 1012!!
I hope this stuff helps a little bit with understanding what happens.
 
That seems like a pretty thick mash if I'm doing my conversion right? Do you guys brew any Belgian-style beers or anything with a drier finish, or primarily malty beers?

No Belgian beers, but we brew a good range of traditional British beers.
 
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