Holding mash at desired temperature?

Hey everyone,

This is a pretty simple question, and pardon me if it is published on this website. I've been reading non-stop on here for the last couple days, and can't find an answer to this question.

I realize that some of you have fancy temperature-regulators that hold your mash at the desired temperature, but what method of holding the mash at ~160 degrees do the majority of homebrewers use?

Do they just actively read the temperature on the mash, and adjust the propane burner accordingly, rinse and repeat, for 60-90 minutes?

Appreciate the help beforehand!

I do mine on the stove and place a cover on the pot. I'll turn off the flame and after 10 minutes i'll check it. usually it doesn't require much touching.

Many people also mash in a cooler. Fill with the correct temperature water and close the lid. Usually the temp doesn't budge much at all.

IceFisherChris said:

I do mine on the stove and place a cover on the pot. I'll turn off the flame and after 10 minutes i'll check it. usually it doesn't require much touching.

Many people also mash in a cooler. Fill with the correct temperature water and close the lid. Usually the temp doesn't budge much at all.

Click to expand...

+1
A pre-heated converted cooler to mash in should not budge more than a degree tops in 60-90 minutes of mashing.
If you're mashing on the stove top with the lid on once at temperature you probably can hold temperature at either your bottom heat setting or turning heat on and off.
The third technique some people try is mashing in a pot placed in the oven set very low.

After 2-3 attempts at any of the techniques above you should be able to dial in your process to hold the temperature right where you need it for the entire mash length.

awesome! thanks guys..

i'll let you know how it goes

Having a cooler that can hold temperatures for the time span is important. I'm using a Coleman Xtreme cooler (green, so it has better insulation)... The first time I mashed in it, I had about a 1-2F drop over the 90 minute mash time...

Also, mash temps range from 148-158 typically. I've not seen a recipe that calls for a 160F mash temperature. I'm finding that I like my brews better when I mash at/below 154F...

You might mash in at 160 but the actual mash temp should be lower...

There are a few different ways of doing your mash, there are several videos on youtube where people show their all-grain systems. I've only brewed one batch, using a steel pot for my mash tun. I doughed in when the water was at like 140 thinking I'd just heat it up to ~154, but due to uneven temp readings wound up turning off the stove when the mash was still below my target. Then when I realized the mash had been too low, I heated it higher than I wanted. In the future I'm gonna heat the water so that when I dough in the mash is already at the target temp. If you're planning on using a pot like me, I would say to be careful and take a lot of temperature readings. Also, be careful not to heat the mash too fast, because there will be a temperature gradient from the bottom of the pot to the top. It may be less than 150 at the top and much hotter than that at the bottom, I think this was a big part of what threw me off.

I also think the cooler type mash tuns look really straightforward to use. You just have to calculate how hot you need your water in order to heat your grist to the correct temperature and the cooler keeps the mash at temp.

Those are the two systems I've read the most about or seen online. I also saw a video where a guy made a MLT with two 5gal buckets stacked together. The bottom bucket had a ball valve and he had drilled a bunch of small holes in the bottom of the top bucket (inner bucket?). He did an infusion mash in there for a three gallon batch in his kitchen. The mash only lost a few degrees as far as I remember and overall it looked like a really good system for a small space.

Good luck!

+1 for pre-heating the mash tun. I put a gallon or two of hot water in the tun (cooler) while I bring my strike water up to temp. It helps tremendously.

Once you get a setup that works for you, it will only take one or two mashes to figure out what you need to do to get the temp right. For me, I have a cooler mash tun and I dont preheat. I found that if I just use 170 degree water it will get me right at 154. I check the temp twice during a 90 minute mash and only lose maybe 1 degree.