One or two Sacch' Rests?

dennis0 said:

I came across this Dunkelweizen recipe (PDF file):
http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/allgrain/AG-Dunkelweizen.pdf

I was interested in the "traditional multi-step mash". What I've learned about traditional multi-step mashing up to this point (and I haven't learned a lot) is that there is usually a dough-in, protein rest, sacch rest, and mashout rest.

This schedule is a bit different- the dough-in seems to be combined with the protein rest, nothing unusual there. Then there is a beta Sacch rest and an alpha sacch rest. I understand that the beta sacch rest is better for the beta-amalyse enzymes, and the alpha rest will probably reduce beta-amalyse activity and be more ideal for alpha-amalyse enzymes.

But that's all I know. I haven't come across any literature that explains what the advantage of a beta AND an alpha Sacch rest is versus a single Sacch rest at 149-154F. So my question is why use 2 Sacch rests vs 1, and if there is a distinct advantage, how to fully take advantage of that knowledge?

Thanks!

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Denny's Evil Concoctions said:

I used to do this but the danger with todays malts, which can convert in 30 min in the 148-160f rang is resting the mash at 146 for to long.

Old charts say 30 min at each or some combo of an hour or more, which in my oppinio id way to long. Tbough the lower temp rest is a tad slower.

Case in point is a recent beer with wheat. I did a protien rest at 113 stepped up to 146 and immediayely started to slowly ramp up to 160.

Beer was dryer than expected.

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pjj2ba said:

A single infusion is a compromise (and easier though). I always use two saccharification rests - a rest at 146F and one at 160F. The time at each rest depends on the beer style. This is good even for today's well modified malts. I like to do them as I get a really clean tasting product. A protein rest is another subject - so this refers only to doing two saccharification steps. I have a direct fired mash tun so this makes it easy for me to do this. It works well for me, but everyone's experience is unique. If it would be difficult to do a multi step mash with your setup, then I wouldn't bother.

For light crisp beers, the danger is being too thin from mashing at a lower temperature, so folks typically push the temps down to far. A way around this is to mash in around 146 F and when conversion is nearly complete (say ~95% - depends on how fast you can ramp), ramp it up to 160 F and finish conversion there. This way you get a highly fermentable wort due to the favorable temps for beta-amylase, but it will have some bigger dextrins from the higher temp rest (too hot for beta-amylase activity, but still have alpha-amylase acitivity), and give you some nice body in a lighter beer

Conversely for richer beers, the danger is being too thick. My way around this is to start out at a lower temp and get some good beta-amylase action going on. Then maybe half-way through conversion (depending on the beer) ramp it up to the high temp to stop the beta-amylase and let alpha amylase finish the job. This way you still get lots of dextrins to provide body, but you also have more maltose in the wort than if you had done a single high temp infusion. This way you can get a beer with lots of body, but it won't be as heavy (and will have a lower FG)

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dennis0 said:

However, I'm confused about your terminology- you use "rich", "thick", and "heavy"- what do you mean specifically by those?

And thanks for all the responses!

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dennis0 said:

However, I'm confused about your terminology- you use "rich", "thick", and "heavy"- what do you mean specifically by those?

And thanks for all the responses!

Click to expand...