temps in mashing

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hopsy

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so, i am planning on doing a step mash, but not really. originally i was planning on getting my resting temp around 155-153 and letting it coast down to 147-149, hopefully spending about half an hour in each temp zone that favors alpha and beta amylase. then i heard about someone that stabilized in the 147-149 range and then used to strike water to bring the mash into the second range. is there any benefit or necessity to doing one before the other? i think one of the amylases aids the other, but i dont remember which one. thanks!
 
What kind of beer are you making? What sort of MLT do you use? Generally if you can just do a single infusion with no problems if you have a way to maintain temperatures like using a cooler for a MLT.
 
If you have a good cooler MLT, you might not get a good drift. Mine will drop about 2 degrees total over an hour if I have enough thermal mass (lots of grain bed). Plus, you want to make sure that you spend enough time at each temp for the enzymes to do their job.

To do a step mash like that I think it would be easier to open the top of the MLT and stir a bit and drop the temp, rather than add more hot water.

What kind of MLT??
 
I recently cooked up a 2 gallon batch of cooking stout for wifey. I wasn't being fussed about proper temps, so I just did the mash in a SS pot on the stove. I noticed that the temperature drops were fairly close to what you are looking for.
 
yes, my MLT is actually my primary fermenter. i didnt want to spend any more money or add equipment to my tiny apartment, so i built a false bottom into my primary out of a strainer. i did an experiment with hot water and found that i only lost about 2 degrees of temp in 40 minutes, and this is with no grain, so i should be able to hold the temps no problem. my real question is if it matters which temp range it is in first, as letting it drift down, as opposed to striking it higher, would be a lot less labor intensive. im sure there is some science in there somewhere!
 
as far as dropping the temps of your mash, i was always under the impression that once you have a higher temp and the grist releases the alpha-m, you cant really go backwards to release the beta-m?
 
as far as dropping the temps of your mash, i was always under the impression that once you have a higher temp and the grist releases the alpha-m, you cant really go backwards to release the beta-m?


yes, that is what i believe also, or have been lead to believe. i was hoping someone out there could confirm it for me. im going to do some research and post what i find.
 
Same here. I have read the lower temp enzymes will be de activated once the higher temp is reached.

David :)
 
[QUOTE;1401855]Same here. I have read the lower temp enzymes will be de activated once the higher temp is reached.

David :)[/QUOTE]

thanks for the responses! i think i pretty much answered my own question and hopefully it will help someone else out one day. here is a quote from an article i found:

"One word of caution. Many brewers, when first starting out, get what seems like an ingenious idea that will not work. The idea is start out at 158° F to let alpha-amylase do its thing and then to cool the mash down to let beta-amylase do its thing. This won’t work because heat denatures enzymes at temperatures above their optimum, and denaturation is permanent. This idea does work in a decoction mash and in the American double mash because only a portion of the mash is boiled"


and heres a link to the article:

Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Brew Wizard - What mash temperatures create a sweet or dry beer?

wassail!
 
If you're using modified malts, IMO, differences between say 148 vs 152 get to be trivial. I like to do a step mash....I start off with "protein rest" 133 for thirty mins......then I step up to 153 for 30 mins. I've gotten more consistant effeciencies this way, but it's probably due to various inconsistencies with my thermometers and pH stabilization vs real enzyme activities.
 
If you're using modified malts, IMO, differences between say 148 vs 152 get to be trivial. I like to do a step mash....I start off with "protein rest" 133 for thirty mins......then I step up to 153 for 30 mins. I've gotten more consistant effeciencies this way, but it's probably due to various inconsistencies with my thermometers and pH stabilization vs real enzyme activities.

i read somewhere
How to Brew - By John Palmer - The Protein Rest and Modification
that: "In fact, using a protein rest on fully modified malts tends to remove most of the body of a beer, leaving it thin and watery."
is this a trade off versus chill haze? not that im trying to hijack my own thread its just a question spawned by your rest regime. have you noticed any adverse effects in your body (i mean the body of the beer of course, sarcasm)
 
update:
so i read somewhere that beta-amylase doesnt get denatured until 160*. not sure if this is true or not. also found out that alpha-amylase needs to be activated in order for beta to work, thus the standard single mash temp of 152*, which is a comfortable area for both amylases's to work. so mashing in above 150* and letting it slide does actually work as long as you dont go above 160*. of course a lower temp requires a longer mash time for good efficiency.

but the real news is that my original hypothesis appears to be correct. i put all the info into BYO's brewing calculator and it said my final gravity should be 1.016. when i racked into my secondary a couple of days ago the gravity was 1.010! and its still fermenting. i suspect a final gravity of around 1.006 or maybe even lower. i will update when i bottle. so this goes to show that this type of low temp mash does work if you want to produce more alcohol, or even just a real dry beer. hopes this helps someone down the road.
 
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