Strike Temp. Why?

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ThePonchoKid

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Why not drop the grain in and bring your temp up to optimal instead of overcompensating with the expectation of the temp falling in to conversion phase?

I did my first biab and dropped the grain in at 170F. Waited 20 min for it to come down.

What would of happened if I dropped the grain in at 140 and flame out 160F?
 
For a single infusion mash, it's ideal to be at, or as close to, the desired mash temp for the desired time. You don't want a lot of temp fluctuation, so either starting hot and waiting for it to cool, or starting cool and waiting for it to warm, isn't going to produce the same results as doughing in with strike water at the proper temp is.
 
I've done that for steeping grains, but you may get some efficiency issues if you don't keep it in the "optimum" range for the majority or all of the mash process.
 
Keeping the temp steady isn't a problem. Wouldn't there be more flavor profile advantage to dropping the grain in at the start of alpha phase and allowing it to raise to the top end of beta before flame out? That should only take 10 minutes or less (on my equipment).
 
The majority of your conversion happens in the first 20 minutes of the mash. If you drop your grains in at the wrong temp, then take 20 minutes to adjust it will be too late.
 
ThePonchoKid said:
Keeping the temp steady isn't a problem. Wouldn't there be more flavor profile advantage to dropping the grain in at the start of alpha phase and allowing it to raise to the top end of beta before flame out? That should only take 10 minutes or less (on my equipment).
Click to expand...

You could do that, many do. It's sort of a defacto mash out step if you do. Personally, to do something like that, I'd get the strike water right for the alpha rest, and rest there for 'x' minutes. Then I'd add a measured amount of near boiling water to reach the beta rest temp and hold there for 'x' minutes before sparging. That'd just make it more exact and allow you to repeat the process if you made that beer again.
 
There's no hoping if you do the calculations. I use the mash & sparge water calculator at Brew365 and have always been within 1 degree after doughing in.
 
If you do BIAB and can heat up over the stove, dumping hot water in and raising the temp is not difficult.

When you are using a cooler for a mash tun, it's easier to aim high and add a few ice cubes than it is to try and heat the mash.
 
NordeastBrewer77 said:
You could do that, many do. It's sort of a defacto mash out step if you do. Personally, to do something like that, I'd get the strike water right for the alpha rest, and rest there for 'x' minutes. Then I'd add a measured amount of near boiling water to reach the beta rest temp and hold there for 'x' minutes before sparging. That'd just make it more exact and allow you to repeat the process if you made that beer again.
Click to expand...


thanks. im going to try this on my second biab using the exact same ingredients as the first. maybe drop in at 143 and bring it to 160 out


"There's no hoping if you do the calculations. I use the mash & sparge water calculator at Brew365 and have always been within 1 degree after doughing in."

i'll look more in to this probably around the same time as when i want to start treating my water, thanks for the info
 
ThePonchoKid said:
thanks. im going to try this on my second biab using the exact same ingredients as the first. maybe drop in at 143 and bring it to 160 out


"There's no hoping if you do the calculations. I use the mash & sparge water calculator at Brew365 and have always been within 1 degree after doughing in."

i'll look more in to this probably around the same time as when i want to start treating my water, thanks for the info
Click to expand...

Try BeerSmith 2. You can get a free one month trial, and the full version is ~$20, worth every penny. Using software will make multi step mashes (or any mash for that matter) a lot easier to calculate.
 
ThePonchoKid said:
Why not drop the grain in and bring your temp up to optimal instead of overcompensating with the expectation of the temp falling in to conversion phase?

I did my first biab and dropped the grain in at 170F. Waited 20 min for it to come down.
Click to expand...

do you stir the grains?
stirring will reduce the temp.
i have read, to stir grain every 15-20 min
:mug:
brewon
 
Better to start low and go up then to start high and wait for it to drop. At 170, the enzymes you are relying on to break down the starches will be destroyed pretty rapidly. If you're doing BIAB, you have the luxury of simply lifting the bag out of the water until you can get your temp corrected.
 
There are lots of free mash calculators out there - just google it. No need to do trial and error when so many others have already made all the "errors" for you and you can learn from them.
 

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