Mashing practices

I was up last night, not sleeping, thinking about my upcoming brew. Along the way, I came up with some ideas that could help me improve and avoid some problems I've had in the past.

One problem I've had is that my mash tends towards being to hot. I usually fix this by adding cold water, but often the mash is warm for quite some time before I approach the temperature I want. Worse, as I'm doughing in, there is probably MUCH hotter portions of the mash while I mix, which could contribute to tannin extraction.

I thought of two simple ways to help out here. I purchased a pump, so I can pump water in from the bottom, which should help me mix the mash faster. I can add the grain in small[er] amounts, which should also help quickly achieve a more even temperature throughout the dough in procedure.

The other is to make my general mashing practice a two step infusion. This would allow me to bring the temperature up much closer to my target, potentially making it much easier to hit my target quickly, and thus avoid conversion at undesired temperatures. From there, using my pump, I should be able to steadily bring the temperature up until it's where I want and avoid ever converting above my target altogether. Would a two step (read: protien rest) infusion ever be a bad thing?

Thoughts?

if you haven't already check out Palmer's book. there is a section in there on mashing. he gives you a formula to calculate how hot your water should be to hit a target mash temp. i don't think it will allow you to hit the exact temp you want but it should help you get close enough that it shouldn't matter.

Do you use Beersmith? Plugging in the grain temperature and amounts of grain and water, it'll give you the right strike water temperature. I've had only one mash off by more than 1 degree.

I'm not having trouble hitting my mash temp -- I'm almost always within 1 degree. I'm having trouble hitting it quickly. And to say I'm having trouble is probably a bit of an exaggeration anyway.

Yes, I have read through Palmer's book several times. I use ProMash to help me with the temp, but I've found that my notes are more helpful.

Well, is it this:

stephelton said:

One problem I've had is that my mash tends towards being to hot. I usually fix this by adding cold water

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Or this:

stephelton said:

I'm not having trouble hitting my mash temp -- I'm almost always within 1 degree.

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It sounds like you're adding water to grain in your tun instead of the other way around. If you let your mash vessel steal some of the strike water's heat, you'll expose the grain to less of a temp spike. Stir quickly and call it a day.

stephelton said:

...I usually fix this by adding cold water...

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I'm trying to hit my temp more quickly.

Buffman said:

Do you use Beersmith? Plugging in the grain temperature and amounts of grain and water, it'll give you the right strike water temperature. I've had only one mash off by more than 1 degree.

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+1 It's never been wrong.

+1 Beersmith.

Make sure you preheat the mash tun as well so the temps are more accurate. If you have a cold tun it will rob you of some of the strike water and make it a little trickier to level out at your final mash temp

stephelton said:

I'm trying to hit my temp more quickly.

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How long does it take to hit the temp? I stir the grain into the water (in a Rubbermaid cooler), and it's at the target temp in seconds. I'm not sure why it may take longer. Maybe you can give us more info on your process/equipment.

I use promash, and it gets close but is not exact. That probably has a lot to do with my inaccurate volume measurements, another problem alleviated by adding grain to water (and not the other way around) since I can measure my Strike water exactly.

I've done this before, but went back to my other method for whatever reason.

That will get me a long way, but I'm still curious about [one of] my original questions:

Would a two step (read: protien rest) infusion ever be a bad thing?

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Buffman said:

How long does it take to hit the temp? I stir the grain into the water (in a Rubbermaid cooler), and it's at the target temp in seconds. I'm not sure why it may take longer. Maybe you can give us more info on your process/equipment.

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I add water to grain. It's becoming very clear that this is a large part of my problem

Quote:
Would a two step (read: protien rest) infusion ever be a bad thing?

Not of you have the extra time to do it.

I add some water to some grain, quick stir, then add the rest of the grain, then the rest of the water. Haven't noticed a problem yet...

While we're on the subect...

How quickly do you add the grain to the water? I would expect the best practice to be to add some, stir, repeat...

For most brews, I just dump it in and stir. I brewed a barleywine (seemed like a tone of grain) last year, though, where that method resulted in inconsistent temps. When all the grain was in the tun, it was too full to stir effectively. If you have the space to stir it up, making sure all the grain is evenly wet, I don't see a need to drag out the grain addition. Besides, the longer you take to stir it in, the more heat you're losing.

Buffman said:

For most brews, I just dump it in and stir. I brewed a barleywine (seemed like a tone of grain) last year, though, where that method resulted in inconsistent temps. When all the grain was in the tun, it was too full to stir effectively. If you have the space to stir it up, making sure all the grain is evenly wet, I don't see a need to drag out the grain addition. Besides, the longer you take to stir it in, the more heat you're losing.

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I've had my experiences with too much grain and trouble stirring

What kind of mash thickness do you usually use?

I usually mash with 1.5 quarts per pound. With that BW I mentioned, I used 1.25 and it was right to the very top of a 10g cooler. What a hassle.

1.5 is on the high side of normal for mash thickness. Most go with 1.25 qt/lb, which is generally what I use. Some of the English styles I use 1 qt/lb.

Gremlyn1 said:

1.5 is on the high side of normal for mash thickness. Most go with 1.25 qt/lb, which is generally what I use. Some of the English styles I use 1 qt/lb.

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Have you noticed any difference in your results attributable to the mash thickness? I started with 1.25, but moved it up to 1.5 after reading some HBT threads suggesting that thinner is better. I'd be interested in what effect it may have on the wort.