step mash vs. infusion???

i was wondering if some of you "advanced" brewers could offer your opinion on step vs. infusion mashing. i am fairly new to AG and i try to read as much as i can about it. in the back of the book The Joy of Homebrewing are some recipes. everyone of them says to step mash??? is this necessary? are the real benefits to doing this process? the bottom line is will it make a
"better" beer? cannot wait to hear your thoughts.

For what it's worth, I get much better efficiency from step mashes (80% as opposed to 70%). I think the protein rest helps to solubilize the enzymes, and the constant stirring up to the saccharification rest and then up to the mash out temp really help. That said, the multi step infusion mashes aren't strictly required for most commercial malts. If you're using a significant portion of adjuncts (corn, rice, wheat), then your beer will benefit from a protein rest, but again, it's not strictly required. I hope that helps....

I thought a step mash simply meant more than one temperature rest. A step mash could be infusion, direct fire, or decoction. I haven't found a protein rest increases efficiency any noticeable amount but it does seem to help with chill haze and contrary to what I've read it doesn't seem to hurt head retention. If you really want to experiment there are multiple protease enzymes just like alpha and beta amylase enzymes each having a different effect on the mash, I think John Palmer's site / book has good info on this.

k1v1116 said:

I thought a step mash simply meant more than one temperature rest. A step mash could be infusion, direct fire, or decoction. I haven't found a protein rest increases efficiency any noticeable amount but it does seem to help with chill haze and contrary to what I've read it doesn't seem to hurt head retention. If you really want to experiment there are multiple protease enzymes just like alpha and beta amylase enzymes each having a different effect on the mash, I think John Palmer's site / book has good info on this.

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This is correct. step mash just means multiple temperature rests before you mash out. could be infusion, direct fired or a decoction.

for the record, a TON of us started with a simple single infusion, batch sparge.
I heard the Joy of Homebrewing is big on step mashes...

Palmer's book on the other hand seems to make more judicious use of stepping vs. single infusion.

Wouldn't a step mash benefit a Hefeweizen-style beer?

You have to realize that Papazian came up in a era of questionable malt supply which explains why his recommendation is step mashing. In just starting AG, stick with single infusion, single rest temp mashes and you'll be fine.

I was looking at Chuck's book Homebrewer's Gold. I'd say half the recipes are step mashes. Its a dated book 1996.

Bobby are you saying the maltsters are turning out better quality malt now?

I've stayed away from step mashing myself since I mash in a cooler. Every once in awhile I consider doing the pressure cooker w/steam infusions or trying the boiled water method.

Can most of those stepped recipes now be made with a single step mash?

When do you think its advised to step mash?

From the start of my AG experience I was doing step mashses. Mostly because during my pre-AG days all my research pointed to the 153 - 168 - 170 process. So mash in at 153 (or whatever your mash temp is) rest for 15mins at 168, sparge at 170. I cant say why this is the only way I have ever done it, but I get 78% eff and im ok with that.

SporkD2 said:

From the start of my AG experience I was doing step mashses. Mostly because during my pre-AG days all my research pointed to the 153 - 168 - 170 process. So mash in at 153 (or whatever your mash temp is) rest for 15mins at 168, sparge at 170. I cant say why this is the only way I have ever done it, but I get 78% eff and im ok with that.

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I did something like that by accident, I had a hard time keeping my stove temp steady, anyhow, by the iodine test, my wort did not turn black or purple. Was I succesful?

With most of today's well modified malts available to the homebrewer, single infusion mashes will produce a very good beer. However, with certain types of malts (for certain styles of beer), a single infusion will lack the complexity of proteins, saccharides, and dextrins that can be obtained with step-mashes. But it's best to have and understand the malt analysis (or at least an educated guess) before following standard step-mash temperatures. Getting the temperatures wrong can affect attenuation (and therefore body), clarity, and head formation/retention.

I'm doing my first AG batch this weekend - a witbier from Northern Brewer. I read their promash readout which recommends a protein rest btwn. 122-133*F, saccharification at 154* and mashout at 170*. It seems a step mash is recommended for a witbier, as it needs excellent head retention and cloudiness. I read that protein rest at 133* is better for head retention and cloudiness by keeping the protein strands at a medium size instead of chopping them down to smaller bits like it would at 122*. Any truth to any of that?

r_flagg said:

I'm doing my first AG batch this weekend - a witbier from Northern Brewer. I read their promash readout which recommends a protein rest btwn. 122-133*F, saccharification at 154* and mashout at 170*. It seems a step mash is recommended for a witbier, as it needs excellent head retention and cloudiness. I read that protein rest at 133* is better for head retention and cloudiness by keeping the protein strands at a medium size instead of chopping them down to smaller bits like it would at 122*. Any truth to any of that?

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Protein rest temps and proteolytic enzymes don't work quite like that. There are conditions that are ideal for proteolytic enzymes including a specific temperature range. These enzymes will break down proteins period... not just ones of a certain size.

So it all depends on how much of what size proteins are already in your malt. If the ratio of soluble proteins to insoluble proteins is relatively high (this is called the soluble nitrogen ratio, or SNR), the less of the need for a protein rest and, in fact, doing one could hurt your mouthfeel and head retention.

Protein rest times and temps can be adjusted to get more or less breakdown of proteins. So, if you wanted to do a minimal protein rest, you could either do a very short rest in the typical temp range, or do a longer rest in the range between protein rest temps and saccharification rest temps.

So that's some general info on protein rests. For your specific issue, if you held a protein rest at 133°F for a long enough time, you would break any size proteins down more than you intended... large, medium, and small. As for protein rests with wheat beers, better let someone with more wheat experience answer your question, as I've only brewed with wheat malt once. Or do a search as I know this has been discussed before.

If I am getting 80 to 86% mash efficiency already is there any benefit to a step mash?