Mash temp.

What temperature do you mash at and why.

The majority of the time I mash at 154 to 156.

I like full bodied malty brews

Around the same temps for the same reason.


TL

I brew too many styles to stick to one temperature. My Belgian, I mashed for ninety minutes at 148°; IIRC, attenuation was north of 85% with only a single pound of simple sugar added. The oatmeal stout I did yesterday, I shot for 156°,. but landed at 153°. The dopplebock, I'll prolly aim for 154°-ish. Unless you only brew one type of beer (and that sounds pretty boring to me ), mash temp should vary considerably based on what it is that you're making.

What Bird said. My variation is that I do stepped mashes...I start with a 30 minute rest at 133, then move up to my sacch rest from there...and I mash at whatever temp is appropriate for that beer. Then I ramp up to 158 and hold until conversion tests are good.

the_bird said:

Unless you only brew one type of beer (and that sounds pretty boring to me ), mash temp should vary considerably based on what it is that you're making.

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I agree with you BUT.....

In the UK there are all the specialities but you walk in the majority of pubs and you get.... Bitter, Lager, Cider.

I like my English Ales.

I've never been a Lager drinker even pre HB days.
If I want to try different styles I'll try commercials.

Even when I'm brewing Blondes I like them Malty.
The only Time I'll go for a lower mash temp is when I'm doing a IPA and I like them a little drier.

So yes I do have quiet a narrow brewing range but that lets me perfect the styles I do and get the beer I really like.

I love English Ales, Bitters, Porters, Really good stouts, The odd Mild and Pale Ale.

But when I'm drinking commercials I'll take every opportunity to sample as many different samples as possible.

When I'm brewing I will not brew a beer unless I know I'm going to love it.

I mash at those temps for pretty much everything, too. I do go lower for the rare lager that I make. I do like lagers, but I am too impatient to wait for them to ferment and age.

I prefer dry beers, so I mainly mash around 149F-152F. But I try to stick to the style, if I am making an Ofest I will go around 156F because it's a brew that I lik to be malty. I guess it all depends on the style and what I'm feeling like drinking.

different for every recipe

Let's see: 152, 156,152,155,150 for the last 5 batches. I like variety.

Wheat and RyePA were at 154 and my OatyImpy Stout was at 150. I'll do a PA next and go 154 again.

It turns out I was using a busted thermometer for about a year and my mash was actually done 18-20F LOWER than I thought. So this whole time the enzyme action was all one-sided (beta I think). I could never get the FG down where it should be, always 4 points high. Im' sure my OG was low due to efficiency, I'll have to go back and check.

I'll be tracing a lot of problems to low temps, now that I think about it.

Matt

Porcelon said:

It turns out I was using a busted thermometer for about a year and my mash was actually done 18-20F LOWER than I thought. So this whole time the enzyme action was all one-sided (beta I think). I could never get the FG down where it should be, always 4 points high. Im' sure my OG was low due to efficiency, I'll have to go back and check.

I'll be tracing a lot of problems to low temps, now that I think about it.

Matt

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Twenty degrees? Like, you'd be mashing at 158°, and in reality you were at 138°? I wouldn't think you'd get ANY conversion; you'd be thinking you're at sac rest temps, and instead just doing a 60-minute protein rest. You sure it was THAT much of a variance?

Assuming I hit my target mash temp, I usually do 148-152F depending on style. I partial mash though and since extract is usually around 40% of my recipe, I try to combat that with lower mash temps. When I go all grain I'll mash close to 154F...

For my fav. wheat beer, that I brew 50% of the time... 152F... want it lighter