Mashing Question

[jzamora3]

So I usually brew on weekends, but I'm getting married in a few months, and I'm noticing my weekends are becoming less and less available. Planning for the wedding and whatnot is chewing up a bunch of time.

I always have the option of brewing during the weekdays, but I work an 830-530 job, so when I get home it's about 6. So if I start mashing right when I get home, I'm up real late cleaning.

So... I have an idea. What if, I was to start the mash during lunch, say about 1200 noon. Then I let the mash sit at whatever temp, but leave it "mashing" until I get home, so that way when I get home, I just boil and go from there. Is there anything to watch out when leaving a mash for 3-4 hours?

I brew BIAB and my kettle can usually hold my temp pretty solid for 60-90 mins.

 

[Smellyglove]

You'll get higher extract efficiency and a more fermentable wort, that's about it AFAIK.

 

[Rob2010SS]

That's a lot of gas used, no?

 

[Smellyglove]

With a good insulated mash tun there is no need to leave the gas on, which on the other hand is a no-no, since nobody's there to watch it. The temp will drop, enzymes will denature over time, but it will still yield a higher efficiency and a more fermentable wort given that the mash tun can keep good temps after the heat has been shut down.

 

[jzamora3]

Well I'd heat to mash temp, then turn off the gas until I got home. The mash will decrease on it's own over time.

With a good insulated mash tun there is no need to leave the gas on, which on the other hand is a no-no, since nobody's there to watch it. The temp will drop, enzymes will denature over time, but it will still yield a higher efficiency and a more fermentable wort given that the mash tun can keep good temps after the heat has been shut down.

So if I was trying to achieve a sweeter beer with more body, say mashing at 156+, this wouldn't be a good option then right? Because then if the temp drops down it will produce a dryer beer? So maybe only try this if I'm going for a dryer beer. Or will the amount of time its at the lower temp affect it that much?

 

[Smellyglove]

Well I'd heat to mash temp, then turn off the gas until I got home. The mash will decrease on it's own over time.



So if I was trying to achieve a sweeter beer with more body, say mashing at 156+, this wouldn't be a good option then right? Because then if the temp drops down it will produce a dryer beer? So maybe only try this if I'm going for a dryer beer. Or will the amount of time its at the lower temp affect it that much?

I'm not sure how much it will affect it, only that it will. Maybe you could for a first try do a straight up west coast IPA, see how the result is altered, and choose a suitable yeast for other brews to get you where you want to be.

 

[beernutz]

Well I'd heat to mash temp, then turn off the gas until I got home. The mash will decrease on it's own over time.



So if I was trying to achieve a sweeter beer with more body, say mashing at 156+, this wouldn't be a good option then right? Because then if the temp drops down it will produce a dryer beer? So maybe only try this if I'm going for a dryer beer. Or will the amount of time its at the lower temp affect it that much?

If you want to stop mashing you could mash out at ~170 before stopping for the day.

 

[jzamora3]

If you want to stop mashing you could mash out at ~170 before stopping for the day.

That would semi defeat the purpose. I'm trying to set it at my temp and then walk away. I'll give it a shot with an WC IPA as recommended and see how it goes.

Thanks!

 

[Jeff_T]

Possibly mash one evening (mash out,sparge, pull bag/drain, etc.), seal up/sanitize kettle lid and proceed the next day?

 

[Kent88]

You might find these podcasts interesting:

Part 1, Part 2.

Of course a 3-4 hour mash wouldn't be ideal, but the only big issue I can think of is that your temperature *might* get low enough for lactic acid bacteria (or perhaps worse) to get in there and mess with your wort. Maybe do a test run with a volume of water equal to the total volume of your typical mash (that is, volume of the grains and water), get it up to mash temps, and see if your system holds the heat well enough over 4 hours. If you're still above 135F, you *should* be ok.

I'd recommend you do your BIAB in an insulated cooler rather than a kettle. This might mean that you have to plan for a mash-out infusion, so adjust your grain bills and water:grist ratios accordingly. Unless your kettles can fit snugly into an insulated cooler, perhaps.

Otherwise I've heard of people who mash and sparge in the afternoon/evening, boil the wort for a few minutes, and then wrap the kettles in sleeping bags and towels and proceed with the boil the next morning. Maybe you could get the mash done on friday night along with most of the cleanup, and boil and finish everything up saturday morning?

By the way, how many gallons do you usually make in a batch?

 

[RPh_Guy]

From my understanding the mash oz basically finished after 15-30 minutes. Would it help to shorten it?

I'm surprised no one mentioned additional oxidation as a consequence from such a long mash.

 

[Kent88]

@RPh_Guy probably because hot-side aeration is a myth

 

[Smellyglove]

@RPh_Guy probably because hot-side aeration is a myth

It is not. If you are able to more or less eliminate cold side oxygenation, you will notice a difference on the hot side. It's like HIFI-freaks, which buy a $5000 dollar piece just to get that 1% extra percieved quality in sound.

 

[Kent88]

If you are able to more or less eliminate cold side oxygenation, you will notice a difference on the hot side.

Huh?

 

[Smellyglove]

Huh?

If you are able to minimize cold side oxygen uptake, you will be able to notice the difference of HSA. If you have to much oxygen uptake cold side, you will not be able to distinguish oxygen uptake during mashing, from low uptake of oxygen during mashing. Oxidation cold side masks a lot of "flaws" (where this kind of oxidation actually is one of the biggest), since it totally ruins a beer. If you minimize that, you will be able to pick up minor flaws in your process, and also nuances in your recipe.

I bet some people would call this totally OCD, but unless you taste very fresh beers regularly, from a brewery which has good o2 practices, your reference might be oxidised beers, which doesn't help a bit.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

Drop the wife keep the brew. Problem solved. [emoji28][emoji28][emoji28][emoji28][emoji28]

 

[Kent88]

@Smellyglove thank you for taking the time to explain that.