Mashing Temp

[bh10]

How do you know what your mashing temp should be? In the couple kits Ive used its told me what the temp should be at, now that Im doing my own recipe (IIPA) Im wondering what I should mash the grains at. Is there a table or anything?

 

[JLem]

Basically you'll want to have your mash between 145-158 F. In general, the higher the mash, the more unfermentable sugars you'll have in the wort and the lower, the more fermentable sugars you'll have. This means, generally, that the higher the mash temp the more body associated with the end beer. If you are trying to hit a real low FG, go lower, if you want a higher OG mash.

FWIW I tend to mash between 148 and 154ish depending on what I'm brewing. For a IIPA, I would probably mash low since you'll want to dry it out.

 

[steakandale]

From Palmer's "How to Brew" http://www.howtobrew.com

16.5 Summary
When all is said and done though, single rest infusion mashing is the easiest method for producing an all-grain wort. The most common homebrewig mash schedule consists of a water-to-grain ratio of 1.5-2 quarts per pound, and holding the mash between 150-155F for 1 hour. Probably 90% of the beer styles in the world today are produced with this method.

**
To hit that temp there is some temp loss due to obsorbtion, and the walls of your mash tun coming up to temp.
Heres a little math I borrowed from BierMuncher I think:
"My normal calculation is to take my desired mash temp, add the grain weight, add 5 degrees."

So a 10 pound grist at a target of 152?
152+10+5=167 degree strike temp.

after tossing in the higher temp, and stirring fully to prevent doughballs, and your pot or cooler warms up - it ends up at the target temp. Slam on the lid.

 

[SwampassJ]

What would happen if you mashed at 147 for half of the mash then bumped it up to 152 for the last half of the time? I've read about Beta and Alpha Amalayse but nothing about going from one temp to the other, just mash out to stop it from going further.

Ex. 45 minutes at 147, then heating up more water to increase the temps to 152 for the next 45 minutes in a 90 minute mash?

 

[JLem]

What would happen if you mashed at 147 for half of the mash then bumped it up to 152 for the last half of the time? I've read about Beta and Alpha Amalayse but nothing about going from one temp to the other, just mash out to stop it from going further.

Ex. 45 minutes at 147, then heating up more water to increase the temps to 152 for the next 45 minutes in a 90 minute mash?

Not exactly sure, but I imagine it would give you some intermediate result. Not sure it would be worth it though - I'd just mash at 150 instead.

This reminds me though of something the OP may want to know - lower mash temps take longer to convert the mash than higher mash temps. If you mash below 150, you might consider doing a 90 minute mash as opposed to a 60 minute. At 158, it's probably done in 30 minutes (though I would let it run the entire 60 just to make sure)