Multi Step Mash Beginner

[dssgolf]

Hello everyone! I am brewing the AG version of the Dragonmead Final Absolution Clone with my brother on Monday and I have a question about Multi Step Mashing. The recipe calls for the following mash schedule:


Mash Type: Multi Step
Grain Lbs: 14.40
Water Qts: 36.00 Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 9.00 Before Additional Infusions
Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 2.50 Before Additional Infusions

Rest Temp Time
Acid Rest: 0 0 Min
Protein Rest: 140 15 Min
Intermediate Rest: 0 0 Min
Saccharification Rest: 150 60 Min
Mash-out Rest: 168 15 Min
Sparge: 168 60 Min

Total Mash Volume Gal: 10.20 - Dough-In Infusion Only

Where I'm getting hung up is the amount of water to add at each step. I've inputted the recipe into Beersmith and have come up with the following quantities and strike temperatures.

Protein Rest
12.96 qts of water at 153.8 to hit 140 for 15 min

Sacc Rest
11.52 qts of water at 163.5 to hit 150 for 60 min

Mash Out
11.52 qts of water at 210.3 to hit 168 for 15 min

Do those quantities and temperatures sound right? Also, it calls for a 60 min sparge. What type of sparge am I able to do with 36 qts of water already in the tun? Also, what does the total mash volume represent? The water used in each stage and for the sparge?


Thanks in advance for the advice! :cross:

-DSS

 

[feinbera]

Seems fishy to me... that's somewhere north of 2.5 quarts per pound when all is said and done. I'm not familiar with Beersmith per se, so, I'm not sure why your numbers are coming out like that, but if I were doing that recipe, I'd use much smaller volumes of boiling water to get the temp up at each step.

 

[dssgolf]

So I have recalculated and have come up with the following:

18 qts of water at 149.9 to hit 140 for 15 minutes

3.5 qts of boiling water to hit 150 for 60 minutes

Skipping the mashout

Batch sparge 12.5 qts at 168 degrees

Better?

 

[GrogNerd]

I've done protein rest at 140° and got like 99.9% attenuation (hyperbole, but FG was ridiculously low)

the next time I did 130° even that was a little high and it over-attenuated

next batch I'm going for 120°, if not skip that rest altogether

your recalc sounds much better, shooting for 1.5 qts/pound total at sacch rest (18 + 3.5 = 21.5 and divide by 14.4 ≈ 1.5 qt/lb)

and it's strike water to protein rest, infusion to sacch rest, drain while sparging (fly) or drain then sparge (batch), so the sparge water isn't being added, it's replacing the wort in the tun

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Have you considered a Decoction for the mash-out step at least? Easy to do and the speed at which you make that step is totally not important...Dip ut 4-quarts and bring to a boil. By the time you have it back the tun you will be at your mash-out temp plus or minus a couple of degrees.

I usually do not bother with a mash-out anyway since I batch sparge...I guess that is a third option.

 

[Denny]

Start by asking yourself what it is you want to accomplish with a step mash. Don't do it just becasue it's in the recipe. Not only do you not need a p rest, 140F is out of the p rest range. It's a beta amylase rest. Also, not a single calculator I've ever used was able to accurately predict how much water at what temp you need to hit the next step, particularly if you mash in a cooler. When I do a step mash, I just stir in boiling water while I check the temp until I get to the temp I want. But I seldom do step mashes any more. After several dozen tests to see if they made a discernible difference to the beer, I've given them up as taking too much effort for no noticeable benefit.

If you really want to do step mashes, here's a chart from How to Brew that shows temp ranges.

 

[atietyen]

I tend to agree with Denny on this one. I've tried to multi-step in a cooler as well as my pot and had a much more difficult time in the cooler. The key for me in the pot was that to constently stir so you dont get temperature pockets. I have a Pre-Prohibition lager on tap that I did my first multistep in a pot and it turned out pretty good!

 

[k_mcarthur]

I tend to agree with Denny on this one. I've tried to multi-step in a cooler as well as my pot and had a much more difficult time in the cooler. The key for me in the pot was that to constently stir so you dont get temperature pockets. I have a Pre-Prohibition lager on tap that I did my first multistep in a pot and it turned out pretty good!

I did a pre-prohibition lager from Palmer's website and it called for an extensive step mash (maybe even the same recipe). Made me glad that I have an e-herms system, press some buttons and walk away.