Multi Step mash with cooler - Best alternative

[bigken462]

I will be brewing a Gaarden Hoe Belgian Wit his weekend. The recipe calls for a multi Step mash. I usually do the typical steps to reach the temps, but was wondering if there might be a better mash schedule to get similar results.

Single step mash maybe? I think I'll resort to sticking with mash schedule as is, but was curious if there might be a easier way.

MASH SCHEDULE: MULTI STEP
Protein Rest: 122°F for 20 minutes
Sacch’ Rest: 152° F for 60 minutes
Mashout: 168°F for 10 minutes

What would be the best alternative using a 10 gallon cooler mash tun?

I have this lined up in BeerSmith, but it cuts down my sparge water to almost nothing.

Protein Rest Add 12.88 qt of water at 129.6 F 122.0 F 20 min
Saccharification Add 8.60 qt of water at 203.7 F 152.0 F 30 min
Mash Out Add 9.68 qt of water at 206.8 F 168.0 F 10 min
Sparge with 2.19 Gal


5.5lbs Pils
4.75 Flaked Wheat
Target OG 1.049

 

[Revvy]

It really sucks, but about 6 or 7 years ago there was an amazing Australian brewing Podcast hosted by a guy named Graham Sanders, he was arrogant as hell, but he had some of the best info, both on his 3 hour podcasts, but also articles on his companion website. It was called craft brewer radio.

He did an in depth podcast on how to step mash in a 10 gallon cooler... how much water you initially start with, how much needed at each step and at what temp it needed to be, to eventually reach the full mash volume.

Unfortunately something happened that no one, even some of the "big name" homebrewers in Australia know what it was, and he stopped doing his show, and pulled everything off the web, all his podcasts and all his articles. He had things like how to build cement grain mill, how to make a beer with 100% white flour, how to malt your own grain (before this was popular.)

And step mashing to me was one of the most valuable because he was so clear and detailed. I know this doesn't help you at all, but I still haven't seen anything so clear and easy to understand how to do it.

Maybe when I get to work, I can try to do some detective work and see if somewhere in some corner of the internet the info is still out there....

 

[Peruvian802]

Heat stick?

 

[bigken462]

Thanks Revvy. BeerSmith has it in pretty simple terms as for the steps. It just seems that when I go about it the way, that by the time I reach the last step, I only have 1-2 gallons left to sparge with.

Eventually I'm gonna have to break down, suck it up and buy me a brew stand. But the simplicity of using a cooler tun is hard to leave. But to be honest, if I had the $$ on the checking account, we would not be sharing this post right now. lol

In all honesty, I had a complete brain fart when I posted that, but by the time I realized how stupid my question was, it was already plastered to the wall. I've done multi step mashes before, maybe not always successfully. lol

In my sleep deprived mind, I was somehow thinking of draining off a few quarts, heating it up and pouring it back into the grain bed to raise the temp and that was when I was thinking there has got to be a easier dang way. Obviously I suppose now I need to be checked for Alzheimer's. lol

This is what happens when one post from work in the middle of the night while they wished they were home in bed asleep.

 

[IslandLizard]

How about step mashing in the boil kettle?

Mash in on the thin side (1.50-2.0) to prevent scorching and obtain a larger thermal mass. Heat gently to reach each next step, with constant stirring. Wrap some insulation around the kettle to curb heat loss, which is easiest when you're an electric brewer. Perhaps keep applying low heat with frequent stirring during the rests. Finally heat to the mashout temp and dump the whole lot in your cooler to lauter. This is similar to doing decoctions, except you never boil and all the mash is in one vessel.

 

[madscientist451]

I will be brewing a Gaarden Hoe Belgian Wit his weekend. The recipe calls for a multi Step mash. I usually do the typical steps to reach the temps, but was wondering if there might be a better mash schedule to get similar results.



I have this lined up in BeerSmith, but it cuts down my sparge water to almost nothing.

Protein Rest Add 12.88 qt of water at 129.6 F 122.0 F 20 min
Saccharification Add 8.60 qt of water at 203.7 F 152.0 F 30 min
Mash Out Add 9.68 qt of water at 206.8 F 168.0 F 10 min
Sparge with 2.19 Gal


5.5lbs Pils
4.75 Flaked Wheat
Target OG 1.049

If you use boiling water instead of the temperatures indicated in your post you can cut down a little on the needed water to bring the temp up:
I used the numbers you provided and the Green Bay Rackers calculator for these numbers:
Initial strike water ( as above) 12.88 qt @129.6
Add 7.2 quarts boiling water to reach 152F
Add 7.6 quarts boiling water to reach 168
So that would leave you with 3 gallons of sparge water instead of 2.19.
Another option would be to start with an initial thicker mash of 1.1 qt/lb, instead of your indicated 1.22, all the numbers would have to be recalculated, but with just rough figuring in my head your sparge water would be about 4.25 gallons.
Adding Boiling water is way easier than trying to heat water to 203.7 or 206.8 as indicated in the OP.
I'd go with the initial thicker mash of 1.1 qt/lb and have a 4+ gallon sparge, but it may not really make that much difference. I'd think more/less sparge could have an impact on your efficiency and your OG.
I ran your strike water temperature on the Green Bay rackers site and your indicated strike temp (calculated by Beersmith) isn't the same as their strike temp. I've been using the Green Bay Rackers Calculators for several years and always hit my target temps.
Also, You don't need a brew stand to do a step mash, just a 12 qt pot and a stove to boil 7-8 quarts of water in and a something to stir with.
Good Luck and here's a link to the calculator:

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

 

[dmtaylor]

Apologies for my bluntness... I don't have time for niceties right at the moment. Do yourself a huge favor and research the problems with protein rests and unnecessity of mashouts.

Skip the protein rest. It will ruin the body and head retention of the beer. You've been warned.

Skip the mashout. We don't need to mashout as homebrewers unless the wort will be sitting around for hours without being brought to a boil.

Just do single infusion!! It's pretty much a waste of time and effort to step mash, and the protein rest especially will hurt your beer and should basically never be done in the 21st century.

P.S. Protein rest will also turn your witbier crystal clear. Again, not right for the style. I know because I did a protein rest with my last wit -- went clear! Never again!

 

[Revvy]

In all honesty, I had a complete brain fart when I posted that, but by the time I realized how stupid my question was, it was already plastered to the wall. I've done multi step mashes before, maybe not always successfully. lol

LOL, I saw that when I posted, but I thought you were looking for alternative temps and amounts... And his stuff was often contrary to "common wisdom" ways of doing things, but then he'd go for 90 minutes in detail about exactly why and how this was better/easier/more efficient that the traditional way was.

So much of his amazing knowledge is just gone. I was chatting with an Aussie brewer and he was gong to do some digging into where he went.

I wasn't aware that BS can calculate for us, I still haven't done one, and part of it was I kept hoping to find the podcast again before trying.

 

[pwnshop]

I have this lined up in BeerSmith, but it cuts down my sparge water to almost nothing.

Protein Rest Add 12.88 qt of water at 129.6 F 122.0 F 20 min
Saccharification Add 8.60 qt of water at 203.7 F 152.0 F 30 min
Mash Out Add 9.68 qt of water at 206.8 F 168.0 F 10 min
Sparge with 2.19 Gal


5.5lbs Pils
4.75 Flaked Wheat
Target OG 1.049

I can only comment from my personal experience doing step mashes via infusion, and I'm not a pro or anything, but my advice is - do not implicitly trust beersmith calculations when doing hot water infusions for step mashing!

If beersmith tells you something like "Add 8.60 qt of water at 203.7 F" and you use exactly that amount at that temperature I would put money on it that you will undershoot your step temp. Yes Beersmith is giving you exact volume and temperature, but because you are losing heat to your cooler, losing heat over the duration of the previous step(s), losing heat while the lid is off, while stirring etc. by the time you do your step you've undershot.

I have done steps using beersmith's calculations and have undershot every time. Now I use the calculated volume from beersmith and add a gallon to it, and i ignore the temperature and just bring it all to a boil. Then I add the water while stirring and stop when i hit the proper temp.

I'm sure you can fiddle with beersmith and enter in all the different heat loss variables etc so that it gives you a perfect prediction, but that seems like a pain.

Anyways if you boil your infusions you will likely end up using less water per step, which will give you a bit more water to work with when sparging.

Step mashing with infusions is a big pain. Oh what i wouldn't give for an electric set up with a HERMS or RIMS!

Good luck man!