2 part question

[oguss0311]

I've got a question for Equipment/sanitation and Ingredients- both pertaining to AG- So I'll put it here.

So I'm slowly building equipment to brew AG and wrapping my head thoroughly around all concepts pertaining to it. I imagine it will be a few AG batches before I have things settled in my head. But before I get any farther- I need to know...

1. Am I assuming that all malts are fully modified and sufficient for a singe infusion mash? I had thought that things like Pale malt and Morris Otter were really good base malts, and that most others needed a step infusion and protein rest. Now I'm inferring that unless otherwise specified, its basically all fully modified. I'm only talking base malt here....I know wheat and many adjuncts need other procedures.

2. I see both SS and Rubermaid Mash/later tons. I assume that for my early steps (single infusion mash) the rubermaid stuff with be enough. Does the SS hold heat as well? I can't see how it would. But I can see how you could bring mashes to different temps' without having to add small amounts of very hot water, etc. What are the pro's and con's to each?

All feedback is very appreciated!

 

[Got Trub?]

Modern base malts are fully modified and single step infusion mash works fine for most beers. Thats not to say that there is no longer a role for decoction mashing or step mashing just that you can make great beer without the additional steps.

A Rubbermaid MLT works great for single step infusion mashes. It is cheaper and holds heat better. If you want to do step mashing with the rubbermaid you will need to have some way to add heat. You can do decoction (alot of work) or build a steam infusion set-up or set up a RIMS with a hot liquor tank. Using a stainless MLT will need to be insulated or have a RIMS setup to keep it at your desired mash temp.

GT