A Multi-Rest Mash Somewhat Pointless?

[Brew_Meister_General]

When I received some feedback on my watery bitter (1.013, 3.3%) I knew the issue was my multi-rest mash schedule. After some reading I found that at the 40c rest, beta-glucans are degraded and their mouthfeel properties are lost.

Then there was the 58c rest (15 min) which supposedly breaks down large proteins whilst maintaining the level of medium ones due to the 2 different enzymes (protease and peptidase).

Does this sound correct?

Should I change to a 2-step or single infusion mash?

 

[JimRausch]

Well, it sounds like you have your answer. The lower temperature rests were necessary once upon a time because the quality of the malt was not as good as today. But, other than a ferrulic rest(can't remember the temp) for those special brews that require that flavor, go ahead and skip the lower temps. I do however sometimes do a beta rest at 143ish(Fahrenheit), and do a decoction up to alpha range(157ish). Usually for my Lagers and Alts. Regular ales I just go with a 1 step mash.

 

[ByramMike]

I had a similar experience with my multi-rest experiments. The higher multi-step mash rests are good... the 143*f - 145*f as JimRausch says are worthwhile for dryer beers. I'll do a 10 minute rest at 122*f with some wheat beers.

 

[RM-MN]

I had a similar experience with my multi-rest experiments. The higher multi-step mash rests are good... the 143*f - 145*f as JimRausch says are worthwhile for dryer beers. I'll do a 10 minute rest at 122*f with some wheat beers.

While there is some merit to the step mashes for the majority of beers the improvements in malting the grain have take most of that away and a single infusion will get you nearly the same results. Go ahead and make a pair of batches, one with a decoction and one with single infusion and see the difference for yourself.:rockin:

 

[daksin]

For a bitter, especially, I would suggest a single-infusion mash. There's no reason to do a multi-rest mash for such a simple beer. I mash mine at 160F for 30-40m to produce as unfermentable a wort as possible, as I like some sweetness left in my ordinary bitter (this may or may not be "to-style"). However, if you prefer a dryer bitter, a 154F mash for an hour will produce a lovely beer. Leave the other steps for your roggenbier and Bohemian Pilsner.

 

[hartlesj]

Should I change to a 2-step or single infusion mash?

If you haven't looked at these guys yet, check out the Brulosophy website. They do experiments and comparisons on this type of thing. Specifically what your asking is here:

http://brulosophy.com/2016/04/04/si...-brudragon-collaboration-exbeeriment-results/

Granted, it's only one beer, one style, and one grouping, but the results were interesting to me as I was looking into a RIMS system. Now I think I'll prioritize getting more fermenters and kegs. Eventually I'll get the RIMS because I have a hunch there are some beer types that benefit from multi-step mashes, but for now I'll just adjust the grain and hop profiles to accomplish what I want using a single step mash with a 170deg mashout. Oh, they also did a really interesting one on the mashout temp as well. I'm not going to be as concerned with hitting the 170 deg sparge water temp. (I fly sparge).

Steve