horsepowerwhisperer
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- Jul 18, 2016
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Here's something I've never quite understood about mashing. Going in lower activates beta amylase and gives you more fermentable sugars. Going in higher activates more alpha amylase and gives you more dextrins and unfermentables. So, if you do a step mash with a rest at, say, 145, then ramp it up to maybe 156, is it possible to "use up" most of the starches during the beta phase before the second rest? Or are the starches they work on completely independent? If the former, does it make sense to mash in with base malts at a lower temp, then add specialty grains at the higher rest to effectively save the starches for the alpha stage?