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Blending mashes with grains at different temps vs step mash

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b1v1r

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I am a bit new to all grain brewing, so I tend to overthink things a bit, but I am having a hell of a lot of fun with it :)

I am looking at doing some experimenting with accentuating a given grain. One of the things I have been wanting to try is doing a single grain mash (the grain I want to accentuate) at a much higher temperature and then blending this with another lower temperature mash with various other grains from the bill. The idea being that the grain I want to accentuate will have a higher amount of non-fermentable sugars than the others in the grain bill.

For example, I love the character of German Munich Malt. However, I would like a dryer beer with a big Munich Malt character. When keeping with a lower mash temperature I seem to be missing out on the Munich Malt character I am after, but get the dryness. Raise the mash temperature and I get the character I want, but not the dryness. Raise the amount of Munich Malt and I just get too much alcohol. I have also tries Melanoidin, which helps, but definitely gives a distinct "melanoidin" character. (Side note: one other option I considered is just adding some simple sugars to get better attenuation and dryness - but that seems it would still give me too much ABV and this is another experiment, heh).

Any thoughts on if mashing a specific grain at a higher temp and blending will work to give me this accentuation?

Anyone tried something like this?

Another issue is I use an all-in-one (mash tun is my kettle with recirculation), so blending two mashes is somewhat problematic without having to have another container (a separate kettle). However, I was thinking about doing a mash out in between the two mashes to deal with this. For example, could I mash most gains at lower temp (146F), raise to 170F for 20m as a mash out to destroy the enzymes, then lower to higher mash temp (158F) for a Munich Malt only second mash while still recirculating everything? Or maybe the reverse of that?

Cheers!
 
Seems like allot of hassle, why not just up the percentage of the grain you like. Instead of 70% Munich 30 % others, up it to 80%
 
I made this experiment last weekend with the Carlsbergs clone I found here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=208040. I took 2/3 of malt bill in 16 liters (4,2 gallons) of water in 70°C (158°F), mash 40min, then cooled with 8 liters (2,1 gallons) to 62°C (144°F) and added the last 1/3. After that, I mash as I normally do.

Have tried decoction few times with the same recipe and are satisfied with the result. But wondered whether it would make any difference if the mashing was done as you suggest.

The efficiency became 100%, but if the beer will ferment to estimated FG I don´t know. Yeast is added and fermentation lock bubbling nicely.

Thinking about maybe adding 0.5kg honey I pasteurized before. Ferments as it intended, then FG will land on 1.006 but then the beer probably becomes a little dry and a taste of honey might help.
 
It is the best beer that I have brewed! The taste is crisp and clean and no of flavour at all. I added the honey and FG landed on 1.008 Very nice.

After this I have brewed a Kingfisher clone the same way with ratio 1/4. But I can´t say if its the same result yet, it´s still in the fermenter. FG is 1.010 this time, most likely because I used flaked rice and not honey.

I will brew without honey this weekend to see if I can recreate the success.
 

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