I’ve read it before, but until recently I never thought it relevant to my brewing…the notion that your mash time will effect the attenuation (fermentability) of your wort.
I’m here to tell you it makes a huge difference. Recently I’ve taken to doing 90 minute mash times as a normal course. A few reasons:
Since doing these longer mashes, I’ve noticed that my beers are over attenuating like crazy. Where one batch of Kona pale ale finished at 1.012 in December, my last (identical) batch finished at…1.005. Only difference was my mash time. It has just taken me a few batches (4 in a row) that came in under 1.010 to put 2 and 2 together.
To me, this is empirical evidence that longer mashes cause higher attenuation.
I like to brew lighter beers so this attenuation isn’t a big issue for my blondes, wits and other “crisp” beers. But for malty Pales, Octoberfests, Munich Helles, Ambers and English Ales, this could make the beers too dry for the desired style.
Between improving my efficiency using a batch/fly hybrid sparge, longer mashes and lower final gravities, I’m going to have to reformulate some of my recipes. My 4.5% beers are becoming 5.6% beers.
So…..
If you’ve been plagued by beers that just won’t drop below the 1.018 (ish) mark, try adding 20-30 minutes to your mash times and see if that helps. Or…if your big pale ales are just too dry and not malty enough, reduce your mash times by 20 minutes and see if that doesn’t produce more unfermentable sugars.
I’m here to tell you it makes a huge difference. Recently I’ve taken to doing 90 minute mash times as a normal course. A few reasons:
- It seems to help my efficiency.
- My targeted OG’s seem more consistent and predictable.
- And just as important…it allows me time to go take a nap.
Since doing these longer mashes, I’ve noticed that my beers are over attenuating like crazy. Where one batch of Kona pale ale finished at 1.012 in December, my last (identical) batch finished at…1.005. Only difference was my mash time. It has just taken me a few batches (4 in a row) that came in under 1.010 to put 2 and 2 together.
To me, this is empirical evidence that longer mashes cause higher attenuation.
I like to brew lighter beers so this attenuation isn’t a big issue for my blondes, wits and other “crisp” beers. But for malty Pales, Octoberfests, Munich Helles, Ambers and English Ales, this could make the beers too dry for the desired style.
Between improving my efficiency using a batch/fly hybrid sparge, longer mashes and lower final gravities, I’m going to have to reformulate some of my recipes. My 4.5% beers are becoming 5.6% beers.
So…..
If you’ve been plagued by beers that just won’t drop below the 1.018 (ish) mark, try adding 20-30 minutes to your mash times and see if that helps. Or…if your big pale ales are just too dry and not malty enough, reduce your mash times by 20 minutes and see if that doesn’t produce more unfermentable sugars.