how often to stir your mash?

[narl79]

So ive heard so many stories on how often to stir the mash. Im doing all grain and I was taught to stir the mash just in the beginning and leave it alone the rest of the time. I just like to know your opinions because I dont think its good advice.

 

[tacks]

I always make sure that there are no dry pockets of grain, then stir for another minute or so to make sure heat is distributed evenly (no pockets of cold or hot mash) and then let it sit until it's time to Vorlauf. I stir a couple of times during sparge but nothing too major, just enough to move everything around.

 

[LoloMT7]

Yup I agree only stir the mash really well at the beginning and if you do that there is no need to stir it during the mash at all. IMO your only going to lose heat if you do that.

 

[stevehardt]

I agree, but be sure to really stir it well. Then let is sit

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I only stir at the start of the mash to get it to temp(my mash usually ends up 1-2 degree's high), then let it sit.

I also stir before i get my first runnings, then vorlauf, sparge and stir, vorlauf and done.

 

[rodwha]

I'm doing BIAB partial mashes and I find I have to stir often (15 mins?) to help regulate the temp. This is with the larger grain bills (up to 8.25 lbs in a 5 gal pot).

 

[opiate82]

Stir a bunch as I am mashing in, stir again when I sparge. Outside of that I don't crack open the mash tun at all. My efficiency exceeds 75% (when my grain mill gap is properly set, but that is another story) all the time.

 

[narl79]

so stiring during the sparge wont get tannins in my beer? I was told never to disturb it for that reason. Thats what didnt make any sense. Thank you guys for the.input I know what to do now.

 

[billl]

"so stiring during the sparge wont get tannins in my beer? I was told never to disturb it for that reason."

Not sure who told you that, but every major commercial brewery constantly stirs their mash. Keeping the mash moving keeps the whole thing uniform and maximizes your conversion.

For homebrewers, its a tradeoff. Opening the tun loses heat. Unless you can recirculate and maintain temp, you are adding an extra unknown variable to each batch.

 

[Beerzrus]

"so stiring during the sparge wont get tannins in my beer? I was told never to disturb it for that reason."

Not sure who told you that, but every major commercial brewery constantly stirs their mash. Keeping the mash moving keeps the whole thing uniform and maximizes your conversion.

For homebrewers, its a tradeoff. Opening the tun loses heat. Unless you can recirculate and maintain temp, you are adding an extra unknown variable to each batch.

Exactly; simple response.

 

[TrubDog]

Stir like crazy as I add the grain to the 168 degree H2O, place the floating thermometer, set timer for 30 minutes, check temp and stir it up again, sparge at 60 minutes. Stir throughout sparging. Get 85% + efficiency. I Mill at 35 thousands.

Good Stuff!

 

[rhys333]

I'm doing BIAB partial mashes and I find I have to stir often (15 mins?) to help regulate the temp. This is with the larger grain bills (up to 8.25 lbs in a 5 gal pot).

Rodwha, I'm just getting into BIAB partial mash and recently did about 5.5 lbs in a 5 gal pot. I sparged with a strainer on top of the pot and figured the amount of grain was about as much as I could comfortably handle without making a mess or compromising the sparge efficiency. How does it go for you with 8.25 lbs? Interested to know your technique...

 

[Calichusetts]

I mash in the oven and find my temp rises 1-2 degrees over an hour (I know...opposite problem of everyone else) so I take it out once or twice and stir to lower it a little and ensure everything is even and uniform

 

[fmr_army]

I can't stand to leave my mash alone, so I stir every fifteen minutes or so. I don't lose that much heat and would prefer to make sure that the enzymes and heat pockets are well distibuted. I also screw with my fireplace almost constantly, but that's another story.

My take away from all these answers is that it's really up to you. Neither way is perfect, nothing is bad - as long as your temps are correct, you have the proper mash stiffness, and everything is wetted through.

Tannins are only extracted (as I understand) when the pH is too high (that is, not acid enough) and the water is too hot. The general consensus is sparging with water below 170 degrees (or is it 180?) will prevent tannin extraction. I personally batch sparge with near-boiling water to which I add 1/4 tsp of lactic acid per 5 gallons. Never had a tannin problem.

 

[tacks]

so stiring during the sparge wont get tannins in my beer? I was told never to disturb it for that reason. Thats what didnt make any sense. Thank you guys for the.input I know what to do now.

Stirring has nothing to do with it, just keep your sparge temp under 170F

 

[tnsen]

I brew in a bag...so I stir every 15 minutes...the beauty of it is , if I lose heat (witch i hardly ever do)...I just flame on a bit...cheers

 

[finsfan]

I batch sparge in a cooler, stir like crazy during intiatial mash in, then stir right before I vorlauf and get 1st runnings

 

[PRE66_6TART]

I err on the high side with my strike temp so I can stir like crazy at the beginning, which lowers the temp a bit, then I leave it alone until it's done.

 

[mattd2]

... Stir throughout sparging. Get 85% + efficiency...

Just so I understand you correct - you stir while you a sparging or your stir/vorlauf/runoff/add sparge water/stir/vorlauf...?
If it is the first don't you get really hazy wort/beer?

 

[IL1kebeer]

I stir really well at mash in, once every 20 mins, and once before mashout. No temperature loss problems and 80%eff. It works for me so I continue to do it, but I wouldn't be surprised if I could get away with not stirring as much. My reasoning behind it is to make sure that there aren't any hot or cold spots. I know this happens on my system because I see it when I stick a thermometer in different areas of the mash, but when I stir it evens out for awhile.

 

[LuNchBoX1371]

stir/varlouf/runoff/add sparge water/stir/varlouf...?

What varlouf?

 

[finsfan]

What varlouf?

you tube it. It is a simple step where you take the first 1/2 gallon or so and recirculate it back into the mash so to keep the wort clear. It really does do quite a bit to help keep your beer clean.

 

[mattd2]

What varlouf?

Damn german words!

 

[VonAle]

I batch sparge in a cooler, stir like crazy during intiatial mash in, then stir right before I vorlauf and get 1st runnings

Curious why the stir right before vorlauf. Doesn't that kind of "muddy" the waters for the run off ?

 

[mattd2]

Curious why the stir right before vorlauf. Doesn't that kind of "muddy" the waters for the run off ?

The Vorlauf is to clear the wort. With the first portion returned to the top of the mash that leaves clear(er) wort left to be run off - i.e. the vorlauf is done in this case for the exact reason to remove the "muddyness"... if that made sense

 

[VonAle]

The Vorlauf is to clear the wort. With the first portion returned to the top of the mash that leaves clear(er) wort left to be run off - i.e. the vorlauf is done in this case for the exact reason to remove the "muddyness"... if that made sense

I get that, but after 60 min rest, the grain bed is mostly set. Why stir it up again.

 

[finsfan]

I get that, but after 60 min rest, the grain bed is mostly set. Why stir it up again.

I find that most of the grain settles to the bottom after 60 minutes and leaves a think layer of "wort" on top of said grain. It just seems easier and faster to remove all that wort after stirring it up again. It normally only takes 1/2 gallon to vorlauf and have clear wort coming out after stirring right before vorlauf so it really doesnt hurt much at all, just helps to drain faster

 

[JuanMoore]

I get that, but after 60 min rest, the grain bed is mostly set. Why stir it up again.

If you fly sparge, there's no need to stir before/during the sparge. If you're batch sparging, stirring is the primary mechanism that gets the sugars off of the grains and into the sparge water to be collected. Without stirring the sparge water in thoroughly, you'll get terrible lauter efficiency.

 

[mattd2]

I get that, but after 60 min rest, the grain bed is mostly set. Why stir it up again.

My take is the grain bed is not set until you start running wort through it (like you would set the filter bed of a sand filter in a pool). After a 60 minute mash there will be proteins/etc. coming out the start of the first runnings that didn't get "stuck" in the filterbed of husks as they only had a short distance to flow out the MLT.
Next time you lauter drain off the 2 lots of 1/2 gallons and compare the muddyness of them and what you eventually drain into the kettle.

 

[mattd2]

If you fly sparge, there's no need to stir before/during the mash. If you're batch sparging, stirring is the primary mechanism that gets the sugars off of the grains and into the sparge water to be collected. Without stirring the sparge water in thoroughly, you'll get terrible lauter efficiency.

Did you mean lauter/sparge not mash in the first senteance? To my knowledge you want to stir at the beginning of the mash to make sure you have no doughballs.

 

[JuanMoore]

Did you mean lauter/sparge not mash in the first senteance? To my knowledge you want to stir at the beginning of the mash to make sure you have no doughballs.

Yes, sorry. Edited.

 

[mattd2]

Yes, sorry. Edited.

Good to know I haven't had it completely wrong all this time