Mashing in the full saccrification range

[donovanneb]

I've searched everywhere and I couldn't find anything with my goggle gymnastics. I've always been curious about the flowing:

Mashing in the saccrification range < 150 you will get a drier/lighter beer
Mashing in the range 150-156 you will get a medium bodied beer
Mashing in the saccrification range > 156 you will get a sweeter / full bodied beer

1) What if you start your mash at 160 and over 60 minutes it goes down to 146, what character beer will you get?
2) What if you repeated #1 and heated the MLT back up to 160 and let it fall back down to 146, what character will you get going three time through the cycle?

Thanks.

 

[KeystoneHomebrew]

1) The first minute or two of the mash while the temp drops after strike are (basically) meaningless. Where it spends the first 20-30 minutes is what counts.

2) See #1. With today's modified malts, that kind of step mash would only waste your time and energy. You would get more sugar raising your sparge temp to about 180-185F than that mashing regiment.

 

[jtratcliff]

see this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/mashing-decreasing-range-temperature-405590/

short answer seems to be that you risk denaturing the beta amylase

from How to Brew:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14-5.html

The temperature most often quoted for mashing is about 153°F. This is a compromise between the two temperatures that the two enzymes favor. Alpha works best at 154-162°F, while beta is denatured (the molecule falls apart) at that temperature, working best between 131-150°F.

 

[Andrikos]

Mashing high doesn't necessarily mean "sweeter". This is a common misnomer.

It means more dextrins that are only slightly sweet and contribute to the body of the beer.
Yes, it will likely finish at a higher gravity than when mashing lower but that doesn't mean it will be "sweet".

"Sweetness" is mostly function of Attenuation. I.e. did you pitch the right yeast amount in perfect health at the right temp profile?

 

[donovanneb]

Andrikos - sweeter was only meant as sweeter relative to the other temp ranges, not sweet as in you'll have a beer that tastes like honey. So "sweeter" is correct in relative terms, just like lighter, you won't have a light beer like a Corona light if you mash in lower temps, but relative to the other ranges you will have a lower FG, thus a drier / lighter beer.

jtratcliff - thanks, glad I wasn't the only one.