Mashing

[DudeBrew]

Here is my next question again part 2, when my buddies and I brewed two weekends ago. I noticed that my buddy who decided to step mash, took forever to sparge, not to mention our mash tun would clog up and stop the flow. We used the same tank to mash for both step mash and single infusion. What made his batch clog compared to our two batches that never had a flowing issue. Was it because when he stepped mashed, his temperatures got to high and the grains themselves started to break down and clogged our false bottom? Lets put it this way, it looked like bowl of thick oatmeal, so thick it really looked like the grains started to break down and turn to soup.

 

[suprchunk]

Were the recipes the same and the mashing method just the only different factor?

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Yep, more information needed.............

 

[DudeBrew]

Well they were actually two different recipes but, I didn't think that the grain bill would have anything to do with it because we brewed two other different recipes in the same mash tun but never had problems. We brewed a stout using single infusion. A Scottish Ale using single infusion, but the IPA was step mash, and was also step mashed in a separate vessel. Then transferred into the mash tun to sparge, did that have anything to do with it? I know I did read somewhere that at a certain temperature, the grains themselves begin to break down. Would that make a grain bed thick and hard to sparge? It did look pretty thick and I'm curious to know if anyone has stepped mash before, and if so, did you ever have a situation like this? Personally I'm not concerned on the quality of the beer, because I think it came out just fine. I just want to improve our methods to a point where we are consistent on our brews.