Michaelinwa
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- Joined
- Feb 18, 2015
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Ok, this is probably a dumb idea, but....
As I gear up for my first all grain (millet) mash, I seem to be pondering ways to EASILY deal with the fact the millet gelatinizes at a higher temperature than the enzymes like. Now, I'll probably just try a single infusion that holds the temperature at around 158F, along with some alpha amylase for a couple hours, because clearly it works (or does for some, anyway).
BUT, what if I did a bastardized decoction thing where I hold the grain at say 155F for a while, skim off the thin liquid and put it aside, bring the grain above 164F to gelatinize for a while, cool the grain back down to 155F or so, add back the thin liquid (warmed to about 155F) that I skimmed off, thrown some alpha amylase, and them mash for however long it takes to convert the grain.
I know there are no rests, and all that stuff that I'm unlikely to ever fool around with and do not understand (and I suspect may be a whole different ball game with millet v.s. barley because they are so different), but would my idea be any worse than a straight one-step infusion to high 150s? Would I be killing off enzymes or whatever in the grain (heated to 164f) that still need to be in there working?
If you think this has potential, any thoughts on time needed for gelatinization? Time needed to let thin liquid with enzymes develop prior to heating the grains to 165?
Another idea was to just heat up a portion of the grain, say one-third of it, to gelatinize, and add it back into the mash so that at least there are more available starches (at least in theory).
Thanks for any input on this. If you think it has potential, I'll let you know how it goes.
Mike
As I gear up for my first all grain (millet) mash, I seem to be pondering ways to EASILY deal with the fact the millet gelatinizes at a higher temperature than the enzymes like. Now, I'll probably just try a single infusion that holds the temperature at around 158F, along with some alpha amylase for a couple hours, because clearly it works (or does for some, anyway).
BUT, what if I did a bastardized decoction thing where I hold the grain at say 155F for a while, skim off the thin liquid and put it aside, bring the grain above 164F to gelatinize for a while, cool the grain back down to 155F or so, add back the thin liquid (warmed to about 155F) that I skimmed off, thrown some alpha amylase, and them mash for however long it takes to convert the grain.
I know there are no rests, and all that stuff that I'm unlikely to ever fool around with and do not understand (and I suspect may be a whole different ball game with millet v.s. barley because they are so different), but would my idea be any worse than a straight one-step infusion to high 150s? Would I be killing off enzymes or whatever in the grain (heated to 164f) that still need to be in there working?
If you think this has potential, any thoughts on time needed for gelatinization? Time needed to let thin liquid with enzymes develop prior to heating the grains to 165?
Another idea was to just heat up a portion of the grain, say one-third of it, to gelatinize, and add it back into the mash so that at least there are more available starches (at least in theory).
Thanks for any input on this. If you think it has potential, I'll let you know how it goes.
Mike
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