Questions tagged [mash]
A mixture of water and crushed grains (usually malted) in which enzymes convert complex carbohydrates into simpler sugars that can be utilized by yeast during fermentation.
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Small Space & Apartment Brewing: Mashing
Given the limited space of an apartment, how do you mash in cramped quarters?
Do not consider budget to be a factor.
This is the second question in a series of discussions about small-space brewing. ...
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Is the iodine test for starch conversion pointless?
Looking around the web there seems to be a lot of mention of the use of the iodine (starch) test at the end of your mash. Is it actually useful (i.e. is it reliable)? There have been times when I ...
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Can I skip the mash out replacing it by sparging?
I'm a new homebrewer and have a newbie question: can I skip the mash out time just replacing it by sparging since the water temperature is the same? What kind of things can happen doing this?
Thanks!
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Should the grain or strike water be added to the mash tun first?
I've always added my grain to my MLT cooler first, then dumped the strike water on top (I don't have a sparge arm). I calculate my strike temps based on the grain temp and initial cooler temp, so I ...
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Over attenuated all grain beers
I'm having a problem with all my beers regardless of style getting over attenuated. I've been raising my mash temps up to 4° above each beers style (up to 158° or so) to compensate with no luck. I've ...
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How can I raise my mash pH with something other than chalk or baking soda?
I recently moved to Rhode Island and my mash efficiency has suffered. The main part of my process that has changed is the water. The pH as measured by colorpHast strips (and two other off brands) ...
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Preventing a Stuck Sparge
What steps pre-mash can be taken to limit the likelihood of a stuck sparge?
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Safely adding enzymes (e.g. Beano) to lower final gravity
I've heard a lot of mixed stories about people adding additional enzymes (Beano, GasX, etc) to their beers to drop the final gravity down very (sometimes undesirably) low. I've also hear mixed ideas ...
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Using flakes in a mash
Do you just mix them with the grains or cook them first to get them gelatinized? What are the pros and cons of each method? What portion of the fermentables can be in flake form?
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Converting your fermentation bucket into a mash tun
Most people use coolers for mash tuns, but living in an apartment myself I can tell that having the least possible equipment is a priority. I know some people use their secondary fermenters as mash ...
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How does efficiency change when adding grains that are normally steeped to a mash?
Imagine this scenario: you have a an extract recipe that contains a pound of steeped caramel malt. According to http://www.promash.com/FAQ/faq_diff.html the average efficiency of steeped malts is ...
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Importance of Mash and Sparge Water Volumes using Batch Sparge
I'm new to all grain brewing and one of the things I haven't been able to find much information on is the importance of water volumes for the mash and sparge steps.
There are a lot of calculators ...
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What Calcium ppm is required in the mash for alpha-amylase stability and mash efficiency?
I recently moved and my water here is quite soft with a very low pH. As such, I've taken to adding many of my brewing salts in the brew kettle and only using salts in the mash to balance the pH.
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When should you treat your water for pH for a sour beer?
According to this question's answer, from Denny Conn,
You don't pretreat the water because it's the mash pH you're concerned with, not the water pH.
And this agrees with this article on the power ...
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When should you measure and adjust mash pH?
I am getting ready for my first all-grain batch. I got a copy of my township's water report and sat down to use it in conjunction with the graphs in How to Brew to determine what colors of beer I can ...
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What is the basic reason for step mashing?
I've brewed all grain for a couple years now, using a single infusion mash. I intend on researching at length, but I can't seem to find the simple answer to what step mashes are useful for.
What are ...
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Is this a stuck fermentation or did I screw up the mash?
So, a little under a week ago, I brewed a goodly sized stout (1.069 OG) and when I mashed it I ended up missing my mash temp by about 4 degrees. (I was aiming for 158 and ended up with about 162-163.) ...
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Poor mash efficiency - help please
I am a few all-grain brews in using the Robobrew (poor mans Grainfather) and they have actually turned out great!. One thing I haven't been able to figure out though is how to improve efficiency. ...
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Mashing bag problem
I tried for the first time using the BIAB method and ran into a big problem with the mashing bag.
I placed all the ingredients (9lbs of different grains) in the mashing bag without thinking of the ...
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Can boiling the entire mash achieve results similar to decoction?
With an automated mash setup, it could be fairly easy to bring the mash to a boil and cool it. I'm wondering if this could be used to replicate the results of a decoction.
If mash thickness is ...
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Looking for ways to reduce trub
More specifically:
Some time ago I switched from fly sparge to batch sparge. My motivation was that I noticed quite a bit of channeling on deeper grain beds with the fly sparge. Batch is quicker and ...
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Does oxydation contribute to the acidicity of raw pressed apple juice?
When mashing apples with a rotary masher, the mash and juice gets quite oxygenated.
Does this contribute to the acidicity of the raw apple juice?
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What's the minimum mash time?
Listening to an episode of Basic Brewing last night, I heard a guest say that most of the conversion in the mash happens in the first half, and that the mash can thus be cut down as short at 45 ...
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