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I'm planning a Wheat IPA with 42% malted wheat in the grain bill. Is it normal to do the protein rest on the entire grain bill even if only some of the grains in the bill (i.e. the wheat) benefit from it? Or is it okay or recommended to just do the protein rest on the grains that need it?

I'm doing BIAB and it would save some time if I did the protein rest of just the wheat grain separately in a smaller pot while I bring the remainder of the water up to strike temp for the main mash.

I'm concerned about doing it on the entire grain bill after reading in Mosher's Mastering Homebrew (p. 123):

"With modern malt, not only are protein rests usually unnecessary, but they can be harmful to beer, breaking up the mid-length proteins the maltster worked so hard to obtain."

With malted wheat being the exception since:

"If its long proteins are not broken up in the mash, they clump together and fall out of the beer rather than staying and providing an attractive haze. So, it is beneficial to use a protein rest in any beer with more than about 15% wheat in the grist."

Recipe for reference:

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  • Why do you think a protein rest is even necessary?
    – Denny Conn
    Aug 18, 2016 at 16:33
  • @DennyConn see end of the question. Basically Mosher recommends it in a couple of places in his books to retain haze, improve efficiency and flavour. Last two he only offers anecdotal hearsay though. Interested in any thoughts. Aug 19, 2016 at 9:10
  • I disagree with Randy...it's that simple.
    – Denny Conn
    Aug 22, 2016 at 14:57

2 Answers 2

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I tried wheat and rye only twice. First time I put all my grain thorough beta-glucan and protein rests. There was little to no foam. Second time, I did it only on unmalted grain, malted rye and malted wheat, adding barley later. And it worked like a charm. And maybe it's only placebo effect, but I think it tasted better.

Grain is relatively cheap. If you have time, brew two batches. One with all grist going thorough all rests, second with only wheat and unmalted ones going thorough protein rest. That way, you will know from your own experience, and that's a really good thing.

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I would do the whole grist as part of the rest. Just make sure your bag is not touching the bottom when you heat up the mash. There shouldn't be a problem

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  • Thanks, just updated the question to elaborate my main concern. Do you know if it's a problem doing a protein rest on modern non-wheat malts? Aug 15, 2016 at 2:50

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