National Homebrew Club Ireland

Brewing Discussions => All Grain Brewing => Topic started by: Oh Crap on April 27, 2015, 03:16:06 PM

Title: Mash time question
Post by: Oh Crap on April 27, 2015, 03:16:06 PM
Howya
I'm doing a simple lager on wed
4.0kg lager malt
0.5kg flaked rice
25g saaz
For the life of me I can't remember why I plugged in a 90min mash
Any reason to do such a long mash or will I just stick to 60?

I'm also planing a 90 min boil
Yeast is s-23 fermented at 10c until 75% fermented
D rest at 16 for 3-4 days
Dropped back to 1-2 c until fermentation complete
Prime and rack to keg until August
Also using bottled water for this one
Anyone see any issue before I plow on 😀


Title: Re: Mash time question
Post by: DEMPSEY on April 27, 2015, 04:04:23 PM
Remember why you mash in the first place. The grains will have within them starch and enzymes and so adding the water and setting the mix to settle at around 66/67 Celsius will dissolve the starch and release the enzymes,this will then allow the enzymes to go about their business of converting the starch into more manageable sugars for the yeast to be able to work on. This can all be done by about 30 minutes or so but by leaving it longer you allow the Beta amylase to work on converting more sugars to Maltose. Many brewers do not deal with PH and although your grains will bring down water PH it often does not bring it down enough so the shorter mash time and higher PH can first favour Alpha amylase which will produce Dextrins. Time gives you a better balanced wort with the right blend of Dextrins and Maltose sezzez's :)   
Title: Re: Mash time question
Post by: Parky on April 27, 2015, 04:14:58 PM
My two cents -

Re: the 90 minute mash - is it possible you factored in a 30 minute protein rest in addition to the 60 minutes of your regular mash schedule? If you're mashing at lower temps this will require a longer mash also.

Anyways, no harm in a longer mash for a lager - it can only increase the fermentability of your wort, lightening the body of the beer - but depends what you're aiming at really.

90 minute boil looks perfect, but I would use a hop with a higher AA% for bittering (if I remember correctly Saaz is about 3-4% - so you'll need quite a bit). Depends what you have to hand, but I find Magnum a nice clean bittering hop.

Hope that helps  ;)
Title: Re: Mash time question
Post by: Oh Crap on April 27, 2015, 04:47:50 PM
Quote from: Parky on April 27, 2015, 04:14:58 PM
My two cents -

Re: the 90 minute mash - is it possible you factored in a 30 minute protein rest in addition to the 60 minutes of your regular mash schedule? If you're mashing at lower temps this will require a longer mash also.

Anyways, no harm in a longer mash for a lager - it can only increase the fermentability of your wort, lightening the body of the beer - but depends what you're aiming at really.

90 minute boil looks perfect, but I would use a hop with a higher AA% for bittering (if I remember correctly Saaz is about 3-4% - so you'll need quite a bit). Depends what you have to hand, but I find Magnum a nice clean bittering hop.

Hope that helps  ;)
Cheers parky
Aiming for a bland bud/Miller style for a party in August. So was trying to keep it around 11 ibu
Title: Re: Mash time question
Post by: Oh Crap on April 27, 2015, 05:21:15 PM
Sorry Dempsey didn't see your reply.

I was going to mash for 75 @ 64.4 then a 15 min rise to 75.5 for mash out. That much I remember
So the longer mash will lighten the final product
How do temps Sound?
Title: Re: Mash time question
Post by: nigel_c on April 27, 2015, 05:33:53 PM
Wouldn't say that. You can only convert so much. Once it's done that's it.
All depends on what you want out of it. 60 and 75 mins mash is enough I find. For your budmillbrew I would go around 64 for 60 mins. Low mash to meet the body down.
Title: Re: Mash time question
Post by: DEMPSEY on April 27, 2015, 05:42:28 PM
Yes as has being said it is not a simple rule of thumb that you take it longer and get it lighter as when the full conversion is done it is done. Factors like temp of mash throughout will have influence but a shorter time less than 60 minutes with a high PH and dryer mash will favour Alpha amylase.
Title: Re: Mash time question
Post by: abrooney on April 27, 2015, 09:06:14 PM
So if brewing an ale, would you stick to 60 mins? Or would it benefit from a longer mash time?


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Title: Re: Mash time question
Post by: Dr Jacoby on April 27, 2015, 09:19:55 PM
Most modern malts convert incredibly quickly once you keep the temp between 60-70C. I wouldn't rest at any temp longer than 60 minutes unless I really thought it was necessary - for example, some people think a 90 minute mash at low temps (say, 63C) is necessary to achieve the right kind of body in light America lagers.

If your mash involves multiple rests then of course your overall mash time will be longer but this is mainly because of the time it takes to heat the mash up at each step.

For pale ales 60 minutes is more than enough (assuming you hold the mash at the right temperature) 
Title: Re: Mash time question
Post by: abrooney on April 27, 2015, 09:45:14 PM
Thanks!


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