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Need help step mashing 50% rye

Brewmex41

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I am planning on brewing a beer with 50% malted rye.
Here is the grain bill for a 2.75g test batch.
3.5Lb Munich
3lb rye
6oz crystal rye.
6.88lb total grain bill.

So what i want to do is a step mash with a 20 min beta glucan rest at 104° then up to 154° for 60 min then mash out at 168°

So far i have this:
Heat 1.75 gallons to 112° and stir to settle at 104°
How do i go up to 154°? The 1.75 gal is 1qt per lb grain and i want to do my sacc rest at 1.5 qt per lb. Do i draw off wort and add water and boil to get up to 1.5qt per lb at 154°?

Brewer's friend infusion calculator says i will need 8.9qt at boiling to bring the temp from 104 to 154.
 
You're not going to gain anything from a glucan rest because there's none of that enzyme in your grain. Munich malt has barely enough Amylase in it to convert itself. You'll need at least 10% Pilsner or 6-row to make that mash easier to sparge.

You'll also need a generous amount of rice hulls for the mash.

With 20% malt in the mash, you can go to 2.0 to 2.5 qt/lb, without a loss of conversion. It seems thin, but it works in your favor with high glucan grains.
 
Munich has a DP of 40°L and rye has 105°L, plenty for conversion.
I am using a 5gal igloo cooler with a false bottom and a mesh bag to hold the grain in so i shouldnt have issues with sparging. I want to give the step mash a go to improve viscosity with that much rye malt as it will come out like goat snot otherwise and i read it should help improve extraction a tiny bit.
So i should just add enough hot water to go from the 104 to 154 then?
 
What I am having trouble understanding is how are you going to accomplish a step mash in a cooler?  How are you going to add heat to reach the next step?  Do a decoction?  With that much unhusked grain I would add rice hulls to assure a sprage.  What type of sparge are you planning


RYE MALT SPECS 
 
Brewmex41 said:
Munich has a DP of 40°L and rye has 105°L, plenty for conversion.

Conversion perhaps, but you said your goal was a beta glucan rest at 104F.  Does your grain bill provide the beta glucanase enzyme needed to achieve what you're setting out to do?  I think that was Brewfun's point.

And +1 on rice hulls to aid lautering.
 
decotion is your best option, but you can split it up, beta glucanase rest just the rye with a touch of 6 row or pilsener to get the enzymes, ramp that up for a sacc rest then decoct it and add it to your mash tun that was already mashing.  fyi, the rye will now look very very runny since it wont have the husks that the barley has...your mash will look very runny.... good luck
 
Hi brewmex41,

I don't know if you had your questions sufficiently answered, but briefly, I'd recommend:

No problems with conversion.  Malted rye can convert itself, as can Munich.
Your biggest issue with significant rye is sparging.  It's sticky, and it's easy to get a stuck mash.  Just get some rice hulls - add maybe 1/2 pound and you'll be set.
As for a step mash, most software will predict the needed temperature and quantity of heated water to add for a second step.  But really, you should be fine doing a single infusion.

Good luck!!
Ben
 
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