• Welcome to the new forum! We upgraded our forum software with a host of new boards, capabilities and features. It is also more secure.
    Jump in and join the conversation! You can learn more about the upgrade and new features here.

Mash Out

john thorn

Apprentice
Joined
Dec 15, 2012
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
I am all grain brewing now having done about 5 batches using that approach. I see conflicting information regarding the value of a mash-out and in fact Beersmith says its not needed with the exception a few instances. In Beersmith, if i try to add a mash-out step to make a 5 gallon batch using the 10 gallon cooler system, the qty of boiling water to be added at that point to hit 170 F is so high I could never boil it off in any reasonable amount of time unless I cut the mash-in and sparge water volumes drastically. Anyone have any thoughts on the mash-out in general and how to use beer smith for this if I am doing something wrong? Thanks in advance...
 
I have found that mashing out greatly increases my efficiency.
Instead of adding hot water I use the decoction method where I remove an eyeballed third of the mash, bring it to a steady boil, then mix it back in.
This generally results in the entire mash being raised to the neighborhood of 170 degrees.
 
http://beersmith.com/blog/2011/12/22/beer-brewing-myths-holiday-episode-beersmith-podcast-29/

I like John Palmer's answer in this Beersmith podcast. He mentions how a lot of home brew techniques are derived from the commercial brewing industry where consistency is more important than in home brewing. For the big guys, transferring the wort from the mash to the lauter tun can take some time and may allow further enzymatic activity, potentially affecting the finished product. Therefor they perform the mash out step to halt the activity. In the podcast the general consensus is that for home brewing the mash out isn't necessary for most batches. I am still extract brewing due to lack of room for an all grain set up so I can't personally share any experience but this explanation stood out in my mind. Just thought I'd share.
 
I would't think you need to do a mash out if your doing a sparge, someone correct me if I wrong, but if you batch sparge, your going to be raising your grain bed temp to near 170 degrees and then draining, if your doing a continuous sparge I think the same would apply. I do no-sparge brewing so  :-\
 
Thanks to everyone who responded. More input to consider and work with!
 
Maine Homebrewer said:
I have found that mashing out greatly increases my efficiency.
Instead of adding hot water I use the decoction method where I remove an eyeballed third of the mash, bring it to a steady boil, then mix it back in.
This generally results in the entire mash being raised to the neighborhood of 170 degrees.

I bet the increase efficiency is due to the decoction exploding the grains rather than the "mash out".  Splitting hairs, perhaps.
 
I bet the increase efficiency is due to the decoction exploding the grains rather than the "mash out".

I thought it was because the heat made the sugars more easily washed off the grain, but I could be wrong. 
Either way it's how the makers of some of my favorite commercial brews do it, and it works, so why fix it?
 
Back
Top