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Mashing & Sparging

Mashing Basics

Foreword

In order to make beer from grain you have to use a process called Mashing & Sparging. Most people seem to think that this is only for expert brewers and requires lots of expensive equipment. Hopefully, I can convince you that this is just a myth and in reality it is an easy process, which can be accomplished on a relatively low budget. Beer has been made in this way for Centuries so in our modern world we really should be able to achieve this with ease.

Mashing - What does this mean?

Basically, the process of Mashing is the way that we extract sugars from grain. There are some very complex reactions going on when we Mash but do not concern yourself we these. The basic process involves soaking the grains in water at a set temperature for a period of time. The result is a liquid, which contains sugars and will immediately look like beer. That's it, simple, just read the detailed section on mashing below to find out the temperatures and timings you need.


Equipment Required

OK, you will need some additional equipment but this is not necessarily expensive. So what will you need?

See the Equipment Page for further details.

What Ingredients go into the Mash?

Not all the ingredients that you will add to your brew need to be added into the Mash, some need to be added to the boiling phase. As a general rule, grains go in the Mash whereas Hops and Sugars go into the boil.

Some examples of what goes into the Mash:

Mashing Process in More Detail

As already discussed above, Mashing is the process of converting the grain into sugars and then extracting these to create the Wort (the stuff you ferment). We will now discuss this in more detail to ensure that some of the more practical concepts can be mastered. A good place to start may be the Summer Lightning Project page, here you will find a step by step example of how to Mash with pictures of the process.

Mash Efficiency

You will see reference in recipe's and text books to Mash Efficiency. This just refers to the amount of sugars or final gravity we can expect from a given volume of grain. Most equipment will achieve around 75% efficiency but some people will attain 80%. Beyond 80% can only really be achieved in a laboratory so just work to the standard 75% assumed in most recipes. If your process is inefficient and you end up with a figure of say 65%, this is not a problem it just means you will have a lower original gravity. This can be compensated on your next brew by by using more grain or trying to improve your efficiency. Most recipes will state what the expected Original Gravity should be, so you can compare this to what you actually attain.

Water Treatment

This is only really for the advanced brewer, so do not worry about this. You will also see reference to water treatment under "Mash PH", another advanced topic. Both of these elements can be ignored without having significant impact on the finished beer. I did not attempted to treat any of the water that I have been using for brewing for many years and have had successful results. I have now started to try and make some adjustments to my water, see the Water Treatment page for more details.

Mash Temperature

We will discuss the British infusion Mash, which is a single temperature Mash. There are other methods, which involve a stepped temperature Mash but these are usually used for making Lagers and I will not cover this aspect of mashing here.

The temperature of the Mash is the single most important factor in Mashing Grain. Don't let this put you off as it is fairly easy to adjust the mash temperature by adding cold or hot water in the first 15 minutes. If you have a good Mash Tun you will find that once you have got the temperature correct, it will remain within 1C throughout the process.

The temperature range used for an infusion mashing is between 60C to 70C but most recipes will stipulate 65C or 66C. If you struggle with temperature control during a Mash but manage to keep between 60-70C you will still produce beer, so relax and don't get stressed if you are 2C off the recipe temperature.

The temperature of the Mash will determine the type of beer that is produced. There are two types of sugars produced by the mash, Maltose and Dextrins. Maltose is 100% fermentable whereas the Dextins consist of slow and non fermenting sugars. A typical beer will have about 2/3 Maltose but the ratio of Maltose to Dextrins can be controlled by the mash temperature as follows:

Any good beer will need to have a good balance of these two sugars, so we would not Mash at either of the two temperatures indicated above. In order to get the balance right we would Mash somewhere in the middle of these temperatures, which would be 65C or 66C. This does give us scope for tailoring our beers, so don't be too scared to experiment with temperature.

Strike Heat

The key to a successful Mash is obtaining the temperature that your recipe requires as quickly as possible. When you add water at a set temperature to your Mash Tun and Grain, there are many factors that will affect the resulting temperature of your Mash. These will include the following:

To ensure that your Mash ends up with the correct temperature, say 66C, we need to calculate what the "Stike Heat" should be. This is the temperature the water should be when we add to the Mash Tun & the grain. Obviously, combining a volume of Water and Grain in your Mash Tun, there will be a sizeable drop in the temperature. If you search the internet you will find tools for calculating Strike Heat but in practice this is really down to trial and error.

The best way to manage this is as follows:

If you have used the Liquor to Grain ratio detailed below you should find that a Stike Heat of 72C will always work well. However, this does depend on your equipment, so some trial and error may be required. Remember to always keep a note of the strike heat and any adjustments that you had to make. This way you can keep adjusting your strike heat for future brews, until you get it spot on.

Mash Liquor (Hot Water)

How much water should we use for the Mash? This is sometimes specified in the Recipe and can have a small effect on the outcome of the beer. A thick Mash (less water) will produce a beer with lower fermentable sugars, resulting in more mouth feel and a sweeter taste. A thinner Mash (more water) can produce a beer of higher fermentability, which can result in a dryer beer. However, the effect is fairly small, so do not get overly concerned about this. Concentrate on getting you Mash Mash temperature correct , which is much more important.

As a guide we should expect to use 2.5 litres of Mash liquor per Kilogram of Grist (grain) for good results. One other point to bear in mind is how much dead space you have in your Mash Tun. You will need to add this volume to your Mash Liquor volume calculated.

Mash Time

A British infusion Mash typically lasts 1 Hour 30 Minutes. The sweetness of the final beer can be controlled by the length of the Mash time so some recipes will specify a Mash time of up to 2 hours 30 minutes. The longer the Mash time the dryer the resultant beer will become. Mashing for an excessive amount of time will start to extract Tannins from the grain, which will introduce some undesirable flavours.

I have to say that almost all recipes I have read or used will specify the normal 1 hour 30 minutes.

Mash PH

The PH of the Mash should only be considered by the advanced brewer. For all of us normal beer drinking folk, we can ignore this concept. If you do want to consider Mash PH then you will need some litmus paper in order to check the PH, which should be around 5.3 for perfect results. The way to adjust PH is normally done by water treatments pre-mash.

If you want to venture further into this topic then it is probably best to read one of the published books available. Graham Wheeler's "Home Brewing" is a good place to start. Alternatively, take a look at my Water Treatment page, it has the basic water treatment concepts, which will help you get your PH levels correct but a fair bit of trial and error is also required. The best way to get your PH level correct is to treat your water pre-mash rather than trying to adjust the mash itself.

Using Grain Bags

In my opinion Grain Bags are not woth using for Mashing. I have found them difficult to use and they do not ensure that the Mash liquor is well mixed with the grain. Having said this, there are many brewers that get good results but my recomendation would be to avoid them.

Run Off

This just means emptying the contents of your Mash Tun into your boiler. When you start the run off you will find that it is quite turbid and contains grain husks and other bits and pieces. These first few pints should be gently tipped back into the Mash Tun so that they can be re-filtered by the grain bed. Repeat this several times until the wort is free from debris.

Even such a simple process can provokes debate and this is no exception so there is more than one school of thought on how to "Run Off ". In Graham Wheelers book he states that we should run off the entire contents of the Mash Tun before starting to sparge but as you will see below, the Fly Mashing Sparge method does not recommend this (see details in sparging section)

Whatever method we employ the main rule here is slowly, slowly. If you run off too quickly you will pull lots of unwanted grain husks out of the mash tun, which will make your beer cloudy. A set or stuck Mash can also be caused by running off too quickly, so take your time here. As you run off from the Mash Tun you should be collecting the sweet wort in your boiler, ready for the boil. As soon as the element is covered, you should switch it on and start raising the temperature.

Process Summary

Sparging

What does Sparging mean?

After mashing your grain and running off you will have a few KG's of grain which is still full of sugars. In order to collect the remaining sugar we want to rinse the grain to extract these sugars. Sparging is done at a temperature of between 77-80C. Using a higher temperature than that used for mashing stops the mash process and also helps to dissolve sugars still within the grain. There is more than one way to sparge your grain, so see the sections below for more detail on how to do this.

Batch Sparging

This the easiest way to Sparge and requires no specialist sparging equipment. This method is basically re-mashing the grain at a higher temperature. Batch sparging is also the best method to use if you find that you have a stuck Mash after run off. A stuck mash is when the grain becomes too compacted and sets, sparging is not possible in these circumstances.

Method 1:

  1. Run off all the liquid from the Mashing process.
  2. Refill the Mash tun, covering the grain with water at 77-80C
  3. Stir well, this will also release a stuck/set mash if it has occurred.
  4. Leave alone for around 15 minutes.
  5. Run Off the liquid from the batch sparge.

That's it, easy.

There are many variations on batch sparging but a common method seems to employ a top up to the original Mash. The top up water is added at 75-80C and performs a "Mash-Out"

Method 2:

  1. Top up the Mash Tun after initial Mash to perform a "Mash-Out".
  2. Leave for 10-15 Min and the stir well.
  3. Drain Mash Tun
  4. Refill the Mash tun, covering the grain with water at 77-80C and stire well.
  5. Leave alone for around 10-15 minutes.
  6. Run Off the liquid from the batch sparge.

Using method 2 can be a bit tricky when trying to get the volumes of sparge water correct to ensure the boil volume required is achieved. This is made much easier by Jim's on-line calculator, which you can find Here

Fly Mashing

For this process you will need some form of sparging equipment. The basic process is to start the run off from the mash, which should be very slow, and balance this with sparge water being added. The water level in your mash tun should remain level with the top of the grain bed throughout the sparging process, which will (if done properly) take over an hour. When adding water to the top of the grain bed we have to do this very carefully using a fine spay of water. If you do not do this a channel will form in the grain and all the sparge water will just flow straight though, resulting in an inefficient mash. You can use a watering can to gently spay the grain with sparge water but given that this can take over an hour, it will become quite tiring. There are many posts on the forums about how to create sparging equipment so do some searching and see what will suit your budget / DIY skills.

If you have the cash available, buying a rotating sparge arm is the best way. These are available form some hombrew shops, Leyland Hombrew stock the one that I have been using. See the Brewing Links page. These are really easy to use and can almost be set-up and left to run (you need to keep an eye on the proceedings). They will also improve your mash efficiency, as this is the most efficient way to sparge. There pictures of my sparge arm in action on the Equipment page.

One thing to bear in mind is that with a rotating sparge arm you will definitely need a 3 tier set-up. The Top Tier holds the sparge water and needs enough height to keep a siphon running. The middle Tier is your Mash Tun and the bottom Tier is your boiler. This sounds extravagant but can usually be set-up using a combination of chairs and tables. See pictures below. You may find that the sparge water is being added too quickly into the Mash Tun, so be prepared with something that can clamp the siphon tube and slow the flow.

Full Run Off and Sparge

This is the way that Graham Wheelers book suggests we work. For this method we slowly drain the Mash Tun until it is empty and then sparge until the grains are rinsed of their sugars. There is a higher risk of experiencing a set/stuck mash when completely draining the Mash Tun, which is why the "Fly Mashing" process avoids this. I have used this method myself and have experienced a stuck/set mash on one occasion but this may have been poor ingredients or running off too fast. However, for some reason, this method gave me a high Mash Efficiency, not sure why.

No Sparge Mashing

This method requires all of the Mash and Sparge liquor to be added to the Mash Tun at the start of the Mash. Obviously, you will need a large Mash Tun to be able to do this, so if you are limited in this area look at Batch or Fly Sparging instead.

Some experiments have been completed to test if "No Sparge" brewing has any impact on the finished beer. Some people reported a more malt forward beer but differences were very small and most people could not taste a difference. Efficiency was reduced using this method but only slightly so this may be an option for you, particularly given the time savings that this method will have. The other consideration is strike temperature, by adding all the water at once this will have an impact on this.