How Many Times Do You Stir Your Mash

[randyrob]

A gentle continous stir for the entire lenght of the mash here.
Helps keep the temp constant thruout the mash.

Not to sure about eff % loss, last brew I did a no sparge which is well known for dips in eff and got 74%

Rob

 

[seravitae]

more importantly, i hope you are all stirring your mashes clockwise, otherwise we can't be friends.

 

[manticle]

Once gently and thoroughly at the beginning while mashing in and checking temp.

That's it.

I tried stirring a few times when batch sparging because I read it increased efficiency but if anything I found the opposite.

 

[chadjaja]

Never stirred during a mash only at mash in.

 

[reviled]

more importantly, i hope you are all stirring your mashes clockwise, otherwise we can't be friends.

:lol:

 

[Henno]

more importantly, i hope you are all stirring your mashes clockwise, otherwise we can't be friends.

Doesn't that depend on which hemisphere you are in though? :huh:

 

[NickB]

And you definitely have to stir counter clockwise if you're facing Mecca....

 

[devo]

I only stir when I first mash in then leave it.

 

[bum]

And you definitely have to stir counter clockwise if you're facing Mecca....

Pretty sure you're probably not gonna be mashing if you're inclined towards facing Mecca.

 

[drtomc]

Several times I've measured the temperature, stirred then remeasured, and found that there is a significant temperature gradient in my pot (e.g. 3C) that is eliminated by stirring. Stirring therefore will probably give a more consistent result from the mash, in as much as I can have 1 mash proceeding at 67C, not one at 63C in the bottom half and one at 67C in the top.

Perhaps this accounts for part of the common experience of BIABers that they tend to get more rather then less fermentable worts.

T.

 

[boybrewer]

After reading previous articles on this subject I decided not to stir and my efficiency dropped by some 8-10 % so now I am back to stirring every 15 min or 20 min if I do a 60 min or a 90 min mash . This has helped my efficiency greatly as my last batch I hit my pre boil gravity , which I wasn't getting when I didn't stir . To stir or not to stir that is the question . If it helps with efficiency stir . If there is no difference don't worry about it .

 

[Nick JD]

Several times I've measured the temperature, stirred then remeasured, and found that there is a significant temperature gradient in my pot (e.g. 3C) that is eliminated by stirring. Stirring therefore will probably give a more consistent result from the mash, in as much as I can have 1 mash proceeding at 67C, not one at 63C in the bottom half and one at 67C in the top.

Perhaps this accounts for part of the common experience of BIABers that they tend to get more rather then less fermentable worts.

T.

My grain to water ratio is very low, so I think there is quite a bit of convection within the tun that allows more even distribution of heat.

For BIABers with a lot of water in their tuns: next St. Paddies brew ... at the start of your mash, drop a cap full of green food colouring into the top of your tun. Don't stir. After 60 minutes pipette out some samples from different parts of the mash. $50 says they're all uniformly green.

 

[big78sam]

I BIAB and used to stir every 15 to 20 minutes but was a bit worried I was losing too much temp so I hedged my bets. I have read that most saccharification occurs in the first 30 minutes anyway so I only stir every half an hour, ie mash in and then after 30 and 60 minutes. After 90 min it's out with the bag. In the end it's a bit of a compromise. FWIW, I agree with drtomc about the temperature gradient and that's why I stiil stir every half an hour.

 

[warra48]

No chill, no lager, now no stir!

I stir my mash when I dough in. Takes probably 30-60 seconds of gentle stirring, just to ensure that any dough balls are broken up.

I also stir again after each water addition when batch sparging. I also stir if I make a water addition to raise the temp, or return a decocted portion of the mash. I thought this was all pretty normal - but apparently not

Exactly what I do.
Except, if I get a stuck run-off or sparge, I need to stir and vorlauf again.

I have no problem achieving 90+% mash efficiency doing (or not doing) this stirring.