Mash out

[AzfromOz]

Does anyone here bother with a mash out step? I've always done one, raising the temp of the mash by infusion to 74 degrees to halt conversion, but many recipes I see don't list the step as necessary. I'm batch sparging, and it's only adding an extra ten minutes and it's not at all an inconvenience. Just wondering if it's really ncecessary.

Cheers

 

[manticle]

It's not necessary in the slightest although I do it because I usually carry out multiple steps and want to fix the profile.

Actual mashout temp should be around 78-80

 

[Hermies]

As Manticle said its not necessary. Check out Qld Kev he has a few videos and also one on cold sparging

 

[rude]

I did it when I batched sparged because it raised my volume from mash in
So 12 Litres mash in & 10 Litres mash out
Then I sparged with 20 Litres for 32 to 34 Litres in the kettle

Now I have a home made 1 v system & still do one for 10 mins at 78 c

 

[warra48]

Agree with manticle, it's not necessary. I brew on a 3V patch up system. However, I do one, because I batch sparge, and my mash tun is just a 25 litre cooler, and I need to the volume into the kettle to get enough for a 25 litre batch into the fermenter post boil.
It does make the run off and sparge easier, because the higher temperature of the mash makes it drain and flow better. A small side benefit is that it takes a little less time to bring the kettle to the boil.

 

[Rocker1986]

I agree it's not necessary. I brew BIAB and do employ a 10 minute mashout at about 78C, it seems to result in the wort more easily draining from the grains/bag when it's hoisted up. Whether or not it does actually drain more easily I don't know, it just seems to. I'm happy to keep doing it, it's no inconvenience to me really.

 

[Coodgee]

same, seems like we all do it but don't think it's necessary

 

[Schikitar]

I skip it, I just lift the bag and crank the kettle - takes a while to get from 65 to 100 so I feel like it spends a bit of time around 78 before moving onwards and upwards..

 

[MHB]

Necessary and beneficial aren't the same thing.
There are control (fixing the profile and reproducibility) and efficiency (getting more extract for your time and money) improvements to a proper mash out. Well worth doing one if it isn't too complicated.
Mark

 

[Rocker1986]

Actually that reminds me, I forgot to do a mash out on a batch recently and my efficiency was down a bit compared to normal. Maybe that was the reason why.

 

[stewy]

I do BIAB in a 40L urn.
I usually do a mashout & I also sparge with About 10 litres which enables me to brew much bigger beers than full volume.
I find a mashout tends to give me an extra 5 points on OG.
If I can’t be bothered I just up the base Malt slightly.
With bigger beers I mashout to gain every point possible

 

[manticle]

Necessary and beneficial aren't the same.

Agreed

 

[malt junkie]

extra long mashouts have made some points for me in the past, not intentional, my system is automated so holds mashout till I hit a button.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I do BIAB in a 40L urn.
I usually do a mashout & I also sparge with About 10 litres which enables me to brew much bigger beers than full volume.
I find a mashout tends to give me an extra 5 points on OG.
If I can’t be bothered I just up the base Malt slightly.
With bigger beers I mashout to gain every point possible

Its not the "mashout" that is giving you the extra OG, its more to do with having hotter liquid that dissolves da sugaz which is giving you a higher OG

I ( batch) sparge with boiling water and when I first did it I noticed an improvement in eff %.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

extra long mashouts have made some points for me in the past, not intentional, my system is automated so holds mashout till I hit a button.

Batch sparging does the same. I always let it sit for 10-15 mins between recirc/sparge/running.

Its all about getting da sugaz out of the grist

 

[stewy]

Its not the "mashout" that is giving you the extra OG, its more to do with having hotter liquid that dissolves da sugaz which is giving you a higher OG

I ( batch) sparge with boiling water and when I first did it I noticed an improvement in eff %.

If I skip mash out & just hoist the bag then sparge with 76-78C water, I get 5 points less.

So yeah, I guess letting the entire grain bill sit in 76 water for 10 mins vs just sparging with 76 water get me the extra 5 points.

The mashout lowers the viscosity which allows me to get 5 more points

 

[manticle]

DBS sparges with boiling which will bring the temp of the grain bed itself up. One way of mashing out is to add enough boiling water to bring the bed to 78+ (which 76 sparge will not). Different intentions, similar process, similar results.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

If I skip mash out & just hoist the bag then sparge with 76-78C water, I get 5 points less.

So yeah, I guess letting the entire grain bill sit in 76 water for 10 mins vs just sparging with 76 water get me the extra 5 points.

The mashout lowers the viscosity which allows me to get 5 more points

There is your problem right there

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

DBS sparges with boiling which will bring the temp of the grain bed itself up. One way of mashing out is to add enough boiling water to bring the bed to 78+ (which 76 sparge will not). Different intentions, similar process, similar results.

The first runnings with boiling water come out under 78*c. Its not the third running that the temp hits the 80* mark

You will be surprised that boiling water does not raise the temp as much as you think.

When I first told brewers I used boiling water most of them them stood back and went WTF. your crazy...

 

[///]

Critical in the commercial sense, not so much in a home sense

Stopping enzyme activity and making a better flowing wort stream matters in the big houses with large charges of malt. Even at the 20hl range I did it to help with pass thru our mash filter.

But at a 5kg, not 500kg, malt charge with a highly variable temperature across the mash, yeah I’d worry more about some water chemistry, yeast health and beer clarification.

Scotty