BM mash time

[IPA]

I've been brewing with a BM for more than ten years. I keep a log of every brew. For normal beer I mash at 66°C for ninety minutes. I check the gravity at the end of the mash,after the sparge and after the boil and adjust the volume.Yesterday I decided to check the gravity forty minutes into the mash and it was 1056. I tested it at the end of the ninety minute mash and to my surprise it was 1056 ! Next time I am going to mash for only forty minutes and compare the finished beer against one that had the full ninety minute mash

[MashBag]

I have done similar comparisons and settled on a 60 min mash. Not sure it's the machine specific, probably more the modern, well modified grains I use.

Watching with interest what you discover.

[Cobnut]

Modern highly modified malts need less conversion time than their forebears which the late G Wheeler was probably more accustomed to when he wrote his seminal books which many of us revere, but I think we need to beware of some malts which don't work with such alacrity.

Do let us know how you get on.

Are you tempted to try an even shorter mash time? There are folk out there who limit their mash to 30 mins, perhaps even less.

And you might find that if 40 mins is sufficient, the time taken to sparge might also allow you to reduce the mash duration as I'd expect there to be further conversion occurring during the sparge. Maybe you could take more than an hour out of your brew day?

[IPA]

A bit more info.
The grist was.

66.1% pale malt
25.4% flaked barley
8.5% roasted barley

No prizes for guessing it is Guinness

[MashBag]

I settled on 60mins, cos I don't care how long it takes (there is no brewday gain for me), but it seemed long enough, and if some recipes/grains need a bit longer it covers it.

Also was 66c for a long time, but recently (since water changes) have found 65c a favorite.

[drjim]

Funnily enough my "Grandad" stout hits 8.5% roasted barley even though it was a completely home made recipe from my first all grain brew.

[Malty]

I mash at 66c for 60 mins and 10 mins at 72c so the time taken to get to the higher temperature is nearing 90 mins total. I’ll try a 60 min mash at 66c next brew. Always trying to save time on brew day.

[JonB]

I do believe as Cobnut has already said this is a product of modern malt, and I have read in a few places that (in theory) 30 mins is enough for full conversion... Not tried less than an hour personally though...

The "make or break" on efficiency in my experience is actually the sparging process rather than mash time (Chevallier & other heritage malts excluded). I'm still using a modified coolbox and a spray-bar, but if I extract the wort at ~0.2-0.3L/min I tend to get around 80-85% with a 1-hour mash (sometimes higher!); if I run it faster the efficiency falls off very quickly.

Another option I often use when I need to save time is the Overnight mash in the coolbox. I'll chuck in the strike water just before I go to bed, and then start the sparge first thing (so by the time I've got dressed/fed pets/myself/etc. it's already a fair way done...). In theory I've been told this should produce a very thin wort as all the sugars become fermentable. I've brewed the same recipe both ways, and aside from a ~5% efficiency boost I've noticed no difference in body/taste. Not sure how practical that is in a Braumeister, but thought it was something to consider...

[richard080561]

I've just finished the chapter on mashing in John Palmer's How To Brew. He recommendeds 67c for 60 minutes as a baseline to start experimenting from.
His general rule is 30 to 60 minutes at 65 to 68c
He doesn't see a benefit from a higher mash out temp. at the end but says you can use a two step mash to achieve higher fermentability, he recommends 30 to 40 minutes at 64c followed by 15 to 20 minutes at 72c
I've been brewing for years and always avoided this book because it sounded too complicated for me but I am enjoying reading it and looking forward to putting some of in to practice on my next brew. It could potentially shorten my brew day and result in better beer.

[MashBag]

What is shining out at me here, is "you need to understand the kit you have"

One size (methods) due not for all.

I abandoned 72c in a BM because while the bottom of the malt pipe had reached 72c (where the probe is) the top had not, when the timer started. For such a short rest it was never going to catchup, so it went, and I have appeared to lose nothing.

Equally sparging gained me 1 or 2 points, which equates to a handful of grain. I adjusted the recipe.

But sparging on a non pumped grain bed was so important.

[MashBag]

I mash at 66c for 60 mins and 10 mins at 72c so the time taken to get to the higher temperature is nearing 90 mins total. I’ll try a 60 min mash at 66c next brew. Always trying to save time on brew day.

Does it have to be a brewday.

Why not join the party at boiling, and then run away until it is 20c. Don't get me wrong I enjoy brewing, but I don't spend money on a machine to have to babysit it.

[Malty]

Hello MB,
In fact I do run away after I’ve cooled to 40c (cooling jacket in 2021 BM not very efficient) and transferred to the FV and cleaned up. Brewtime 4.5 hrs from start to FV stage best so far. I leave the FV outside with an airlock fitted and clamping lid until I’ve reached pitching temp sometimes for up to 6 hrs. FV brought inside later and yeast pitched.
Today am bottling and kegging my coronation ale

[MashBag]

We all got that cooling jacket wrong.
I had seen them long before on wine tanks and thought wtf? They are indeed terrible at cooling in the present world, but if you cast you mind forward to the chiller BM link to it. Boom... All of a sudden they make perfect sense for ferment-in-kettle. They are a temp control jacket, not a replacement for an immersion coil. Now I want one.

4½ hours isn't bad..... But...

Can you set up the night before? Dough in at 20c. Start mashing in the early hours and wake up ready to boil?

It does sound like you need a brewshed

[Jocky]

Not a Braumeister user, but at the weekend I did my first 30 minute mash and 30 minute boil brew, although I did also sparge for 30 minutes.

Efficiency was bang on what I’d normally get. I will see how this turns out.