Make sure you get a good mash out too. That always kills my efficiency when I don't.
Eric
Really??
I always thought eff was determined by grain crush, mash temp and mash length. I always thought mash out stop enzyme activity so beer gravity stays where you want it? Where am I wrong, how do you do your mash out so it improves OG. Thanks for any insight.
me too.
number 3 talks about sparging.. I think there is some confusion.
I guess I always felt my "mash-out" was my first batch sparge which raises the grain temp to 168-170. So are you guys saying I will increase my eff if I mash out with some the mash. I assume this should be a thin mash and not thick like double dec brewing?
your first batch sparge "acts" like a mashout.. but only for the grainbed left after first runnings. The wort you lautered during the first runnings hasnt been "mashed-out," but you can accomplish the same thing by lautering straight it into your kettle and starting it on heat.
heres another attempt at explanation adapted from "How To Brew"
What is Mashout?
Before the sweet wort is drained from the mash and the grain is rinsed (sparged) of the residual sugars, many brewers perform a mashout. Mashout is the term for raising the temperature of the mash to 170°F prior to lautering.
This step stops all of the enzyme action (preserving your fermentable sugar profile) and
makes the grainbed and wort more fluid. ......
.......
A lot of homebrewers tend to skip the mashout step for most mashes with no consequences.
What is Sparging?
Sparging is the rinsing of the grain bed to extract as much of the sugars from the grain as possible without extracting mouth-puckering tannins from the grain husks. Typically, 1.5 times as much water is used for sparging as for mashing.
so.. my take is:
1. mashout is done before lautering to increase sugars dissolved in first runnings. sparging is done afterward to increase sugars dissolved in second runnings.
2. If you have a "normal" mash thickness (ie, in the middle of the bell shaped curve), and are adhering to the typical limitations on grain without husk, you shouldnt have any efficiency benefit from a mashout.
Conclusion:
it sounds like sparging and mashing both acomplish "thinning" out the sugars, ergo, if you do a good enough sparge, you shouldnt need a mashout-- which probably explains why how to brew says most homebrewers dont do one.
whew.. I feel smarter. Does that make sense to anyone else though?