Dry vs Sweet...and THANKS

[zakleeright]

I learned something about controlling dry vs. sweetness. My AG results have been consistently good, including Irish Stout, RyePA, OctoberFAST, Centennial Blonde Ale, etc. Yet they all tended toward the sweet side. Not so sweet that it seemed “off”, but leaned in that direction. Also, while I nearly always nail target OG (Thanks to “Designing Great Beers”), I’m typically a bit high on FG, ending up around 1.014 or so….sometimes higher.
RIMS System overview:
• 240VAC electric elements in converted Sanke’s; PID’s control temps.
• 13.5-14 gallon batches. Use ~1.4 quarts/lb of grain.
• Single step mash at ~154F for 60 minutes, 170F sparge for 20 minutes.
• Efficiency rocks – 80-85%.
• Ferment 2 wks, cold crash 1 wk, keg. After 1 wk in keg, gets tasty.
• S-05 yeast nearly always - it is cheap, reliable, and consistent.

We did an OctoberFast recipe using the above setup, and it turned out very good, but leaning sweet.
So in my quest for uber-dryness, I started with the same recipe, but modified two things:
1. The recipe; deleted the crystal 20 and 40, and added to the 2-row and Vienna to bring it back up to same OG of 1.050. (Crystal adds body, but also sweetness)
2. Used a multi-step mash:
a. 122F for 30 minutes
b. 140F for 40 minutes
c. 156 for 45 minutes
d. Sparge at 169
Wow. My FG was 1.009, and although we used ale yeast (again, October-FAST) it tastes very lager-like, crisp, and very dry. I have this on tap today for Thanksgiving(kegged for 1 week), along with a great Irish stout (kegged for 2.5 weeks).
Just thought I’d share for anyone thinking about moving from a single-step, single-temp mash to something a bit more involved….DO IT!
Many thanks to the HBT community, who’ve been instrumental in my progression and enjoyment in brewing beer at home.

 

[HomebrewMTB]

If you want dry, why not just single infusion mash at 149 instead of 154? Curious as to the differences between the multi step and just mashing lower.

 

[heckels]

if you want dry, why not just single infusion mash at 149 instead of 154? Curious as to the differences between the multi step and just mashing lower.

+1

 

[zakleeright]

Hmmm. maybe I'll try that after a few multi-steps. I picked those temps/times after studying a bunch of on-line and textbook stuff. Those temps seemed to ones that were best for modern grains to convert the most complex carbs down to sugars. here's the (highly summarized) story I got:
- 138-140F breaks down proteinase to more simple sugars
- ~122 dissolves polypeptides and peptides to amino acids, which fuel yeast growth
- 146-156 does the bulk of the work.

So, you guys might be right! I'll experiment over the next few brews...do a few more step-mashes, and compare to a lower-temp single infusion. If we can get the same results with a simpler process, that's good, yes?
Cheers

 

[Rev2010]

If you want dry, why not just single infusion mash at 149 instead of 154? Curious as to the differences between the multi step and just mashing lower.

Heh, I was going to ask the same question.


Rev.