When mashing, do you prefer to ....

[Silver_Is_Money]

.... add the grist to pre-warmed strike water, or add pre-warmed strike water to the grist?

Has anyone ever quantified a flavor benefit (or defect avoidance benefit) to one method vs. the other?

 

[corkybstewart]

I mash in a converted keg so I warm the strike water and add the grain.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I heat the water then add the grist, as well. I don't know that the other way would hurt anything, (is an unintentional step mash detrimental?) but when doing BIAB one would have to keep the bag from melting while the flame is on. So for me it makes it easier.

 

[kh54s10]

I add the water first the pour in the grains then stir like crazy! I don't think it makes any difference at all in the finished beer.

 

[tooldudetool]

I use the strike water to preheat my insulated mash tun. I take the calculated strike water temp, add 8 degrees, put that in my room temp mash tun, and in 5-10 minutes it has heated up the mash tun and the water has cooled back to my calculated strike water temp. Works great.

 

[Barley_Bob]

If you try adding water to the grist you're going to end up with a mess of clumps. I haven't tried it, but I've made this mistake working with some similar projects.

 

[DemonsRun]

I add water to the Grain (Underletting). I have a 15 Gallon Kettle(RIMS), It lifts the grain slightly off of the false bottom but all settles when I reverse and start recirculating, Have not had issues with clumps or dry spots.

I don't think there is any benefit to either method, just a matter of preference. Some have claimed Underletting is beneficial for Low Oxygen Brewing but I think it is negligible.

 

[BeardedBrews]

Commercially it's common to add the water to the grist (underletting), and I've seen several threads on here that report good results with that approach. It's most popular with folks who have a bottom draining mash tun, especially when they are also incorporating some automation in their process.

It's easiest to avoid dough balls if you add the grist slowly while stirring, but that's also a bit of a pain. I BIAB and when I started I would put the bag in the strike water and then pour the milled grist into the bag slowly while I stirred. Juggling the whisk and the bucket of grist sucked, so now I just mill straight into the bag and dunk the whole bag into the strike water. It takes a couple minutes to break up the clumps, but it's easier than pouring.

None of this answers your question about finished product quality, and unfortunately it's probably something you'd have to test yourself. The topic of grist and mash oxidation, oxidation risks in general, and the sensitivity of an average palate to change, has some pretty interesting debate around it. I think the first step might be to test both approaches on your system using the same recipe and hosting a blind taste test to see if your friends can tell them apart.

 

[day_trippr]

I also under-let my 20g MLT, but I first pump in enough water to just breach the FB ("foundation water"), stop the filling, dump in the grain, then under-let the rest of my strike water.
I let everything rest for 5 minutes or so, give the mash a couple of swishes with my mash paddle in case there are any dough balls (almost never happens) then start recirculating...

Cheers!

 

[govner1]

Water to grain.

 

[dsaavedra]

I overheat the strike water, dump it in my cooler mash tun, let the cooler warm up/water cool down to strike temp, add grains and stir.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I overheat the strike water, dump it in my cooler mash tun, let the cooler warm up/water cool down to strike temp, add grains and stir.

This has been my method to date.

 

[balrog]

... add the grist slowly while stirring, but that's also a bit of a pain. I BIAB and when I started I would put the bag in the strike water and then pour the milled grist into the bag slowly while I stirred. Juggling the whisk and the bucket of grist sucked...

This. I only do 5g batches so the juggling-grist-pouring-while-whisking hasn't resulted yet in any spills, so I continue with it.

 

[beersk]

If you try adding water to the grist you're going to end up with a mess of clumps. I haven't tried it, but I've made this mistake working with some similar projects.

If you add it slow enough and underlet, you won't get many clumps. This is the way I do it and it's taken the stress of mashing in right out. I always had issues of dough balls when mashing in from above, even if I tried to go super slow and stir. Now I do low O2, so mashing in slowly from beneath the mash has been a huge process improvement for me.

 

[AkTom]

I prefer adding grist to the water. For me, less stirring and clumping.

 

[Barley_Bob]

If you add it slow enough and underlet, you won't get many clumps. This is the way I do it and it's taken the stress of mashing in right out. I always had issues of dough balls when mashing in from above, even if I tried to go super slow and stir. Now I do low O2, so mashing in slowly from beneath the mash has been a huge process improvement for me.

This is a good tip then. But you couldn't pay me to pour a pot of strike water onto a pile of crushed grain.

 

[beersk]

This is a good tip then. But you couldn't pay me to pour a pot of strike water onto a pile of crushed grain.

Oh yeah, definitely not. Slow underletting with a slightly thin mash is the way to go about it. I usually aim for 1.8-2qt/lb of water.

 

[catdaddy66]

Water to grain.

+1

If only to minimize dough balls from forming.

 

[seatazzz]

My mash tun is a converted 16 gallon blue extract barrel with a sparge arm built into the lid and a bulkhead with a ball valve. It holds heat pretty well (especially with the windshield reflector doomahatchie thing I bungie around it) so I add my strike water first, get it where I want it by stirring, then dough in. If I do it right, I only lose 1-2 degrees in a 60 minute mash.

 

[seatazzz]

Here's some pics...

 

[filthyastronaut]

Grain to water, but generally all at once in a bag, more stirring and smashing dough balls, but overall less hassle when by myself. If I'm brewing with someone, I'll one of us slowly pour while the other stirs.

 

[day_trippr]

So today I underlet 40 pounds of grain (20g mlt). After 5 minutes I probed the entire depth with my mash paddle and didn't find a single lump.
I have no idea why, but this is pretty consistent from batch to batch.

I only started underletting when I built my current 3V/2P rig and it happened to be convenient.
Dough-in with my 10g cooler mlt (grain added to strike water) always resulted in dry clumps that needed attention...

Cheers!

 

[Clef051]

I overheat the strike water, dump it in my cooler mash tun, let the cooler warm up/water cool down to strike temp, add grains and stir.

Im similar to this

I add about half the strike water to the cooler over heated letting the water cool while heating up the other half when the temps are set so they will be at the temp I want I add the grain then ump the rest of the water over the grain.