Mashing m alt for beer: ways. Temperature pauses in brewing

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Technologies for preparing foamy drinks were not formed in one day. Mashing m alt is a delicate science, each of the beers is carried out with some technological features. But that's why beer is different, having its own unique organoleptic and other qualities!

A little about the technology itself

First the most important ingredient needs to be m alted in the m alt mill. The product should not become a homogeneous mass, but consist of fine dust, fine flour, coarse grains. Different grades of foam will require different ratios of coarse/fine particles in the ground mass.

Further, the crushed m alt is mixed with water in a mashing container, in this case, the functioning of enzymes is resumed, which was suspended after drying the grain product. The enzymes that have resumed work immediately start from starch (for a minute, 70 percent of the composition of the grain!) To produce m alt sugars. To speed up the fermentation processes, the mash (or m alt slurry) is smoothly heated to saccharification temperatures (about 76degrees Celsius). As a result, almost all starch is also broken down into dextrin and sugar, which dissolve in the liquid. This, in a nutshell, is mashing m alt for beer.

The resulting mixture is then pumped out for the cleaning process using a sieve - it remains closed at the bottom for now. The mashed product is left here for a certain time, so that all undissolved particles settle on the bottom (they are called pellets). Thanks to the correct grinding of m alt, the spent grains should not stick together and act as an additional natural sieve. When it is opened, a light wort, almost transparent, seeps through the thickness of the grains. It is a solution of sugar substances that have passed after mashing the m alt.

Step by step method

It involves a consistent increase in congestion temperatures and the passage of various temperature pauses. Why understand the science of mashing? Everything is very simple. When you understand exactly what you are doing, brewing will be completely under control, and, accordingly, the final results of brewing your own beer will become better, richer, tastier.

Temperature pauses during mashing, in turn, allow home masters to "manage" the wort. And as needed? and, according to the individual author's idea, to get a sweet or dry beer, different in taste and velvety. It can be noted that the cooking effect is improved if additional pauses are used. And knowing the process of mashing m alt will help beginners set the right schedule forpauses. The result should be an authentic drink that is amazing and rich in taste.

Mashing methods and modifications

M alting is a key process for a brewer. The purpose of mashing m alt is to continue the work of m alting, and influences the choice of mashing method.

The main thing in m alting is the germination of barley (or wheat), then drying it so that germination stops. For brewing, this is an important process, during which enzymes are formed, it triggers several important changes in the grains. For example, glucans are broken down in cell membranes, proteins are broken down, and this saturates the initial wort with the amino acid necessary for the functioning of yeast. It also reduces the likelihood of protein turbidity in the final product, increases its biological stability.

Degrees of cleavage of glucans with proteins are called modifications. Today, most m alts are fully modified. Glucans and proteins are broken down to the point where the brewer simply needs to start the process of converting starches into sugars - here the wort is ready. But slightly modified m alts allow the home master to fully control the processes occurring with the wort.

About temperature pauses

During the temperature pauses, chemical reactions occur, which gives the foamy drink the necessary indicators: color, taste, smell, density, and some others, called organoleptic. There are several varieties:

1. Acid, with35-45 degrees Celsius. With it, the pH decreases, the acidity of the future drink increases.
2. Protein, at 44-59 degrees. This is where protein breakdown takes place.
3. Saccharification, at 61-71. Starches are converted into sugars. Saccharification is a key step in the mashing process and several enzymes are involved in the mashing process to influence the dryness and sweetness of the final frothy beverage.
4. Mash out, at 76-77. In this case, the enzymes already cease to perform their functions. Raising the temperature to 80°C will release tannins from the mash, giving the beer a tart taste.

Beginner Tips

When brewing, it is important to consider the following recommendations:

• To make a stronger beer, we increase the saccharification pause. In this case, more sugars are obtained and, accordingly, the strength of the final product increases.
• To brew a denser beer, reduce the pause by 62 degrees, but increase by 72.
• To make the beer more transparent, increase the protein pause.

About the mill

The fermentation process will work best if the grain mass is ground as finely as possible. It is for these purposes that both industry and the home use a functional m alt mill.

Professional equipment is a complete and complex unit. Such devices are used for one-time processing of a huge amount of grain. In home brewing, more thanlight, manual options. Devices of this plan are intended for small-scale m alt production, for example, for home brewing of beer or for distillation of whiskey (moonshine). In home beer production, as usual, compact equipment, home-made or factory-made, is used. It is put into operation by turning the handle, and according to the principle of operation it resembles an ordinary manual meat grinder with some additions.

Wort kettle

This device is also an equally important piece of equipment for home brewing. It includes:

• tank with built-in filtration system (false bottom with bazooka filter);
• filler (for example, a stainless steel tap or dispenser);
• heating element (heater made of stainless steel);
• controller for tracking temperature fluctuations (so-called temperature pauses);
• thermometer.

Today, the wort kettle can be ordered in specialized online stores. Or you can make such a simple system yourself.

You can do it yourself

Beginner brewers, by the way, can do without a "branded" boiler. Firstly, the container is successfully replaced by a saucepan (as an option, an ordinary bucket, only with a lid - a volume of 15-30 liters, and it is better to take it with a margin). The container must be made of stainless steel or galvanized food. Secondly, to best maintain the desired mash temperatureswe resort to a folk trick: we wrap the above pan in thermal insulation, which can be purchased today at any hypermarket (and is quite cheap). She glued a home-made wort boiler. And to simplify the task of filtering the wort, thirdly, we make home-made filters. Fantasy can take over here, someone makes a false bottom, someone makes a simple filter. In fact, building a false bottom is much easier. And for these purposes, in the same market, we purchase an ordinary sieve (its diameter should be slightly less than the diameter of the pan), and when installing, turn the device over.

To drain the wort, we get an ordinary plumbing faucet, drill a hole the size of it and cut it into a container. Additionally, you need to install another filtering system. We buy a second sieve or metal mesh, fold it into a cylinder shape. We clamp the end with a bracket (clamp), let the other end of the cylinder onto the faucet, tightening it with a clamp if necessary.

Additional funds

From accessories: you can make a chiller for cooling the wort using copper pipes. And for the first time, you can cool the pan in a basin with running water. And for the first experiment, you will need: a thermometer - to monitor the temperature of the mash, a bag for mashing m alt, a spoon - to periodically stir the wort, a heat-resistant hose - to drain the liquid into the fermenter. In general, to try, for the first time enough.

It should work - if you sincerely believe in yourself!