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Mash, temp range

Becton

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Feb 11, 2020
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Location
Ballerup, Denmark
I'm currently establishing the behavior/characteristics of my brewing equipment, the goal being able to reproduce my brews
and also not having to stand hawkeyed watching the brew kettle all the time. That is, to be able to leave the brew cellar and
go for a wee pint without getting all nervous regarding the state of the brewing process.
So, what is a reasonable temp range when mashing, ie if I mash at 65?C, what is the low and the high temp? Would something
like 63 - 67?C be acceptable? Is not being too high better that not being too low?

Regards
Brian
 
I generally consider a variation of 1C well within acceptable standards.  The most important time for maintaining temperature is in the first 10 to 15 minutes of the mash.  By that time the majority of the starch solublization and conversion has been finished.

That being said, when I did BIAB and before I was holding temperature in my oven I would initially see swings of 2C to 4C.  The important thing for me was to make sure that the mashes were repeatable so that I could count on the same temperature profile from one brew to the next and hopefully the same fermentability of the wort. 

As far as being too high or too low in mash temperature, that really will depend upon your goals for your finished beer.  If you want a highly fermentable, dry, crisp finish, then I would favor being at or on the lower side of my target.  If I wanted more body and/or sweetness, then I would favor being at or a bit higher than my target.  Either way, my goal really is my target temperature.

I would also say that our perception of a point or two difference in finishing gravity or alcohol content is not that precise.  If you are a commercial brewers with specifications you must maintain for labeling and packaging, then you have more at stake in making sure the process will produce a much more consistent wort than I need to worry about as a home brewer.
 
I have so far done my testing on pure water, just to compare kettle potentiometer setting against the measured temperature,
It's actually surprisingly accurate, ie 65?C setting - measured temp 65.2?C where heating element switched off. It switched on
again at 63.0?C and off at 65.3?C.

After I made an insulation coat for the kettle out of some cheap sleeping pad the time from switch off to switch on was 40 minutes.
It could probably be improved but I find the data acceptable - so long as it's stable I can take it into account for each individual brew
and I'll have your points regarding beer type in mind.

One thing, I wouldn't think there should be any notable difference when it comes to "real" mashing (insteda of just water). Any thoughts?

Thanks for your help.
 
Just for comparison sake, your swings in temperature are very similar to the control swings on some of the all-in-one devices such as the Brewer's Edge or Mash and Boil.  Many people find it more than acceptable, given the number of users at present.  I doubt you will see much of a difference with the grain included.
 
Ok, it's good to have ones own thoughts confirmed - it means that I can (mostly) only blame myself if something goes wrong  :mad:
 
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