What is step mashing?  Step mashing is a variable temperature method of converting your grain’s sugars.  Step mashing requires you to have more than one mash temperature.  There is some debate about what it actually accomplishes.  Some people do it to help with the head retention or for a more thorough conversion of sugars via the longer wetting and stepping of grains.  There are those people who argue that modern malts are of such a quality and modified well enough so as to not require step mashing.  But certain styles lend themselves to step mashing.  Really, it seems based more on grain type than style of beer…whatever the case may be.  Also, it can be used as a viable alternative to decoction mashing (I’ll write on that one later).

Certain styles do truly benefit from this type of mashing.  For instance, anything with a fair amount of wheat or rye benefits from step mashing.  Grains that benefit from step mashing are those that lack enzymes, have high protein levels, grains and adjuncts with high starch, raw grains, or beers served at very cold temps (I’m borrowing from Stephen Snyder on this point). Temperature marks in step mashing target certain enzymes that operate best at specific temperature levels.

The first temperature of a typical step mash is 122° (all temps in Farenheit).  Of course, some recipes call for a stage at 95° as well, but this is more rare.  For me, a typical step mash involves mashing in at 132-135°, which will achieve a temp of 122°.  This (122°) is the ideal temperature for breaking down proteins that cause chill haze (a collection of proteins that appear as haze once the beer has been chilled) and also increases the amount of head retention by breaking down those same proteins.  Anywhere from 10 to 60 min is recommended.  Thirty minutes at this stage is typical for me.  One more point to remember is that a step mash will also increase amino acids levels, which are important for yeast nutrition.  Again, this is often important for grains with few surplus enzymes and for poorly modified malts.

How do I do it?   First of all, I explained how I get the 122°, but how do we get it to the range where sugars will be converted?  There are two schools of thought.  Either you make a thick mash in your mash tun and hold it at 122° for 30 min and then add 200° water one quart at a time until you reach the temp level that you want or you use your brew pot and stove to adjust temps.

I do the latter because I get concerned about temp control and watering down my wort.  I do my “rest” in my pot and raise my temp up to the level at which I want to mash and then put it in my mash tun.  Some suggest doing a lower end temp rest for mashing and then raising it to higher temps.  So, for instance, you do your 122° protein rest and then raise to 148° (the lower end of mashing temps) and hold for 30 min, which gives you a highly fermentable wort.  After the 148° rest, you raise it to the upper range (155-185°) which will give you dextrines (non-fermentable) that will increase fullness and mouth-feel.  As you might imagine, this could get tricky if you are using water in your mash tun to make these adjustments.  For simplicity’s sake, I use the stove and bottom heat to achieve these temps.  When I reach my last rest temp, I put the mash in my mash tun and let it complete conversion.

What styles would I do this for?  Wheat beers of all types lend themselves to this mashing method.  Here is a list of beers for which you should consider step mashing:  Altbier, American Lager (the real kind), Biere de Garde, Saison, Bock (although decoction might be better), California Common, Cream Ale, Pilsner, Double Bock, Belgian Double, Dunkel, Kolsch, Lambic, Marzen, Helles, Old Bruin, Pale Ale (based on your preference), Stout (with some wheat content or  certain types of grains), Belgian Trip or any Wheat beer.  Some of these are more important than others.  Stout and Pale Ale, for instance, are highly optional.  Some are better with decoction; Altbier and Bocks especially fit into this category.

I know that some of this is unfamiliar, but the process is straightforward enough.  Playing around with beer styles is the best way to start step mashing.

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I thought I had more time.  What do I mean?  When Brewdog released their beer, I thought to myself, “Why can’t I, as a homebrewer, go after the record?  Even if I don’t beat it, it will be fun to try.”  So, I embarked on the arduous task of making a huge Chocolate Vanilla Bourbon Imperial Stout and vacillated between the two names above as a fun tongue-in-cheek reference to taking down a Tactical Nuclear Penguin. Go for the gold, right?

Well, where did I end up?  The answer is still in the wings.  I didn’t get quite the yeast performance I wanted, but I’m still in the process of finding out.  I suppose the record seems a little moot at this point because a German company is about to release a 45% beer.  However, I had fun and I’m holding back a bit of information simply because I’m actually in the eisbocking stage of my beer, so I can’t tell you the end result.  Plus, I like being withholding about my pre-eisbock strength.  Let’s just say that I’ve got a submarine with which I’m trying to sink a Bismark.

I’m going to be posting more on the story along with details about the beer on the site in the coming week.  Stay tuned because I’m going to have some cool stuff to report.

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My wife and I don’t like wasting anything.  We cook carrot tops, beet greens, broccoli stems—basically anything that is edible and is subsidiary to the actual vegetable or fruit.  Everything gets used, so I speculated that the blueberries might have more life in them.  I also had some wort I had frozen from a hydrometer reading of a brew.  I figured it was sweet and sugary, so I could find a use for it. I also had some cocoa beans left from roasting.  The result?  Beer wort jam.

I took some fresh-squeezed lemonade we had made and used it for the base liquid.  Why use water when you have lemons, which are a great preservative?  At any rate, I took the 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 cup lemonade, 1 cup of wort and a few cocoa beans that I ground with a mortar and pestle (I made a little cocoa bean coffee with the rest) added some sugar and vanilla, then let it cook down until is was jam.  The results were great, and it was just one more way to use what we had in order not to waste anything.  Who knows, this sort of creative thinking might come in handy for a brewery some day.

I have no purpose in sharing this other than to simply share my world of homebrewing with you folks.  I’m having fun. Here are some pictures to prove it:

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While roasting my own cocoa beans the other night, I realized that it was not an easy thing to do.  That chocolate bar that we grab is not easily processed.  I wanted to put some cocoa beans in a brew that I was making, so I heated the oven and started going.  (I read up on it, so I’m over-simplifying.)  I worked on those things for about 30 minutes or so and realized that I over-cooked them slightly.  The cocoa flavors were there but so was a touch of bitterness and a smoky quality.

The whole process got me thinking about the nature of trial and error.  Error can be a great thing because it’s a building block for the next trial.  I learned what I did wrong and expect a better result the next time.

Why do I mention all this?  How many attempts did it take to isolate a yeast strain?  How many trials and errors did it take to arrive at a certain flavor profile or grain type?  How many batches of grain were burnt, undercooked, or otherwise ruined because of trial and error?  What sorts of happy accidents occurred as a result of an unplanned error?  I think the answer to all these questions is…a lot.

I put those cocoa beans in my beer.  Why?  I thought they were imperfect but useable.  In some ways, that’s why I keep brewing beer.  I never have a perfect recipe.  Never have I found “the beer.”  I am personally the collective sum of all my trials and errors… and I’m a better brewer for it.

However, this is not all introspective and existential.  Sure, I’m proud of the growth I’ve made.  Yet I still have to remind myself that I’m the recipient of the shared trials and errors of thousands upon thousands of brewers.  Every time I roast a bean, use some grains, sip a beer, pitch some yeast and literally work with hundreds and thousands of other aspects of beer, I’m sharing in the trials and errors of my beer brethren.  Cherish your beer!

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The most unfortunate part when I learned to mash–in fact, for my whole brewing career–is that I never really had anyone to offer me a guiding hand along the way.  Perhaps this is why I feel compelled to be that guiding hand for those who wish to navigate the world of mashing.  Here we go: this promises to have a fair amount of expatiation.

There are several types of mashing that can be performed on the basis of beer style.  Wheats, for instance, call for a more intense process than an IPA. If you want to mash, it would behoove you to get a book like The Brewmaster’s Bible by Stephen Snyder. He gives the style guidelines and mashing techniques for many styles of beer, and the book is in simple, accessible terms.  It is very helpful in determining how you will approach a given brew.  I highly recommend it.  In fact, Snyder covers mashing methods and gives a definition for them.  Don’t get the book just yet, there’s more to read here.

Let’s work from simplest to hardest (or should I say, more to less intense) in terms of mashing requirements. There are several types of mashing that one can utilize in the brewing process.  Terms are relatively simple when it comes to defining what you are doing.  Single Infusion Mashing, Step Mashing, Decoction Mashing are the three most common type of mashing that are used in the brewing process.  This post will cover the single infusion method.

Single Infusion Mashing:  As is implied by the name, this method of mashing works based on a single infusion of something into the grains.  What is that something?  Water.  Water is added to the grains to achieve and maintain certain temperature levels.  Let’s say, for instance, that you want to make an IPA.  More times than not, the recipe for the beer will suggest a single infusion method.  You might be asking yourself “how does this work?”  Well, there are two enzymes that are critical for the conversion of starches into sugars when you are mashing your grains.  The problem is that they operate optimally at different temperatures.  You have to find a happy medium for them both to work well.  The temperature range for this to occur (or best occur) is 148-158° (all temperatures are in Fahrenheit).  The grains are cracked and the starchy endosperm is exposed. The water and heat penetrate to simplify polysaccharides (complex sugars) into the more fermentable maltose.

Here’s what I do.  I pick the temperature that I want to mash at, depending on the recipe, and I heat my water to roughly 15° higher than that amount.  Typically, I figure on about a quart of mash water per pound of grain.  So, if I have 12 pounds grain that I want to mash at 158°, then I heat 3 gallons of water to about 173°.  Once the water is heated, I add it my already milled grains which are sitting in my igloo cooler.  I give it a good stir with my long stainless steel spoon (this insures that I have equal heat distribution) and take an initial temp, which will normally raise for a few minutes.  Once I’ve taken my first reading, I place my cooler lid tightly on top of my igloo.  Mash times can be between 45 minutes to 120 or more.  Mash time depends on temps and recipes.  Normally, I have a 60 to 90 minute mash, which I stir every 15 to 20 minutes.  Once the conversion is fully finished, I sparge my grains and get boiling (a sparge post is on the way).

How do you know if conversion is complete?  Simple.  Go to any drug store and buy a tincture of iodine.  Take one or two tablespoons of the mash and put in in a white bowl or on a white plate.  Take one or two drops of the iodine and drop it on the mixture.  If the iodine doesn’t change colors, then it’s done.  If it immediately blackens, then you need to keep mashing. Don’t put it back into the mash; throw it out.

This stuff may or may not sound complicated…it really isn’t.  Either way, this is single infusion mashing in a nutshell.  Here is how I would recap it:

1. Milled grains in igloo
2. Heat 1 quart of water per pound of grain in stock pot to 15 degrees higher than desired mash temp
3. Stir water into grains
4. Cover with lid
5. Stir every 15 to 20 minutes until full conversion.

It’s really that easy.  I would also like to point out that a lower temperature mash, generally speaking, will give you a more fermentable mash, which will dry/thin out more.  A higher temp will give you a less fermentable with more dextrines (i.e., mouth-feel).

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After our beers fermented, conditioned, and carbonated, we sent two bottles out to each of the other five participants:

Aaron – Captain’s Chair

Derek – Luther Public House

Erik – Top Fermented

Joseph – Hopfen Treader

Peter – Simply Beer

Last Friday, we all connected vis Skype, a first for this technologically backwards beer geek, and sampled each others beer.  I was quite surprised how it nearly seemed as if we were all sitting in one of our kitchens or a quiet pub.  Even more surprising, was the profound difference between the beers.  Remember, each beer was identical in recipe, save one alteration, addition, or subtraction.

Our brews were incredibly different, but each was tasty.  Keep in mind each participant used a different water source, a HUGE factor in a beers make up.

My addition was maple syrup, though I had contemplated this:

Peter recorded our interaction…please take a listen!  If you like what you hear, join us for the next blogger brewoff!

Click Here For Blogger Brewoff Podcast

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I intentionally try to keep my article somewhat ambiguous to my personal life.  It seems that our society is increasingly shunning privacy.  We’ve gone from the snail mail standard, to the email standard, to watching your friends’ marriage implode on FaceBook status updates.  While this is cultural shift bugs me from time to time, it does not keep me from participating in such socially integrated sites, I just do so in moderation, just as I do in beer.

This week as I was catching up on some unread articles over at Seen Through A Glass, Lew Bryson’s Beer Blog, I found myself choking up as I read through a very well written and seemingly non-beer related article, Growing Up, in which Lew reminisced over fathering his son, now a senior in high school.  The well written piece made me a even bigger fan of Lew’s site, as it made clear that he 1) was an involved and loving father, and 2) family took priority over beer; and that’s the way it should be.

Lew apologized at the end of the article for the non-beer related content, but to me, no apology was necessary.  If a man keeps his priorities straight, that is beer does not trump family, than in my mind such a rambling is a part of the story of beer in the sense that the all circumstances of a man’s life impact his hobbies and even writing style.

Further, while beer–and alcohol in general–is considered (for legitimate reasons, unfortunately) to be destructive to the nuclear family, it can be the complete opposite.  How many times have you bonded over a beer with a loved one?  Or consider some of the longstanding breweries in Europe that have been handed down from father to son for centuries.

Shortly after reading Lew’s article, my dear seven year old son handed me a folded up piece of paper that inspired this post alongside Lew’s post.  For your viewing pleasure and as an outpouring of fatherly pride, I scanned the paper that showcases Malachi’s burgeoning understanding of English grammar and his love for his pops and time we spend together.

I don’t think I have ever brewed a batch of beer without the assistance of Malachi.  In fact, the other day my sister was visiting while I was brewing beer.  Malachi called from the living room, “Dad!  Are you ready for me to help sparge?”  Confused, my sister asked, “What’s sparging?”  Malachi answered her question not mine.

Malachi is growing up fast.  As I read Lew’s article and realized I had better pay closer attention and store the memories of his journey.  It saddens me as I see his teeth fall out (but it saddens his mother more!) and see realize benchmarks of growing up are passing rapidly, but it thrills me that we can share a passion.  He is an awesome young man, with a big heart, and as a father, I couldn’t be prouder.

The more memories I can make with my children the better.  I don’t want to force any of my hobbies or preferences upon them, but when they organically match up between us so that we can enjoy them together, it makes for one awesome bond and plenty of great memories.

I know I’ve written before about brewing with my son…thanks for letting me show off my son!

Malachi to Dad
It is fun brewing beer together
We have fun
And we can have fun!!!
Love Malachi

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Yeast Type: Wyeast 1968 London ESB Yeast.

As the usual specifications for Wyeast and White Labs recommend, I allowed the 3-6 hours (I went 5) for the smack pack to expand and start yeast activation.

Yeast Uses: Because of its alcohol tolerance, this yeast has a multiplicity of uses.  Wyeast list anything from a Mild to an Old Ale to an IPA and even a Barley-Wine.  I feel this strain is especially conducive to making Barley Wines, ESBs, and IPAs, all of which are very nice with a residual amount of sweetness in their character.  Provided a rest is done at 64 degrees for short period, you should be able to reduce diacetyl levels, something I encouraged in my ESB.  Just remember that 67-71% attenuation will leave you with a residual sugar content, and you may consider finishing with a more thorough strain, like London Ale Yeast or even Irish, for a drier character.

Yeast Attenuation: As I said, 67-71% is the attenuation level given for this beer.  I fell right around the high range range with my O.G. being 1.070 (high end of an ESB) and my final being 1.012.  As you can see, I had some noticeable sweetness left in the beer, which was okay because of the higher alcohol for the style. I also pitched the second generation into another wort that I had made, and it easily achieved (and passed) the tolerance of 10% ABV.  This is a solid yeast, but I would recommend a starter with O.G. above 1.080.

Yeast Lag: I saw pressure building in the airlock within four hours of pitching the yeast.  By the fifth hour, the beer was slowly bubbling.  Between six to eight hours, I was seeing pretty active fermentation.  As always, depending on wort nutrition and yeast health, you may see slightly different results.  Listen to the manufacturer and wait 18 hours or so before re-pitching.  However, I expect that you will see results far before this.

Overall Performance: I want to note first of all that this was an ESB, which desires a particularly clean looking body.  This strain has a very high level of flocculation, so suspended particles really get dragged out.  I’ve found that lagering the beer for as little as a few days will aid with this dropping out.  Just remember that it may also collect diacetyl, too.  The yeast did what it was supposed to.  I did get quite a bit of apple tones, which are associated with particular acid productions.  Overall, it turned out to be a fruity ale with a balanced malt character.  I think this will be right up your alley if you choose to do some of the particular beers that I’ve mentioned above.

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The choices are really pretty scant.  You can buy light, amber, dark and wheat malt…which is pretty much it.  Any character that you wish to add to your beer must be done through the purchase of specialty grains, sugars, or other adjuncts.  Often these can be found via kits or fairly simple recipes.  Let me say, without equivocation, that there is nothing wrong with extract brewing.  However, you are able to maintain more control, better quality, and more creative spirit in the world of all-grain brewing. How do I know this?  I started with extract brewing.

All grain brewing is easier than you might believe.  The description of the process sounds harder than the practice, so don’t be discouraged by terminology.  Remember that if you do the process right, you don’t need to give a perfectly accurate description of enzymatic activity or VDK production to brew well. Processes will happen independent of your perfect understanding.  So, if we use technical jargon at some points, don’t feel trodden by word…we are putting words to what is happening anyway.

What you are about to do is referred to as mashing.  You are converting those starches (complex sugars) into simple sugars for yourself.  You will have more control, quality, and save money in the long run.  How are you going to do this?

Essentially, the process runs like this:  you steep your grains in pre-determined amounts of water over a pre-determined amount of time.  Then you pour another pre-determined amount of water through those grains to obtain a pre-determined amount of sugars from those grains.  Who is the pre-determiner of all this?  You are.  That sounds like comforting control over the whole process.  Let’s not get too much in the process just yet.  After all, aren’t you going to need a vessel in which to do this?  I think you will.

Since you are trying to hold grains at particular volumes and particular temperatures, you are going to need something that will hold the volume and the temperature.  But what can you use?  How about a simple gatorade or water cooler?  It is insulated and will hold five gallons of water.  My cooler will hold (maxed out) 15 pounds of grain, which is more than enough volume to get a beer of 9% ABV, depending on grain type and kettle additions.  With sugar additions, I can achieve a balanced 11% ABV beer.  Not bad for 15 pounds of grain and a few sugars…that’s a total of abuot 50-54 12-ounce bottles of beer.  So, how do you do it?

A simple Gatorade/Igloo cooler is almost all you need for the mashing process.  In this case, there is nothing to construct for making a mash tun.  After your grains are steeped and starches have become simple sugars, all you have to do is separate those sugars from the mash with water.  What do you need to make this happen?

Charlie Papazian uses what he calls the Zapap method.  Simply stated, it uses two five gallon buckets to accomplish the separation of wort.  He takes one 5 gallon bucket and puts a spigot on the very bottom. The other bucket sits inside the first.  Because of how the bucket sits within the other, there is a gap created which can be filled with the liquid that is being separated from the grain.  The only thing that you must do is drill a couple hundred 1/8 inch holes into the second bucket (which sits in the first).  This allows for the maximum liquid separation while keeping the grain out of the wort.  This is an effective and efficient method, although one I don’t actually use.

I designed my sparge setup using the Zapap conceptualization but have tried to have less buckets in the process.  I went to the hardware store and bought a piece of 1/4 inch plexiglas.  I cut it in half and made two platforms that sit at the top and bottom of cooler, respectively.  My bottom portion sits just above the spigot.  My top portion sits just above the top of the already mashed grains.  The bottom part obviously separates the liquids, while the tops allows me to pour water through the grains with a gentile barrier that causes it to sprinkle rain instead of disturbing the grain bed (the bed forms a natural filter that needs to stay stationary).  The separation of these liquids is technically called sparging.

For myself, I end up mashing in my cooler, pouring the grains into my pot, inserting my plexiglass, “floating” my grains (this simply means that I put water to a level just above the platform), pour my grains back in and put my top platform…and just start running the water through.

Okay, I’ve covered a good deal of ground with the mashing, sparging, etc.  Here are some visual stimuli that will give you an idea of what I’m talking about.  I’ll post on how to mash and types of mashing the next time around.  For now, I just want to give you some orientation toward thinking about it.  Comments? Questions?

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The first thing I did was buy three pounds of carrots.  The reason I chose carrots was because they are already a little sweeter, so I knew that there were plenty of sugars and starches to be had.  Having peeled the carrots, I shredded them with coarse grater.  Near the end of my grating, I put a pan of water on the stove and got it to boiling.  Once the carrots were done, I put them in a separate pan and poured the boiling water on top, just covering the surface of the carrots.  Then, I set the pot to boiling for a period of five minutes.  After the 5 minutes, I turned the heat off letting the carrots sit and steep for 45 minutes.

Once the 45 minutes were up, I ran the liquid through a strainer, collecting the liquid and setting it to a boil.  Meanwhile, I let the carrots cool and squeezed them to collect the rest of juice.  I set the carrots aside and used them to make a carrot soup, which was more like a bisque.  Here is the recipe for that soup.

Three Pounds Carrot (after the extraction), 1 Large Onion, 2 Cups Vegetable or Chicken stock/Bullion, 1 Tablespoon fresh dill (more or less according to preference), Fresh milled pepper, Cayenne (optional) for a little heat, 1/2 (around 6 oz.) of English bitter or golden/tripel style ales, extra salt according to taste, 3 cloves garlic, Olive Oil for frying (3 Tbsp), small amounts of rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano for added flavor and depth. Caramelize the onions and add garlic near the end (use all the oil for this).  Add the rest of the carrots and spices.  Fry for several minutes until the carrots begin to caramelize and brown.  Bring heat up and add beer.  After a few minutes add the stock.  Heat for several minutes to reduce liquids (leaving some for processing).  Put into food processor and puree the mixture.  Eat with a darker, sweeter brown bread and beer that was included in stock or a Saison.  That was a rabbit trail…they like carrots.  Back to the sugar.

Okay, once you have all the liquid in the pot you are just boiling it down until it becomes thick and viscous. You want it to be thicker than molasses and may have to turn the heat down near the end.  A splash of lemon juice in the sugar will help it keep longer and actually aid in the fermentation process as well.  I held mine in fridge for a few weeks.  Once I was ready, I just added the sugar during my boil in the brewing process.  It was bit of work to get this sugar but it work very well in my beer…and I had fun experimenting. I’m thinking of calling it My 2010 Vision ESB.

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