CrankyFrankie

I have settled on a one temp, stove top mashing procedure. I have been very happy with it. Once I set my mash, I leave the kettle on the stove top, covered. I check it every 15 minutes for temperature and I give it a good stir. The temp usually drops of 3-5 degrees in those 15 minutes. I turn the heat back on stir and check my temp until it gets back to mash temp, usually 150F. I cut the heat, continue to stir for a few more seconds, cover the kettle and let it sit. I mash for 1:45 to 2 hrs. The Miller book advises two hours but sometimes I get impatient. In the beginning I also did a conversion test with iodine but I quit doing that. I just use time and the visual verification that the wort is clarified. I have always had fairly clear beer and I have always had decent conversion results. I have tried protein rests and compared them to no protein rests and I could never tell a worthwhile difference in the final product so I quit doing them.

During the mash, I get my sparge water ready. I used a 5 gallon stainless steel boiler and a smaller stainless steel spaghetti boiler, about 2.5 gals. I fill them up with tap water, about an inch from the top and begin heating to 160-170F. I used to acidify my sparge water with lactic acid but I quit doing it because my yields were no different whether I did or didn’'t.

I am starting out with about 6.5 to 7 gals of sparge water. Also, there is anywhere from 2 ¼ to 3 gals of water in the mash. Seems like a lot of water to end up five gallons of beer..more on that during sparging and boiling.

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