Pilsner stepped mashing

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Kronos

Kronos

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I have made a couple of pilsner all grain brews and both recipes were a one step mash of 60 mins at 60c.

I have just watched a YouTube video where the same pilsner recipe that I used from the 'Home Brew Beer' book was brewed but this chap changed the mash from a one step to a four step mash but did not explain why.

15 mins at 45c
20 mins at 60c
30 mins at 65c
10 mins at 75c

Never having done a stepped mash before could someone please explain the benefits for me.

Thank you
 
Clint said:
....makes it hotter so the sugars are easier to drain off??
Click to expand...
Are there any hard and fast rules to the times and temps in a stepped pilsner or lager mash, would these be ok.

15 mins at 45c
20 mins at 60c
30 mins at 65c
10 mins at 75c
 
I can’t begin to write the whole explanation into step mashing science.

I suggest you start reading here https://byo.com/mead/item/1497-the-science-of-step-mashing

And then maybe read a few other articles on “step mashing science principles” then I think myself and a few of the other guys would be more than happy to help answer any questions.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
There are so many variables available in brewing beer that I decided to fix a few of them and now Mash in one of only two ways as follows:

MASHING

Strike Water = 2.6 litres per 1kg of grain.

For "High alcohol - Dry" beers Mash at 55 to 66 degrees. (Usually used for Bitters, Lagers etc.)

For "Low Alcohol - Sweet" beers Mash at 68 to 72 degrees. (Usually used for Milds, Stouts etc.)

Both mashes are for ONE HOUR and stirred after 20 and 40 minutes.

DO NOT exceed 75 degrees.

Heat SPARGE water to 80 degrees.

After Mashing, Lauter using two containers until wort runs clear; then divert into boiler and Sparge at one litre per minute.

Stop sparge when runnings reach SG1.008 / SG1.012.

The system works for me? :thumb:
 
According to David Heath you can mash for 30m at 62c then 30m at 68c, then mash out at 75c. I have tried this but unsure as to what difference it made. The link posted by Hoddy says for a drier more fermentable wort you should mash at around 62/63 for an hour then raise it. I am going to try this as my Lagers dont get below 1008 and i like a really crisp dry beer.
 
Kronos said:
Can anyone recommend a set of mash steps for a pilsner larger.
Click to expand...

The hochkurz mash that Bigcol suggested is ideal for a continental style lager. That is something like:

30 mins at 63°
30 mins at 70°
15 mins at 75°

This will work best with German malt if you can get it, Weyermann for example.

Edit to add: just noticed this is pretty much what BeerCat just posted!
 
BeerCat said:
According to David Heath you can mash for 30m at 62c then 30m at 68c, then mash out at 75c. I have tried this but unsure as to what difference it made. The link posted by Hoddy says for a drier more fermentable wort you should mash at around 62/63 for an hour then raise it. I am going to try this as my Lagers dont get below 1008 and i like a really crisp dry beer.
Click to expand...

The last light pseudo lager I made went really low. 1.002 FG but this was in part because of the low OG and 5% sugar addition, but long and low mashes work (I mashed at 64C for two hours. ) Another thing I've been reading about is mash thickness as this can have an effect too. In the BYO article linked above it states:

"A 1�"2 hour rest in the 140�"145 °F (60�"63 °C) range is, in fact, one way for brewers produce a highly-fermentable wort for drier beers."

and

"In particular, a short (20 minute) rest at 158�"162 °F (70�"72 °C), in a relatively thick mash (around 1.0 qt./lb. or ~2 L/kg) will produce a very thick, full-bodied beer."

So I imagine the reverse would be true, 2 hour mash at 63C with a thin mash (say 3-3.5L/kg)
 
strange-steve said:
The hochkurz mash that Bigcol suggested is ideal for a continental style lager. That is something like:

30 mins at 63°
30 mins at 70°
15 mins at 75°

This will work best with German malt if you can get it, Weyermann for example.

Edit to add: just noticed this is pretty much what BeerCat just posted!
Click to expand...

And just to throw that it out there, the Brulosophy experiment, Single infusion vs Hochkurz concluded that people couldnt tell the difference. But as always with the Brulosophy experiments. It's just one point of data

http://brulosophy.com/2017/08/14/the-mash-single-infusion-vs-hochkurz-step-mash-exbeeriment-results/

I bet I would be one of the people that cant tell the difference as I dont think my palate is that good. So if I was the OP I'd just do a single infusion unless a) he thought he might be able to tell the difference b) is interested in various brewing techniques and fancied a go at step mashing (tbt step mashing doesnt look too hard. Just adding more, water to achieve the desired temp)
 
MyQul said:
And just to throw that it out there, the Brulosophy experiment, Single infusion vs Hochkurz concluded that people couldnt tell the difference. But as always with the Brulosophy experiments. It's just one point of data

http://brulosophy.com/2017/08/14/the-mash-single-infusion-vs-hochkurz-step-mash-exbeeriment-results/

I bet I would be one of the people that cant tell the difference as I dont think my palate is that good. So if I was the OP I'd just do a single infusion unless a) he thought he might be able to tell the difference b) is interested in various brewing techniques and fancied a go at step mashing (tbt step mashing doesnt look too hard. Just adding more, water to achieve the desired temp)
Click to expand...

:lol: I was waiting for that. I wonder would there have been a noticeable difference had they used the floor malted pilsner.

I personally haven't done any side by side testing, but I think there must be something to step mashing otherwise why would commercial breweries bother with it? Though that's not to say it necessarily translates to home brewing.
 
strange-steve said:
:lol: I was waiting for that. I wonder would there have been a noticeable difference had they used the floor malted pilsner.

I personally haven't done any side by side testing, but I think there must be something to step mashing otherwise why would commercial breweries bother with it? Though that's not to say it necessarily translates to home brewing.
Click to expand...

Thats the thing with some of these Brulosophy exbeeriments, unless it's something that does/doesn't transfer to HB scale, why would a commercial brewery do something extra, when anything extra they have to do transfers into hundreds of thousands if not millions of extra pounds in costs
 

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