Step Mashing Advice...

This year I'm stepping outside my brewing comfort zone and will have a go at brewing some continental stylie beers. I'm feeling an urge towards Belgium, but I'm not totally sure about the mashing scheme I've seen!

I have done step mashing quite a bit, but normally within the golden zone at some point. Bare in mind my equipment is very basic and I can only increase temp. by adding boiling water.

Here is the recipe and process...

Belgian Blonde Ale
Batch: 23l
OG: 1.070
FG: 1.018
ABV: 6.9%
IBU: 25
EBC: 11

6600g Golden Promise Malt
400g Wheat Malt

Mash in @ 62c - 17.5L - 50 minutes
Riase temp. to 72c - 7.5L boiling water - 20 minutes
Sparge @ 78c - 11L - 10 minutes
(I double mash, but has same effect as sparging)

Boil: 90 minutes
@ 90 minutes - 18g Northdown
@ 10 minutes - 33g Saaz
@ 10 minutes - 17g Hersbrucker
@ 10 minutes - 5g Cascade
@ 10 minutes - 5g Cinnamon
@ 10 minutes - 4g Star Anise

Ferment @ 27c with Belgian Ardennes yeast

Priming: 150g Dem. sugar

This looks good, but with the mash at 62° C I think (I am still not certain yet myself), that you will get an apparent attenuation of much more than 75%.

I also see that the specs for this yeast say 18-24° C. If you want more esters, I suppose that starting at 22° C and letting the temperature rise would also provide enough.

Regarding the mash, and why I am still not certain myself: I did some smaller brews using decoction, and instead of 64-65°, my temperature was mostly around 62° C (because of calculation and handling errors). I got a much better yield, which I can attribute to the decoction mash, but also a much greater attenuation, which in first instance I also attributed to the decoction mash, but which was probably more due to the temperature (doing a decoction mash is simpler with smaller brew volumes).

Brewing something Chouffe like?

That certainly appears to be a mash schedule geared towards fermentability. Hitting the peaks of enzyme activity for alpha and beta amylase.

This should make a very fermentable wort in an infusion step mash as Beta amylase prefers a thicker mash.

I've only used the 3522 yeast once in my belgian brunette, but I'd reccomend pitching low and warming it up. I pitched at 20c and the ramped up after a week and it was pretty rough to start (also 9.3%). My recent saison also hit 9% (with Wyeast 3726 Farmhouse Ale) but I started it at 18c and ramped 1c per day until 24c, I think starting day 2, sometimes I give it 3 days cool, there's still plenty of character from the yeast and the alcohol is smooth, was perfectly drinkable after about 6 weeks, where the brunette needed several months.

Thanks guys... In my notes I have pitching temp @ 24c, thats the temp. I'll also set the minimum temp. in my FV cupboard. It should rise a bit naturally, then fall again.

@Sadfield ... Thanks for posting the graphic. I think I've seen you posting that before, but didn't take much notice. I'm a happy bunny now and a little less of a ignorant brewer...

ACBEV said:

Mash in @ 62c - 17.5L - 50 minutes
Riase temp. to 72c - 7.5L boiling water - 20 minutes
Sparge @ 78c - 11L - 10 minutes
(I double mash, but has same effect as sparging)

Click to expand...

Sorry to take a tangent, but can you explain what you mean by double mashing? Are you saying that instead of taking the grain out (I'm assuming from this you BIAB?) you just top up your 17.5L mash water with whatever volume of sparge water to bring you up to 78degC? And what's the advantage of doing it like this?

@matt76 :tinhat: Double Mashing... Triple Mashing... Quad mashing (with a mash tun)

My mashing process is essentially the same as used in scotch whisky mashing... When I post a recipe, I normally don't mention that and write something that normal home brewers understand. I do get ridiculed for my antiquated methods.

An example of a triple mash...

Ist mash... or first water... @ 62c
2nd mash... or second water... @ 70c
3rd mash... or third water... @ 85c (kills enzymes)
Last but not least fourth water (sparge)...

The wort from each step is collected separately.

I like this method because I can choose multiple temps/times combinations. Its very useful for parti-gyling and blending. But very time consuming.

ACBEV said:

@matt76 :tinhat: Double Mashing... Triple Mashing... Quad mashing (with a mash tun)

My mashing process is essentially the same as used in scotch whisky mashing... When I post a recipe, I normally don't mention that and write something that normal home brewers understand. I do get ridiculed for my antiquated methods.

An example of a triple mash...

Ist mash... or first water... @ 62c
2nd mash... or second water... @ 70c
3rd mash... or third water... @ 85c (kills enzymes)
Last but not least fourth water (sparge)...

The wort from each step is collected separately.

I like this method because I can choose multiple temps/times combinations. Its very useful for parti-gyling and blending. But very time consuming.

Click to expand...

How long do you leave the 2nd and 3rd mashes for? Also don't distilleries use their final water as the strike water for the next mash?

As a noob can I ask why prime with demerara sugar in blonde wheat beer? Can you taste any difference or is it just what you normally use?
And are you using a mash tun and a separate BV?
Sorry for all the questions but I want to head to AG brewing and looking to see what works. Thanks.

Zephyr259 said:

How long do you leave the 2nd and 3rd mashes for? Also don't distilleries use their final water as the strike water for the next mash?

Click to expand...

The 3rd mash high temp would be short, about 10 minutes. The 2nd mash would be upto 120 minutes, especially if the temp was between 70-72c. I don't use the final water for the next strike, as I don't brew often enough, but its useful for lowering gravity if needed.
I started this faffing about when I started parti-gyling, it gave me good control over wort quantities with differing qualities as I collect each mash wort in seperate buckets, then I may blend into 2 or 3 lots for boiling.

Richie_asg1 said:

As a noob can I ask why prime with demerara sugar in blonde wheat beer? Can you taste any difference or is it just what you normally use?

Click to expand...

I can taste the difference in pale beers, but I mostly use from habit... and I buy a big 3kg bag.

ACBEV said:

The 3rd mash high temp would be short, about 10 minutes. The 2nd mash would be upto 120 minutes, especially if the temp was between 70-72c. I don't use the final water for the next strike, as I don't brew often enough, but its useful for lowering gravity if needed.
I started this faffing about when I started parti-gyling, it gave me good control over wort quantities with differing qualities as I collect each mash wort in seperate buckets, then I may blend into 2 or 3 lots for boiling.

I can taste the difference in pale beers, but I mostly use from habit... and I buy a big 3kg bag.

Click to expand...

Nice, I've always wanted to do a proper partigyle with blending of the run offs but it's always seemed like too much hassle and unpredictable. One day I'll just set a full day aside, probably with my friend who's caught the brewing bug, and do a bug partigyle.