Do you stir during a 60- or 90-minute mash? How often?
I'm wondering because it would seem that stirring would make enzymes more readily available to all the grains (including the low diastatic power ones). But on the other hand, every time you open the pot and stir, you lose heat.
So, don't stir at all? Stir every 15 minutes (or 20 or 30)? Stir once at 15 minutes and be done with it? Something else?
Post #2 made 12 years ago
smyrnaquince ,
I stir when I check the temperature about the halfway mark. I try to stir vigorously when I start and then let it go. As I check the temperature I figure why not stir? But in summer* with hot temps I just leave it alone.
* summer is the last week of July.
I stir when I check the temperature about the halfway mark. I try to stir vigorously when I start and then let it go. As I check the temperature I figure why not stir? But in summer* with hot temps I just leave it alone.
* summer is the last week of July.
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Post #3 made 12 years ago
Give it a good stir at the start whilst checking the mash temperature, then cover (with sleeping bag and doona)and leave for 90 minutes, no stirring.
Post #4 made 12 years ago
Good Day, I need to stir every 10 minutes to keep the temperature correct, I heat the kettle every 10-12 minutes to hold temperature. If I don't, the top of the mash is 3-5F less than the bottom.
I mash for 70 to 80 minutes, at that point the mash changes to a thicker syrup, and longer does'nt seem to help.
I mash for 70 to 80 minutes, at that point the mash changes to a thicker syrup, and longer does'nt seem to help.
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Post #5 made 12 years ago
Stir at the start to balance the temperature and ensure there are no dough balls. Cover, insulate and leave it alone for 90 minutes.
"It's beer Jim, but not as we know it."
Post #6 made 12 years ago
I stir and apply a little bit of heat whenever I check the temp
15-30 mins
15-30 mins
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Post #7 made 12 years ago
I've been wondering about this and was wanting to ask if anybody has tested to see if it makes a difference? I've done 5 BIAB's now and the one were I stirred every 15min (75% eff) I had my best eff, the others were stirred every 30 min (60 to 63%). Has anyone else tested this? I'm thinking of going back to the stir freq camp, but rather not let the heat out.
Re: Stir During Mash?
Post #8 made 12 years ago
I stir in the grain when it is being added, then give it a good suite for about 30 seconds to make sure there are no dough balls, then wrap it in a doonah and leave it for 90 minutes, without stirring or reheating (it doesn't get cold enough in Adelaide to drastically affect the mash temp over that time).
Matt
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Matt
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Post #9 made 12 years ago
Im a "no stirrer" I just chuck it in and let it go. Doing double batches, my mash temp will drop less than 1 degree over an hour. I have a probe thermometer so I leave it in the brew during the mash and dont have to open the pot till the times up.
Stir During Mash?
Post #10 made 12 years ago
I always mash for 90 mins and stir every 30 mins my temp drops about 1.5 degrees over 30 mins. So I heat and stir at 30 min intervals. Even if it doesn't need heating I still stir at 30 mins as a habit I suppose. And an excuse to have a spoonful of hot wort lol. Yumm
Post #11 made 12 years ago
So has anyone done a comparison to see if it has any effect on the eff? It seems from all the reading I've been doing lately, that it doesn't effect it as much as other things like mash temp, ph, and stirring alot at dough in, to what degree is what I'm curious about.
Post #12 made 12 years ago
Good Day Bucknut, I found without stirring, I had BAD conversion, starch haze in the beer, and strange uncooked flavors.
When I started stirring the conversion complete in 60-70 minutes, no more haze, and real good malt flavor!
My recipe calls for an o.g. of 1.050 and a f.g. of 1.010
My numbers only changed from 1.046 to 1.050 O.G and F.G went from 1.013 to 1.008
But the beer is much better!
When I started stirring the conversion complete in 60-70 minutes, no more haze, and real good malt flavor!
My recipe calls for an o.g. of 1.050 and a f.g. of 1.010
My numbers only changed from 1.046 to 1.050 O.G and F.G went from 1.013 to 1.008
But the beer is much better!
Honest Officer, I swear to Drunk, I am Not God.
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Post #13 made 12 years ago
Same here. Having to stir during the mash would cut into my nap time.hashie wrote:Stir at the start to balance the temperature and ensure there are no dough balls. Cover, insulate and leave it alone for 90 minutes.
Last edited by thughes on 16 Feb 2012, 22:50, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #14 made 12 years ago
Great thread smyrna 
,
Off the top of my head, I think a lot of the answer would depend on your brewing environment and your equipment - I actually couldn't give an answer myself without knowing this.
In fact, we could probably change the original question to...
"If your vessel and ambient environment allowed you to maintain your mash temperature without any input, would you still stir?"
If this was the question, then my advice to a new brewer would definitely be to stir. Why?...
Well, seeing as we don't really know the answer I think stirring has a very real benefit as it forces 'attention'. I have just written a ramble about the importance of 'attention' here. Hope you have some fun reading that post! (Make sure you grab a beer first and make sure you 'pay' attention
)
PP
,Off the top of my head, I think a lot of the answer would depend on your brewing environment and your equipment - I actually couldn't give an answer myself without knowing this.
In fact, we could probably change the original question to...
"If your vessel and ambient environment allowed you to maintain your mash temperature without any input, would you still stir?"
If this was the question, then my advice to a new brewer would definitely be to stir. Why?...
Well, seeing as we don't really know the answer I think stirring has a very real benefit as it forces 'attention'. I have just written a ramble about the importance of 'attention' here. Hope you have some fun reading that post! (Make sure you grab a beer first and make sure you 'pay' attention
) PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 16 Feb 2012, 23:58, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #15 made 12 years ago
Full disclosure: I have a recirculation pump rigged up that allows me to "stir" my mash while I nap.thughes wrote:Same here. Having to stir during the mash would cut into my nap time.hashie wrote:Stir at the start to balance the temperature and ensure there are no dough balls. Cover, insulate and leave it alone for 90 minutes.
Last edited by thughes on 17 Feb 2012, 00:02, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #16 made 12 years ago
Cheater!thughes wrote:Full disclosure: I have a recirculation pump rigged up that allows me to "stir" my mash while I nap.thughes wrote:Same here. Having to stir during the mash would cut into my nap time.hashie wrote:Stir at the start to balance the temperature and ensure there are no dough balls. Cover, insulate and leave it alone for 90 minutes.
Last edited by smyrnaquince on 17 Feb 2012, 00:19, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #17 made 12 years ago
My way of thinking is that there are (at least) two reason to stir: achieve good distribution of the enzymes and achieve an even temperature distribution in the mash. If these are true, then:
The second point seems to make sense. Stir to even out the temperatures in the mash if you have reason to believe that they are not (relatively) uniform.
HERESY ALERT!
In traditional brewing, is the mash stirred?
- If all of your grains have full diastatic power, then stirring probably doesn't matter much. On the other hand, if you are depending on the enzymes from some of your grains to act on other grains that have no/low diastatic power, stirring would be essential to get those enzymes where you need them.
- If you heat during the mash, you need to stir to evenly distribute the heat (even out the temperatures). -- Good point, Joshua! And if the mash is cooling unevenly, you need to stir. -- In this case, PistolPatch's assumption about maintaining the mash temperature is not valid.
The second point seems to make sense. Stir to even out the temperatures in the mash if you have reason to believe that they are not (relatively) uniform.
HERESY ALERT!
In traditional brewing, is the mash stirred?
Last edited by smyrnaquince on 17 Feb 2012, 00:38, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #18 made 12 years ago
Good Day, In most of the Television shows about BIG breweries...AB. their mash tuns(no BIAB) have large paddles constantly mixing the mash. The brewer said this breaks up starch pockets.
We don't have 750 gallon mash tuns, so I can't say this occurs to 10 gallon BIAB kettles.
Smyrnaquince has a valid postion about enzyme distubution.
We don't have 750 gallon mash tuns, so I can't say this occurs to 10 gallon BIAB kettles.
Smyrnaquince has a valid postion about enzyme distubution.
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Stir During Mash?
Post #19 made 12 years ago
Every ingredient that's cooked in a pot says on the packet "stir occasionally" so It's just habit I suppose to do the the same with beer,hence having a taste as well. If I didn't stir I'd be worried I'd be missing out on an important step. No sure why tho. Hidden dough balls maybe? Actually a good reason is it's usually hotter at the bottom when heating so it evens out the temp.
I'd still stir if it didn't need heating tho.
I'd still stir if it didn't need heating tho.
Post #20 made 12 years ago
If an addition of heat is needed during the mash then I would definitely stir. There is no way of knowing the true temperature otherwise, plus we don't want scorched bag or grains.
To clarify my own procedure; I stir at dough in, cover, insulate and leave for 90 minutes. Average temp. loss over 90 minutes <2°c
I then stir constantly for the 10 minutes or so that it takes to ramp up to mashout, leave again for 10-20 minutes. Stir at the the end of mashout and raise the bag.
To clarify my own procedure; I stir at dough in, cover, insulate and leave for 90 minutes. Average temp. loss over 90 minutes <2°c
I then stir constantly for the 10 minutes or so that it takes to ramp up to mashout, leave again for 10-20 minutes. Stir at the the end of mashout and raise the bag.
Last edited by hashie on 17 Feb 2012, 05:43, edited 3 times in total.
"It's beer Jim, but not as we know it."
Post #21 made 12 years ago
Another good reason to at least stir every 30 minutes or so is it gives you an opportunity to check on your wort.
You will be able to see the changes in colour and clarity and even smell the wort becoming sweeter...
Anecdotally, and not very robustly, I think I get better efficiency when I stir
You will be able to see the changes in colour and clarity and even smell the wort becoming sweeter...
Anecdotally, and not very robustly, I think I get better efficiency when I stir
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Post #22 made 12 years ago
I just realized that this same question was asked in December. Sorry about the repeat!
On my last brew, I noticed a 2 F (1 C) temperature drop in about 20 minutes, so I plan to do a stir, check, and temperature adjust every 20 minutes.
I can't prove it, but I still think there would be value to stirring for a better distribution of enzymes, especially when there are grains in the mix with low diastatic power.
On my last brew, I noticed a 2 F (1 C) temperature drop in about 20 minutes, so I plan to do a stir, check, and temperature adjust every 20 minutes.
I can't prove it, but I still think there would be value to stirring for a better distribution of enzymes, especially when there are grains in the mix with low diastatic power.
Last edited by smyrnaquince on 09 Mar 2012, 21:57, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #23 made 12 years ago
Don't worry about asking the question again! Most of us have lost so many brain cells that we answer each time differently anyway? I have answered in a few long threads twice and my post's were different?
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
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Post #24 made 12 years ago
What were we talking about?
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Post #25 made 12 years ago
We are talking about stirring the pot and I am stirring the pot! I think?thughes wrote:What were we talking about?
Last edited by BobBrews on 09 Mar 2012, 23:12, edited 3 times in total.
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
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