I was just looking at your recipes and noticed you used varying mash thicknesses (1.25 to 1.5). I've always done 1.25 for everything and never really looked into the pros/cons of adjusting it. I'm not seeing a pattern to why you change in different recipes, so I thought I would ask why.
So, why?
Anyone else with their 2 cents, chime in if you want.
Joined: 21 Feb 2012 Posts: 710 Location: Longmont, CO
Drinking: Pinot barrel aged quad
Working on: Flanders oude bruin in barrel, Flanders red fermenting to refill the barrel
Link Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:52 pm Post subject:
Thick vs. thin will affect dextrin production and fermentability.
You would think a thinner mash would be more efficient since there is more water to dissolve sugars, but I've heard a counter argument that the thicker mash gives better contact between the enzymes and the starches. I personally don't think it makes much difference for my 60 minute mash. _________________ Brewery equipment photos (et al) here: https://picasaweb.google.com/114861423235799103704
We need to figure out how much strike water to transfer to the Mash/Lauter Tun in order to soak (mash) our grain.
Like mash temperature, the water to grain ratio (often called 'liquor to grist ratio') used when mashing also affects the beer you produce (to a much lesser degree however). Generally speaking, a thicker mash (less water) produces a beer that is fuller/sweeter as it creates more unfermentable sugars while a thinner mash (more water) produces a thinner/dryer beer as it creates more fermentable sugars.
This mash thickness is usually expressed as the number of quarts of water per pound of grain. A mash thickness of about 1.25 quarts/pound is a common ratio used for most ales. For beers such as this one that we want to be a bit thinner/dryer, 1.5 to 2.0 quarts/pound is common.
Agreed that it's one of the factors that affects the least, but I mention it anyway and do play with the water to grist ratio depending on style. YMMV.
Give the entire article a read for other factors that can affect your outcome. There are many (temp, pH, water:grist ratio, etc).
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