Mashing: Water to grains or grains to water?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by JUNCK, Mar 8, 2013.

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  1. utahbeerdude

    utahbeerdude Maven (1,374) May 2, 2006 Utah

    Water to grain, but not all at once. I'll add some of the water, and do some stirring, add some more water, stir some more, etc. IMO, these incremental additions help to avoid dough balls. The reason I do it this way is it keeps my process simpler. I grind my grains into my mash tun (7 gal SS pot w/ screen and valve), and so they are sitting there waiting for the water. I use a 2 quart sauce pan to transfer water from the hot liquor tank into the mash tun. I tried water to grain once, but with my setup I had a harder time with dough balls, but that was probably because I did not stir effectively as the grain was being added.
     
  2. leedorham

    leedorham Initiate (0) Apr 27, 2006 Washington

    I hope you have money coming out your peehole.

    My respect for brewers who spring for those things is mitigated somewhat. So many other upgrades that would benefit your beer more.
     
  3. mugs1789

    mugs1789 Initiate (0) Dec 6, 2005 Maryland

    I add a gallon of water, my grains, and then the rest of my water. Somebody on this forum recommended that once and I have blindly followed that method ever since. The original suggestion stated that it reduced doughballs.
     
  4. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Caramel, rice hulls and roast first followed by enzymatic grains to water...unless I'm mashing high, then I'm not so anal about the order.
     
  5. cavedave

    cavedave Grand Pooh-Bah (4,145) Mar 12, 2009 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I do grain to water, but hold back some grain. Always afraid to shut the enzymes so I add the last 1/4 of the grain when the water is below 168. I've heard modern 2 row has enough enzyme to do the whole thing from 1/4 of the bill.
     
  6. leedorham

    leedorham Initiate (0) Apr 27, 2006 Washington

    Your instincts seem to be the opposite of mine. I dump it all in and stir fast figuring I want as much thermal mass in there as fast as possible to cool the water down. I figure if I add it in stages, the first addition will be more likely to suffer shock since it won't have enough thermal mass to bring the temp down quickly.
     
  7. cavedave

    cavedave Grand Pooh-Bah (4,145) Mar 12, 2009 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    That's how I always did it, about 6 mo.s ago a member of the club suggested the way I spoke of. Truth told I get the same results both ways so far, some variation in efficiency, but not weighted one way or the other. Def. easier doing it the old way.
     
  8. sarcastro

    sarcastro Savant (1,097) Sep 20, 2006 Michigan

    Water to Grain, but have been considering switching.
     
  9. JUNCK

    JUNCK Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2011 Washington

    I added grains to water for my first time today. I liked it. Missed my mash temp by 3 degrees so next time I know to heat the strike water to 168. I got 75% efficiency and came close to hitting the target 1.065 I got 1.068. Super excited to drink this all Citra Pale.
     
  10. JUNCK

    JUNCK Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2011 Washington

    I have a job and a savings account.

    Benefit more than a Brew-Magic? Like?
     
  11. bulletrain76

    bulletrain76 Maven (1,287) Nov 6, 2007 California

    Grains to water. I mash in a cooler and heat my water to about 7 degrees over strike and pour it in. I give it a couple minutes to equalize with the cooler, and its usually at strike temp or a couple degrees over. If over, I just leave it open for a few minutes to cool. Then I get the grain in while stirring within a minute or so. Enzymes don't denature instantly, so if you are getting things mixed up within a few minutes, denaturation should be insignificant.

    I remember the first time I brewed all-grain I added water to the grain and it was absolutely awful to get it all evenly mixed in a shirt amount of time. Didn't want to repeat that.
     
    EdH likes this.
  12. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,023) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    wow.
    i learned a i have been doing it wrong for so long. damn Palmer.
    now i can't wait to hit a homerun on Sunday brewday. honest.

    thanks all.
     
  13. EdH

    EdH Crusader (449) Jul 27, 2005 Utah

    Same here. Pre-heating the cooler first makes dialing in the mash temp much less of a hassle.
     
  14. Jesse14

    Jesse14 Initiate (0) Jul 21, 2011 Massachusetts

    I've been doing water to grains based on Palmer's recommendations too. I've had no issues yet but it does seem like more work than it needs to be. The latest BYO magazine had an article that talked about this topic. It suggested a third option of adding increments of each as you go....so a gallon of water and a couple pounds of grain, mix and repeat. Haven't tried it yet but may be the best of both worlds (prevent dough balls and lessen chance of killing enzymes).
     
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