Mastering the Mash: Control the Mashing Process to Produce the Wort You Want

Mashing is as simple as mixing milled grain with water, but the devil and the angels are in the details. This session broadly explores the science of mashing and present experimental results that illuminate the impact of control points applicable to infusion mashing for homebrewers, including time, temperature, grist composition, mash thickness, grain crush, and pH. You will walk away better understanding how to “master the mash,” with empirical data that will guide them in balancing trade-offs and dialing in the mashing process to produce the wort they want.

Learning Objectives

• Appreciate the impact and importance of mash efficiency and wort composition on beer production
• Interpret experimental data illustrating the impact of various mashing parameters on mash efficiency, wort composition, and fermentability
• Learn how to manipulate time, temperature, grist composition, mash thickness, grain crush, and/or pH in homebrew infusion mashes in order to achieve a desired wort profile

About the Speaker

Doug Brown began homebrewing in 2000, a month after graduating from college. In 2013 he joined the QUAFF homebrew club, and in 2015 he earned a Professional Certificate in Brewing from the University of California, San Diego. Doug is a Grand Master II Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) judge, a Certified Cicerone, and a past president of QUAFF (2020-2021). In 2022, he won four medals at the National Homebrew Competition.