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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator

Contents:
  mashing mystery (Pete Soper)

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Date: Tue, 4 Apr 89 17:35:08 edt
From: Pete Soper <soper at maxzilla.encore.com>
Subject: mashing mystery

  Some experts recommend mashing adjunct grains such as crystal malt
along with the rest of the grains in a batch. How is it that mash enzymes
wouldn't break down some of the dextrins in the crystal malt? In other
words, if I just sparge crystal malt I would expect to see it attenuate
roughly 20%, leaving the other 80% as mostly unfermentable (and sweet)
dextrins. If I add it to my mash it seems like the attenuation would be
increased as some of the dextrins were broken to maltose or maltotriose,
reducing the residual sweetness I am after. What am I missing here?

  Actually I'm looking for the rationale for leaving some of the
grain out of my little 3 gallon cooler/mash tun :-)

  Also, virtually everything I've read cautions me about overheating my
mash (tannins dissolving,  severe haze problems, etc). Yet with a decoction
mash a large fraction of the mash is brought to a boil. How can this
be? Is it safe to exceed the 170 degree limit for the short time it
takes to boil the decoction?

--Pete Soper

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