Lesson 5 - The Mashing Process SAQ
This lesson provides the opportunity for you to test yourself on the material covered in Lesson 4 on The Mashing Process and determine the level to which you have attained the expected outcomes.
Self-Assessment Questions
1. * Describe two benefits and two adverse effects of high temperatures in mashing.
2. ** Explain the benefits of maintaining a mash pH of 5.2-5.4. What can we do to ensure that the pH of our mash is within this range?
3. ** Sketch a mashing profile for a beer produced from a grist of 30% maize grits and 70% under-modified malt. Explain what is happening at each stage of the process.
4. ** You are brewing a beer using isothermal mashing, and you need the mash to be 66°C. From the data in the table below, what should the strike temperature be, and what is the percentage fermentability of the wort produced?
|
Grist mass |
5,500 kg |
|
Water volume |
137.50 hL |
|
Slaking heat |
2.8°C |
|
OG |
11.2°P |
|
PG |
0.8°P |
|
Grist temperature |
19.5°C |
5. *** Your boss has read online that Brut IPA is the next big thing and that it must have a very low final gravity to be any good. They ask you to produce a prototype of around 6% abv with the ‘world’s lowest final gravity’ for tasting.
a) Considering the mashing raw materials, parameters, and method, how would you design a mashing process to achieve this?
b) How could you quickly evaluate the success of a trial of your process to achieve the ‘world’s lowest final gravity’? Why must you exercise caution when drawing conclusions from this?