Mashing - Tuns And Accessories

Brewing beer requires a lot of steps before achieving the final product. An essential step in all-grain brewing is mashing. Mashing refers to the hot water steeping process. It is necessary not only to hydrate the grains but also to activate the malt enzymes so that the grain starches convert to fermentable sugars. Without the process of mashing, the grain bills will not produce enough sugar for the liquid wort to ferment.

There are two methods of mashing, and these include (1) infusion and (2) decoction. While the former involves heating the grains in one vessel, the latter consists of boiling a proportion of grains then returning them to the mash. You can perform this task more than once, raising the temperature incrementally each time you complete this step. You can do infusion mashes in an ordinary brew kettle. An insulated brewing container (called a mash tun) with a false bottom is where to do a decoction mash. (more info below)