In beer brewing, mashing is a process of soaking grains in order to draw out flavor, color, and fermentable sugars. Mashing is not to be confused with steeping. Both processes are the same, but there is one key difference: mashing adds fermentable sugars to the wort, while steeping does not. There are some other differences between the two, but this is a simplistic way to explain the differences.

Steeping uses specialty grains that have already been mashed. Mashing uses base malts that need to be mashed. You do not want to steep base malts because this will add starches to the wort that have not been converted to sugar. As a result, your final beer will end up with the starches in it, which will affect the clarity and mouthfeel of your beer.

You can combine base malts and specialty malts together, and by doing so you are now mashing. When combining the two, you must make adjustments to ensure that you mash the base malts in order to convert the starches into sugars you can use. When combining specialty malts and base malts, you can do a partial mash or go all out and do a full mash, which is all grain brewing. Partial mashing is right in the middle between extract brewing and all grain brewing.

The difference between partial mashing and all grain brewing is the use if malt extract. Partial mashing involves using the malt extract, either as your only base malt or with additional base malt(s). In all grain, you are mashing all your base malt(s) from grains and not using any extract.

Mashing requires specific times and temperatures. You must mash the grains long enough and at the right temperature in order for the conversion of starches into sugars to take place. Therefore, mashing times are longer than steeping. Constant temperature is the other important factor.

When mashing for beer brewing, many brewers use a mash tun. This is yet another DIY project in beer brewing, so it does not require the purchase of any specialized beer brewing equipment. You can make a mash tun from a cooler. It is necessary to make a few adjustments to the cooler, so that it also doubles as a lauter tun which filters out the mash before racking to fermentation. This requires just a few steps and a few inexpensive pieces of equipment that you can get at any local hardware or home supply store.

There are different types of mashes that can be done, but the one that is most common is the single infusion method. Likely this will be the first one you attempt when you start mashing. Single infusion involves bringing a specific amount of water up to a certain temperature for mashing. The resting temperatures are usually between 149 F and 165 F.

Many brewers use 154 F as the preferred temperature for mashing because this gives a nice balance of body and fermentability that works really well with British and American style ales. To do a single infusion mash, the strike water (the water that is used for the mash) is heated to a temperature higher than the desired mashing temperature so that once the grains are added, the water temperature is where the brewer desires for mashing. In other words, the strike temperature is actually slightly higher than the mashing temperature to account for the drop in temperature that results after adding the grains.

John Palmer, author of the beer brewing bible “How To Brew”, uses the following formula to calculate the strike water temperature: Strike Water Temperature = (.2/R)(T2-T1) + T2. R represents the ratio of water to grain in quarts per pound, T1 is the temperature of the grains in Fahrenheit, and T2 is the target temperature of the mash in Fahrenheit.

Many brewers struggle hitting the proper mash temperature using the single infusion method. This can be frustrating. One note about the formula–it doesn’t account for heat loss to the mash tun. It assumes that the mash tun has a thermal capacity of 0. To get around this issue, you can preheat the mash tun with some boiling water or adjust the strike water temperature based on previous experience.

If you choose to adjust the strike water temperature, you need to make sure to keep the mash tun and grain temperature consistent between the different mashes. Another way to account for the unknown thermal capacity of the mash tun is to adjust the strike water’s temperature after it has been added to the mash tun and before adding the grains. This can be done by adding hot or cold water.

My main goal here at Cryptobrewology is to introduce people to the wonderful world of craft beers and home brewing, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t explore the possibilities even for those who just want to give home brewing a try, and don’t necessarily have the intention of taking it to the next level. In this case, I’m talking about the hobbyist who might give a Mr. Beer home brewing kit a whirl, just for fun.

In many conversations that I’ve overheard, or have been a part of regarding Mr. Beer, the comments are pretty much the same, “I tried Mr. Beer once, but it tasted bad.”

Typically, when people give something a try and it doesn’t turn out as expected, they are all too willing to blame the product or the system they used, and not evaluate their methods.

Mr. Beer sometimes gets a bad rap. Prior to sitting down to write this I actually tasted a Mr. Beer West Coast Pale Ale I had brewed, and it tasted great. Not yeasty, not sour, or sweet. It was mildly bitter, with a fruity and mildly floral hop nose. It had all the hallmarks of a commercial ale that I may have bought at the store. No kidding.

The key factors that led to this great tasting batch of Mr. Beer are proper sanitization, yeast pitching temp, fermentation temp, water quality, and patience. Ignore these and you’re destined to make a lousy brew, so don’t blame Mr. Beer!

Key Factor One: SANITIZE

I can’t stress it enough. Sanitize, Sanitize, SANITIZE! Make sure your kitchen counters are clean, make sure your hands are clean, and make sure you use the One Step no-rinse cleanser – included with every kit and refill – to sanitize the keg and your tools. Before bottling make sure you follow the directions and thoroughly sanitize the bottles.

No rinse means “NO RINSE!” There is absolutely nothing left behind by One-Step that can harm you or the beer. Rinse with tap water and you risk contaminating everything you have just cleaned. Don’t rinse, just drain.

Key Factor Two: PITCHING and FERMENTING TEMP

The Mr. Beer instructions advise us to use cold water in the fermenter prior to pouring in the wort, and then topping off with cold water before pitching the yeast. There is a reason for this. First, the wort is very hot and you don’t want to compromise the plastic keg fermenter, so put cold water in first, as a buffer.

Second, the yeast should not be added to the keg until the temperature is just about 70 degrees fahrenheit. 85 is not just about 70. You can monitor the temperature with a SANITIZED Thermometer, that’s what I do, or buy a Brew-O-Meter from Mr. Beer that sticks onto the fermenter, that works.

Topping off with cold water brings the brew up to the full fermenting volume, and will also help drop the temperature of the wort to within pitching range. If you don’t have a thermometer, just feel the sides of the keg. If it is cool to the touch, not warm or hot, then you’re okay. If the keg feels warm to you it’s too warm for the yeast!

After pitching the yeast you want to keep the keg somewhere out of direct sunlight, and where the temperature is consistent, somewhere between 68 and 72 degrees fahrenheit is recommended.

Temperature is critical for proper yeast performance. Too hot or too cold and you can kiss your beer goodbye.

Key Factor Three: WATER

Bottled water or filtered tap water are recommended for a reason. They are filtered to remove contaminants and will ensure a decent quality beer. I watched in horror as a YouTuber demonstrating Mr. Beer showed me how to top off the keg with cold water using his sink sprayer! You’re just asking for trouble if you do that. Who knows what microbial monstrosities are hanging out in the end of that thing?!

It’s better to just buy a few gallons of bottled water and stick them in the fridge. Case closed.

Key Factor Four: PATIENCE

Sanitization, temperature and water quality are critical components to producing a good batch of Mr. Beer – well, ANY home brewed beer actually – but another important factor, something many of us DIY-ers struggle with, is patience.

Sure, you can have drinkable beer in as little as two weeks with any home brewing process. That’s because, generally speaking, the fermentation process is usually complete in 7 days, and it only takes 7 days for the beer to carbonate after bottling. It’s drinkable, but it can be a lot better.

What makes it better is aging. Beer left alone in the fermenter for two weeks will settle and clear out a lot. There will be less sediment in the bottles, so less muck to stir up while pouring.

Remember that beer I mentioned? Do you know how long it was in the bottle? I waited a tad over two weeks before bottling, so the beer had cleared out considerably in the keg. Once bottled, I waited one week before putting the bottles into the refrigerator to halt carbonation*. I tried one beer each week after that.

The first one was a little “bready.” That’s one complaint I often hear about Mr. Beer. The yeasty odor is common early after bottling in any home brewed beer.

The second beer was less yeasty, but it had a slightly sour character.

The third beer, my most recent, had been in the bottle for about three weeks. That’s FIVE weeks since the day I brewed it.

Patience is a must! Don’t pour out your beers after only giving them a couple of weeks to mature. Commercial craft brewers let their beers rest, or age, in the bottles for three or four weeks before they hit the market. The full flavor of the beer needs that much time to develop.

To summarize, don’t knock Mr. Beer. You can get good results brewing your own beer. Brew it right, brew it clean, and be patient. You’ll find that the product isn’t the problem, it’s the brewer’s technique and patience.

* I read somewhere that it’s a good idea to chill the beer to halt carbonation, but if the beer has fermented fully before adding priming sugar and bottling, the yeast should have only enough to carbonate and will stop on its own. Also, this trick might work for ale yeast but lager yeast will continue to ferment at lower temps if sugar is present.

Indeed, I guess it goes without saying that not all home brewing kits are created equal, and it also goes without saying that if you want to produce a quality beer with a decent head, one you could float a bottle cap on, as if it was the first beer out of the keg, then you need to pay attention. You must study the various home brewing kits, and understand the chemistry and physics behind how it all works and why.

Many folks like the concept of DIY beer, and they want to re-invent the wheel. Okay fine, but there have been 100s and 100s of years behind the making of beer, so let’s not get too cocky here. Secondly, you’d be surprised how well some of the simplest of systems work and how easy it really is. If you screw it up believe me you will know it, as it will taste like absolute crap, and you’ll kick yourself for not following instructions.

Why not do this, go online and look on Google Images searching “home brew kits” – and see the different schematics and designs. Choose one that is simple, and then go to that website and see the cost and see if that is in your budget, then determine if you really want to be the guy on the block who has his own back-yard micro-brewery.

One thing that many home brewers have found is that the odor often offends the neighbors, so if you live in a neighborhood where everyone lives very close together, you could have issues. Also, there are health rules about brewing for anything other than self-consumption, so don’t be thinking you can recoup costs by selling your excess, it doesn’t work that way, plus you are setting yourself up for legal liability anyway.

If after you do all this research and you still decide you want to go for it, then follow the instructions and do it their way first. Only after you have experience, and knowledge of the complete process should you try to go and modify anything. Oh yes, and one last thing, home brewing of beer is quite a bit different than making your own bio-fuel for your car, so don’t be thinking you can use that same system to make both beer and fuel, okay?

Lastly, please check your local ordinances, as many cities, counties, and some states have restrictions, and/or rules against home brewing, and if you get arrested for breaking the law, you will be placed into a gated community with no beer at all!

If you have been reading up on how to DIY your own beer at home, you may have become confused about the different guides you read. They can talk about all grain brewing, extract brewing and home fermentation. Using any of those techniques you can produce your own beer.

All grain brewingis responsible for producing the worst that is processed in extract brewing, while fermenting beer at home is the last step in making beer and is the stage where the beer is allowed to ferment while standing.

Making beer begins with all grain brewing

Home fermentation and extract brewing are only the last stages of brewing beer. The most important part in the entire procedure, wherein the essential beer substance to be fermented is produced, is accomplished with all grain brewing. Because knowing how it is done allows you to select the kinds of grains you plan to use, you can create your own specific flavor of beer.

The steps to take in all grain brewing are easily outlined and done.

(1) The first thing to do is to select the appropriate grains to use for the beer. Then you need to set their proportions in case you are mixing multiple grain-types.

(2) The proteins and the sugar in the grains will need to form. This is done by boiling the grain in low heat. The isolation of protein is called protein rest while the formation of sugar is referred to as sacchrification rest.

(3) Following this, you use more hot water to extract those substances from the simmered mixture. Brewers call this stage sparging.

(4) During the last stage, the aromatic hops and the fermenting agents are added to the wort (sparged liquid).

Getting full control with all grain brewing

Because the option of selecting the grains and the proportions of the grains will all be yours to decide, you can better control the type and flavor of the beer you will produce. Unlike extract brewing, you are not restricted to the specific extract mix that you bought.

You will not need to content yourself with extracts that you can buy from stores.

On top of that, you can be sure that the ingredients of the beer mix are all genuine, with all grain brewing. We can never know if what the package of pre-made extracts claim to be are true. The only way to be sure of that is to make the extract yourself. And this is precisely what you do with all grain brewing. Commercially made extracts have different grades of quality, from the excellent to the downright deceptive. Brewers have reported some brands, touting different extract flavors, to be actually using the same combinations of grains and ingredients for all their extracts.

What tools do you need for all grain brewing?

The essential tools for all grain brews include gas tanks, a large cooking vessel and a long-armed mixing spoon. Filtering or sparging the mixture will require a sparging bag or a sparging vessel. Sparging bags contain the extract and are soaked in boiling water to create the final beer wort that is to be fermented. Sparging vessels are containers with a filtering device near the bottom. The clear wort passes through that filter, through the spout and out into a hose that leads to another clean vessel.

Read specific details on the net

With that introduction to all grain techniques, it should be easy for you to follow the detailed guides published on the internet.