The Brew Bag Blog

I wrote this in response to an article written by Brad Smith in which he stated that one of the "cons" to brew in a bag was a high water to grain ratio. He didn't respond.  "You mention that a high WTG ratio produces less beta-amalyse. In my research the higher WTG ratio impacts conversion positively. The enzymatic conversion of starch to maltose for B-Amaylase is activated in the temperature range of 143.6 to 152.6.   See the following from Kai Trauser with references to Dr. Ludwig Narziss and Dennis E. Briggs." The results for mash thickness were somewhat surprising....

We didn't know The Brew Bag was a "favorite thing", but we're glad it is! The paragraph below is the excerpt from his site -  http://brulosophy.com/2014/11/24/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-gift-ideas-for-a-homebrewer/  Whether you’re a regular BIAB’r or not, a high quality bag can come in real handy on brew day, and The Brew Bag is a killer option. These bags have a fine enough weave to keep all husk material out of your wort while allowing decent flow liquid, and they can also be used as a hop filter to reduce kettle trub. Click here for a detailed review.

Conversion and MIlling Converting starch to sugar is a complicated molecular process but as brewers we witness the simplicity of that process by milling grain, mixing in hot water and waiting for the magic to happen. Depending on your process, sixty to one-hundred-twenty minutes later we have wort (sugar water).  Milling the grain breaks it up so the hot water can kick the enzymes (on the outer layer of the seed) into action and convert the endosperm (starch) into fermentable sugar. This process is known as conversion (literally converting starch to sugar through molecular action) and depending on the mix...

I used to be the guy that chased exact temp mashing. As a home brewer does the final product benefit to any noticeable degree from being mashed at any constant temperature for the entirety of the mash? Does kettle mashing have any drawbacks compared to cooler mashing? Based on conversion facts what do we need to do to make good beer? It is a proven fact that when mashing grain, 90% of the conversion from starch to sugar occurs within the first forty-five minutes. For the non-scientific heat transfer explanation it is also proven that the mash insulates itself and...