What is Mash? Who doesn’t love mash, no, it’s not a potato! I’m actually talking about home brewing and the essential ingredient known as mash.
Mash is a critical component in the brewing process, but what exactly is it? How does it impact the flavour and overall quality of your beer?
Sit back and relax we’re about to dive into the world of mash and all its hoppy goodness.
Mashing is the brewer’s term for a step in the brewing process that combines crushed Malts with hot water steeping process which hydrates the barley, and activates the enzymes into a mash which converts grains, complex starches into simple sugars that are more readily fermented.
Mashing can feel like a mystical process for first time all-grain or partial mash beer brewers. Understanding mash thickness gives you more control over the brewing process but doesn’t stop you brewing good beer.
While the starch in the malt converts to sugar, it is this sweet solution known as wort which is then drained from the mash and boiled in the Mash Kettle. These sugars created from the mash provide the fuel for the yeast to create alcohol.
The end product of mashing is called a “mash“
