Rule # 1. Go for it! Use a good American or English 2-row barley as a base and do a simple single step mash procedure by following the guidelines below.

Equipment needed: A lauter tun (Phil's Phalse Bottom), two 5 gallon buckets, some tubing and a couple of hose clamps work great, a 16 qt brew pot (mash tun) and a 16 to 32 qt pot for heating the sparge water.

Step 1. In a 16 qt brew pot, heat 1 qt water per each pound of cracked grain you will use to 168-170 degrees. For example 8 pounds of grain requires 2 gallons of water. Make sure the grain is at room temperature. Add grains slowly and stir in to avoid clumps. The water should stabilize at around 150-155 degrees. I usually have some boiling water on the back burner in case the temperature is lower than this. I add a little at a time to bring the temperature up to this range. If the mash is too hot (near 160 degrees) I add a little cold water to bring the temperature down.

Step 2. Cover the mash and place it in the oven on warm (150 degrees). You may want to check the temperature after 15 to 30 minutes and stir gently. The mash will stay in the oven for at least 1 hour.

Step 3. While the mash is in the oven, heat your sparge water on the stove to 165-180 degrees. Use 1/2 gallon water per pound of grain. If your 2nd pot isn't big enough, heat as much water as you can. You will be able to place it in a bucket and then heat more (see step 10).

Step 4. After 1 hour remove the mash from the oven and place it on the stove. Stir gently and constantly to heat to 168 degrees. It may help to add some boiling water to thin the mash during this process which allows the heat to disperse more evenly throughout the mash.

Step 5. Gently scoop the mash into the lauter tun using a small pot or other like object. If using Phil's Phalse bottom, make sure to hold it down flat on the bottom of the bucket with your brew spoon until the weight of the grain will keep it in place.

Step 6. Put your lauter tun on a chair below your work surface and position your brew pot on the floor. You will use the brew pot to catch the sweet wort as you sparge.

Step 7. Open the hose clamp gently on the lauter tun to let out a quart or so of liquid into a small pot. Gently add this to the top of the grain bed. Do this several times until the wort looks relatively clear.

Step 8. Put a 5 gallon bucket on your work surface and pour your sparge water into it. By adjusting the hose clamp, start a gentle flow of water onto the top of the grain bed in the lauter tun. Try to get the same flow rate out of the bottom of your lauter tun by adjusting the hose clamp. I usually try to get a flow rate that will take about 20-30 minutes to finish the job. A slower rate will help you get a better extraction rate.

Step 9. Keep the water level in the lauter tun just above the grain bed.

Step 10. You may want to keep a little water boiling on the stove and add it to your sparging bucket to keep the temperature up to around 170 degrees.

Step 11. When you've run all of your sparge water over the grain, or when your brew pot will not hold much more, put it on the stove and bring it to a boil, add hops and make beer as usual.

Happy mashing! Back to Grains Page.