Mashing the malts is the way in which we convert the starches
in the grains into soluble and fermentable sugars, such as maltose and
dextrins. We do this by adding heated water to a tank filled
with a specific amount of grains, and then strictly controlling that water
temperature for a specific amount of time. It is the temperature
and chemical composition of the water that activates intrinsic enzymes
to convert the starches to sugars. The proteins in the grains
are also partly modified during the mashing.
The Grant is used to drain the Mash Tun when the mash is pumped to the Wort Kettle. Since the Mash Tun and the Wort Kettle are on the same floor, we can not use gravity to transfer the mash, and if we just pumped it, the grains would be sucked into the bottom of the Mash Tun and plug up the works. We allow gravity to fill the Grant through two strainers to keep out eager grains, and then pump from the Grant to the Wort Kettle.
Check out our Brewery Tour pages for photos of this process.
