[sparkleberry]

i bought a brooklynbrewshops.com kit at whole foods yesterday.  i saw it and though it might be fun to try a mini batch of all grain.  i figured at the least, it'll be a great way to ramp up some yeast for another batch.

i got it home and discovered there were no instructions, though having been brewing partial and full boil extract batches for a few years, i felt very comfortable knowing how to jump in.  i've also been reading tremendous amounts of info for my jump to all grain as soon as my tv work season wraps up in the next few weeks.

anyway, to my question.  i went online to discover the directions instruct one to make a very thick mash. the "consistency of oatmeal." this is for a simple 1 gallon batch of brown ale.  i'm pretty sure oatmeal thickness isn't ideal. i have run numbers for both miab and batch sparging and am determined that either is a better route. 

so my question: when would one ever need or want an oatmeal consistency for a mash?

i'm pretty sure it's a mass marketed kit, but still picked it up on a whimsical note.

cheers and happy almost zombie day everyone! 

[dzlater]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
so my question: when would one ever need or want an oatmeal consistency for a mash?

i'm pretty sure it's a mass marketed kit, but still picked it up on a whimsical note.

cheers and happy almost zombie day everyone!

When you can't fit any more water in your mash tun? 

[nateo]

Thick mashes used to be necessary to protect enzymes in malts with low diastatic power. Modern malt has so much more DP than you'd ever need, that you could denature half the enzymes and still have plenty left to convert the mash.

IIRC thinner mashes have higher extract efficiency, all other things equal.