Your mileage may vary- you can do anything you want. Mash temp won't make or break your beer. It's still beer. But....
A lot is technique and equipment. I understand if home brewers can't keep their mash temps within 2 degrees variant- but it doesn't mean you don't try and you'd better understand what it's going to do to your beers.
At our brewery we see a distinct difference in the body and texture of the beers most notably 150 and under, 152-154, and 156 and up.
I know a lot of home brewers who mash at 152 exclusively. Fine. It's still beer in the end. But as a craft if you want to brew the best beers you can to style- mash temp is important.
As mentioned, I've been to a lot of breweries where ALL their beers have the same body feel ranging from pale ale to stout. Stable mash temp is the number one reason.
Adjuncts and body filler grains help with the body and mouthfeel but the science in the end dictates. Starch conversion at alpha or beta temps produce different results.
Lower mash temps- increased conversion, less residual sweetness, a drier mouthfeel, higher ABV, thinner body.
Higher mash temps- lower conversion, more residual sugars, lower ABV.
You would never suggest brewing every beer to one mash temp for a reason.
People don't brew pilsners at 158 and people don't brew stouts at 149. You can if you want, it's all about the pallet.
Lagunitas has a distinctly richer mouthfeel and residual sweetness than compared to a Pilsner. If they brewed it at 149 it wouldn't be the same beer.
We've brewed over 70 different beers this year alone and I would never consider brewing them all at the same mash temp. I can measure the result of the temp dropping even 2 degrees for a prolonged period when we see an increase in efficiency- I know we won't get the same mouthfeel or residual sweetness in the final product.
You can see for yourself if you use Beersmith by changing the mash profile- check out the ABV with each temp profile- it's different. So will the ensuing mouthfeel (unconverted starches) and residual sweetness (long chain un fermented sugars).
There's a lot of moving parts into making good beer at any scale- mash temp is another important tool in the toolbox.
I agree the differences may be minute- but there are differences in mash temp.
Jc McDowell
Bandit Brewing Co
Darby, Mt
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk