Editing Mashing (section)

{{Short description|Combining a mix of grains with water and heating the mixture}}
[[File:Mash-Jinx.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A close-up view of grains steeping in warm water during the mashing stage of brewing]]

In [[brewing]] and [[distilling]], '''mashing''' is the process of combining ground [[grain]] – [[malt]]ed [[barley]] and sometimes [[Adjuncts|supplementary grains]] such as [[Maize|corn]], [[sorghum]], [[rye]], or [[wheat]] (known as the "[[grain bill]]") – with water and then heating the mixture. Mashing allows the [[enzyme]]s in the malt (primarily, α-amylase and β-amylase) to break down the [[starch]] in the grain into [[sugar]]s, typically [[maltose]] to create a malty liquid called [[wort]].<ref name=Ensminger1994/>

The two main methods of mashing are [[infusion]] mashing, in which the grains are heated in one vessel, and [[decoction]] mashing, in which a proportion of the grains are boiled and then returned to the mash, raising the temperature.<ref name=Rabin1998/>

Mashing involves pauses at certain temperatures (notably {{convert|45|-|62|-|73|°C|°F|disp=or}}) and takes place in a "mash tun" – an insulated brewing vessel with a false bottom.<ref>"Abdijbieren. Geestrijk erfgoed" by Jef Van den Steen</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/bierbrouwen/bereiding.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080419004815/http://www.geocities.com/bierbrouwen/bereiding.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-04-19|title=Bierbereiding|date=2008-04-19|access-date=2018-11-04}}</ref><ref name="what">{{Cite web|url=http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ch14.html|title=How To Brew Your First Beer: Chapter 14 - How the Mash Makes Wort|website=www.realbeer.com|access-date=2018-11-04}}</ref>