The Stout Palace

A mash tun, also called a lauter tun, is a vessel in which you infuse your grains; usually a large cooler (or kettle) equipped with a false bottom and a valve with a spigot that allows you to draw off the sweet wort.

• In order to extract the sugar from the grains, you place them in the mash tun and cover them with water that is heated to 156 to 168 °F.

• Since the grains are at room temperature, this will bring this temperature down to around 148 to 158 °F, which is where the saccharification rest should occur. This is when the sugars are extracted from the grains.

• Depending on the recipe, this rest will last about sixty to ninety minutes. At this point, it’s time to sparge into your brew kettle.