7th December 1914 Thomas Usher X, PA and PA 60/- mashing scheme

Finally, we come to mashing. Always one of my favourite bits to interpret in brewing records. Not really. They’re a right pain in the bum. As how the details are recorded is very inconsistent.  And often the most important bits – like initial heat – are omitted.

Let’s see what Usher were up to with their mashing in 1914.

It’s a very Scottish method, with just a single mash followed by multiple sparges. While in England about the simplest a mash got was an initial infusion, followed by and underlet, finished off with a couple of sparges. Though some brewers were still performing multiple mashes.

Compared to 1894, there’s an extra sparge. Which is at the surprisingly low temperature of 155º F. I can’t remember ever seeing a sparge below 160º F. 

7th December 1914 Thomas usher X, PA and PA 60/-
action	strike heat	mash heat	tap heat
mash	157º F	150.5º F	149º F
sparge 1	170º F	155º F	158º F
sparge 2	165º F	160º F	158º F
sparge 3	155º F	153º F	159º F
Source:
Thomas Usher brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archives, document number TU/6/1/5.