Mashing 1880 - 1914

By this period the very complicated mashing schemes employed for Porter earlier in the century – when there might be four or five mashes all at different temperatures – were a thing of the past. But this didn’t mean that everyone was performing a single infusion mash followed by a sparge or two.

In Scotland, that was mostly the case, but in England underlet mashing was the norm. This was effectively a type of step mash. It was a very widespread and long-lasting process, which was still common after WW II.

Single Infusion
The method of a single infusion mash, followed by sparging first appeared in Scotland. By simplifying the process, Scottish brewers had managed to greatly reduce the time it required compared to their London colleagues, who were still performing three or four mashes. By the 1860s, while Barclay Perkins might have adopted sparging, they still performed multiple mashes. The scheme of an X Ale of theirs brewed in 1862 had three mashes, an underlet, and three sparges.

While around the same time, in 1869, William Younger had a far simpler scheme of a single mash and two sparges.

In well-equipped breweries, water for mashing was heated in the hot-liquor back, where any treatment chemicals were also added. Usual practice was to boil the water the evening before brewing for 15 minutes. After cooled overnight and needed to be reheated to get to the correct mashing temperature. Boiling ensured that the water was sterile. Most water contained chalk, which precipitated out when boiled, taking with it any organic matter in the water to the bottom of the back. To stop this getting into the mash, the opening through which the water was drawn off was always a few inches above the bottom.

Here are some examples of Scottish mashing schemes from Thomas Usher, a prominent Edinburgh brewer. They had two methods, one for their Pale Ales:

Thomas Usher IP and PA mashing scheme 1894
	Strike heat	mash tun	underback
mash	156º F	151º F	150º F
sparge 1	180º F	156º F	155º F
sparge 2	165º F	159º F	155º F
sparge 3	155º F	153º F	152º F
Source:
Thomas Usher brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number TU/6/1/2.

And another for their Scotch Ales, which were mashed cooler: 

Thomas Usher 80/- and 100/- mashing scheme 1894
	Strike heat	mash tun	underback
mash	154º F	144º F	144º F
sparge 1	170º F	154º F	153º F
sparge 2	160º F	160º F	159º F
sparge 3	155º F	156º F	155º F
Source:
Thomas Usher brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number TU/6/1/2.