Beer almost seems preordained.
The grain comes packed with all it needs to convert starches into sweet wort. It’s magical: All you need to do is add water, hold the whole thing in the right temperature range, and let the amylase enzymes do all the work. This should make it all so simple, but you could easily be overwhelmed by all of the different mashing schedules that various brewers tout. These can largely be distinguished by the recommended number of steps or temperatures at which you let the mash rest. Each step offers some particular effect on the process or the final beer.
We can learn about all of those choices some other time. For now, let’s get back to basics and focus on the single most important one: saccharification, where starches are converted into sugar.
Malt Conversion and Temperature
Malt conversion depends on two different enzymes, alpha and beta amylase. Both break down long starch molecules, but they work in different ways. Alpha amylase can step in anywhere in the starch chain, creating a mix of longer, unfermentable sugars as well as some smaller ones that the yeast can digest. Beta amylase attacks the starch from the ends, chomping off small fermentable chunks of maltose.