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mash tun
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Behind the scenes: How Samuel Adams beer is made
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mash tun

vessel
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Behind the scenes: How Samuel Adams beer is made
Behind the scenes: How Samuel Adams beer is made Learn about the chemistry of beer and the process of brewing from a brewmaster of the Samuel Adams Brewery, Boston, Massachusetts.

A mash tun is a large vessel used in the process of mashing, which is a crucial step in brewing beer and producing distilled spirits. The primary purpose of mashing is to convert starches from grains into fermentable sugars, which are then utilized by yeast.123

The mash tun facilitates the mixing of grains with water and provides controlled heating or cooling to optimize enzymatic activity. Different grains and malts are added sequentially, with enzymes in malted barley playing a key role in breaking down starches and proteins. The resulting sugary liquid is called wort. There are different mashing techniques, such as infusion mashing and decoction mashing, which vary in their temperature control and the number of vessels used.23

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3 Britannica Sources
  1. mash tun
  2. distilled spirit - Mashing
  3. beer - Mixing the mash

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