German Brewing

Mash thickness is a well known factor for performance of the amylases (up to a point though). It doesn't solve Nate's problem since he also tried sparging.

I've regularly done no-sparge and sparge mashes interchangeably, and never had an attenuation issue. What I did notice was that poor aeration of wort can chronically lead to poor attenuation. I bought my first Extech about 5 years ago and never looked back. Since then any attenuation issues are a thing of the past. This is something worth looking into.

This year's crop is a bit more problematic to deal with (Source: Brauwelt). Decoctions have no problem dealing with such malt, but for infusions (such as step mashes) the higher gelatinisation point is problematic.

Here is how German brewers do it (all temps in Celsius): 58/5' 62/10' 65/35' 68/15' 70/20' 77/20'.

I'd mash with a pH of 5.4 - 5.5

I contacted Best Malz awhile back and they also stated the gelatinization temp for this years crop was high. They also sent me some recipes and they all had long rests at 65c. Lately I've been going 62/20', 65/20', 72/20', 77/10'.

You could try 62/10', 65/35', 68/15', 72/20', 77/10' and see whether your attenuation improves even further.

PS: too much attenuation isn't that great either

German brewers are using 6 steps? Thought the 2 step then mashout was standard?

They do what the malt analysis dictates. Generally, a hochurz is adequate, but the malt ultimately determines this.

Right, was thinking the majority of modern malt was modified enough for a hockhurz or single. Good to know.

Currently I buy my malt from the LHBS but planning on pulling the trigger on a mill soon. Suppose I'll look at the analysis and contact the maltster on my first sack purchase. Thinking I'll stock up on Weyerman Pils, Weyerman Pale Ale, and Weyerman Carahell.

A malt sheet alone won't give you all the info you need. I email Weyermann with every sack I get, they are very quick and responsive.

Very good to know, I'll do the same.