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Mash Methods at Homebrew Scale

In 2018, Bard's adapted its production process to a homebrew-scale recirculating system and documented four different mash methods — different enzymes, different temperatures, different philosophies, all aimed at the same 15.0°P wort. All four are published here, each on its own page.

This isn't theory scaled down. These are working notes from real sessions on a Robobrew, written by the people who ran the production process — four routes to the same target, each with named enzyme products, pH targets, and hold times. Nobody has published anything like them for gluten-free brewing.

Start here: the standard​

MethodThe ideaRestsWhy it's first
MP1: Bard's Production — the StandardThe current production baseline, translated to 5 gallons190°F → 145°F → 180°FThis is the process Bard's actually settled on. Run this one first; run the others to compare

The four documented methods​

The exploration that came before the process locked in — four routes from Bard's 2018 homebrew-adaptation work:

MethodThe ideaRestsDistinctive move
1. Old Traditional Bard'sThe pre-2020 production process, boil step and all122°F → 153°F → boil → 132°FA full 60-minute boil, then fungal-alpha conversion held to exactly 100 minutes
2. Hot Amylex Two-StepThe enzyme supplier's process: hot liquefaction, then a glucoamylase finish167°F → 149°FpH adjusted up to 6+ for the hot rest, then down to 5.2 for conversion
3. SEBAmyl Two-RestTwo long rests, no boil, no transfer163.4°F → 145°FThe simplest to run on a single vessel; thickest mash of the four
4. Craig's HybridThe best-guess synthesis after running the others122°F → 163.4°F → 145°FA viscosity enzyme, a specified mill gap, and lautering on the ramp

All four target 15.0°P (1.061). Method 1 is the closest to what the old production process ran; Method 3 is the easiest first run; Method 4 is where Craig's own thinking landed.

What applies to all four​

  • Enzymes go in the water before the grain, and heat-fragile enzymes go in only after pH and temperature are right. The single most repeated instruction in the source notes.
  • These are 2018 working notes, not validated protocols. Enzyme products change names and formulations (the notes themselves track two renames); match the enzyme class and follow your supplier's dose.
  • Equipment matters: all four were run on a recirculating single-vessel electric system — why that class fits this process.
  • Your batch is data. None of the four has published homebrew results. Report per Research Ask #3 — what you ran, what you changed, what happened.

How these relate to the production pages​

MP1 above is our arithmetic translation of the current production baseline — the standard. The four 2018 methods are older and more varied. Method 1's fungal-alpha conversion is the design now published as Mash Protocol 3; running it at home is running brewing history forward.