Method 1: Old Traditional Bard's
This is one of four mash methods Bard's documented in 2018 while adapting its production process to homebrew scale, run on a Robobrew — a recirculating single-vessel electric system (why that equipment class matters). These are working notes from real sessions, not a validated homebrew protocol. Values are starting points; the scale-translation warnings apply to all four.
The run sheet
| # | Step | Target | Time | Additions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dose the foundation water | — | — | Termamyl SC DS (high-temp alpha-amylase) + Ondea Pro, into the water before grain |
| 2 | Mash in | 122°F | 25 min rest | Sorghum malt at 2.2 L/kg |
| 3 | Ramp and hold | 153°F | 20 min | — |
| 4 | Transfer to the boil kettle | — | — | — |
| 5 | Boil | Boiling | 60 min | — |
| 6 | Dilute and add structure | — | — | 0.5 L/kg cold water, then rice hulls; stir well |
| 7 | Transfer back to the Robobrew | — | — | Add water to bring the grist to 132°F |
| 8 | Set pH | — | — | Phosphoric acid to pH 5.0–5.3 |
| 9 | Convert — only after pH and temperature are right | 132°F | exactly 100 min | Fungamyl BrewQ + Ondea Pro |
| 10 | Run off | — | — | Vorlauf, sparge, lauter |
Target extract: 15.0°P (1.061).
A later revision drops the boil
The archive holds a second pass at this method that keeps everything in the Robobrew: instead of transferring to a kettle and boiling, it ramps to 203°F and holds 60 minutes in place, and adds 40 mL Viscozyme alongside the Termamyl at mash-in. Same cereal-cook logic, no transfer — the 203°F hold does the gelatinization work the boil did. If your system holds 203°F reliably, that revision is the easier day.
What makes this one different
The boil. Steps 4–5 take the mash to a full 60-minute boil — cereal-cook logic applied to sorghum, forcing gelatinization by brute heat rather than holding a liquefaction temperature. It's the most equipment-hungry step of the four and the reason this method takes longest.
Enzymes added last, not first. Step 9 is emphatic in the original notes: dose Fungamyl and Ondea Pro only after pH and temperature are correct. Fungal alpha-amylase is fragile — put it in hot or sour and you've wasted it.
The 100 minutes is exact. Not "about" — the note says exactly. Fungal alpha at 132°F is doing the fermentability work here, and the hold length is the lever on wort sugar profile (why that matters).
Watch for
Scorching during the boil; a thick mash after step 5 (the 0.5 L/kg dilution and the hulls exist for that reason); pH drift between steps 8 and 9; and a slow lauter — huskless grist plus a boiled mash is the hardest runoff of the four.
Report back
Nobody has published results for this method at homebrew scale — which means your batch is data. Report efficiency, mash behavior, runoff, gravity against the 15.0°P target, fermentation, and what you'd change. See Research Ask #3 and tell us what happened.
Related
- Mash Methods at Homebrew Scale
- Mash Protocol 1 — the production original
- Mash Protocol 3 (Proposed) — the fungal-alpha conversion here is MP3's design, at homebrew scale, in 2018