In
brewing and
distilling,
mashing is the process of combining a mix of milled
grain (typically
malted barley with
supplementary grains such as
corn,
sorghum,
rye or
wheat), known as the "
grain bill", and water, known as "liquor", and heating this mixture. Mashing allows the
enzymes in the malt to break down the
starch in the grain into
sugars, typically
maltose to create a malty liquid called
wort. There are two main methods—
infusion mashing, in which the grains are heated in one vessel; and
decoction mashing, in which a proportion of the grains are boiled and then returned to the mash, raising the temperature. Mashing involves pauses at certain temperatures (notably ), and takes place in a "mash tun"—an insulated brewing vessel with a false bottom. The end product of mashing is called a "mash".