In a microbrewery, Step mashing is a mash program in which the mash temperature is progressively increased through a series of rests. The ubiquity of well-modified malts has virtually eliminated the need to perform a step-mash in most situations. So why should you learn more about the process and science behind step-mashing? Simple, you can produce more variety and sometimes better, more distinctive beers when following a step mash program. Even we are brewery equipment manufacturer, we know better brewing technology, it will help us produce much excellent beer brewing equipment.
 


Step-mashing allows brewers to manipulate the mash to get the desired wort, dry or sweet, velvety or lightly astringent. You may also find that your extract efficiency goes up slightly-to-moderately when using a step-mashing regimen. Understanding the science behind step mashing can help all-grain brewers — and even partial mash brewers — decide on an appropriate mash regimen for their beers.
Malt Modification
Malting plays a fundamental role in the brewing process. The goals of mashing are essentially an extension of the goals of malting, and what happens in the malthouse should influence your choice of a mash protocol.
The main purpose of malting is to begin germination of the barley, then toast the grain to stop the seed from sprouting. Brewers care about this because it will start two vital degradations and also produce the fundamental enzymes of mashing. During the malting process, gums (glucans) in the cell walls of the barley are broken down. Likewise, proteins are broken down. This breakdown supplies the wort with amino acids necessary for yeast health and lowers the possibility of haze or biological instability in the finished beer. Finally, malting causes the barley to produce the starch-degrading enzymes that will be employed in the mash. 
 
Enzymes
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions, allowing them to occur at a much faster rate than they would on their own. (There are also enzymes made of RNA molecules, but these don’t play a direct role in mashing.)
The shape of an enzyme determines its function. This is because the substrate for a given enzyme will fit into the enzyme’s “active site.” A simple analogy for enzyme action can be drawn using the video game Pac-man. If the Pac-man character was an enzyme, his mouth would be the active site, which would grip the substrate (or substrates) and catalyze a chemical reaction. For example, when an amylase enzyme breaks down a starch molecule, its active site “grips” the starch and breaks the bond between two sugar residues in the starch strand.
 
The Acid Rest
The acid rest is the first rest you might schedule after dough-in in any full step mash or decoction mashing regimen. The acid rest has two functions; to lower the pH of the mash to an appropriate range and to break down the dreaded glucans that can gum up a mash. The typical range for an acid rest is between 95–113 °F (35–45 °C). At this temperature, the enzyme phytase breaks down a molecule called phytin and releases phytic acid, which lowers mash pH.
 
The Protein Rest
A rest in the temperature range between 113–138 °F (44–59 °C) has traditionally been called a protein rest. These days, many brewing scientists do not think that much protein degradation occurs during mashing and this is part of the reason that it is left to the maltster. However, it’s worth reviewing the possible enzyme actions that may occur in this range.
 
There are two specific types of enzymes that were thought to be active in this range — proteinase and peptidase enzymes, collectively known as the proteolytic enzymes.
 
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