Method 4: Craig's Hybrid
Working notes from real 2018 sessions, not a validated homebrew protocol — values are starting points, and the scale-translation warnings apply to all four methods.
Where this comes from: 2018 Robobrew session notes
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).
Revised 2026-08-15: main hold raised to 190°F / 60 min — original values kept below
Was: 163.4°F (73°C) for 95 minutes. Now: 190°F (88°C) for 60 minutes.
Why. Sorghum starch gelatinizes across 154–178°F (68–81°C) — a range, not a threshold. The original 163.4°F rest sat inside that range and opened only the lower part of it, leaving the higher-gelatinizing starch closed. That is extract you paid for and would not collect, and holding longer cannot recover it: starch whose gelatinization temperature is above your rest temperature will not gelatinize at any duration.
The enzyme was never the constraint. This method already puts Termamyl SC DS in the foundation water — the same high-temperature alpha-amylase The Reliable Mash runs at 190°F. Roughly 25°F of headroom was going unused.
Why these numbers and not others. 190°F / 60 minutes is the Reliable Mash's proven liquefaction baseline, not a new combination invented for this page. Adopting it keeps the hybrid anchored to something that has actually run.
Why this method and not the other three. Craig authored this one — it is labelled in the source notes as "Craig's best guess on hybrid method" — so revising it is authorship, not invention. The Gusmer/LH and SEBAmyl methods are documented as other parties ran them and are annotated rather than changed; adjusting someone else's process while keeping their name on it would misrepresent it.
The original values stay in the run sheet and in the record fields, so a run against the 2018 notes remains comparable. If you run either, tell us which and what you got. See Gelatinization.
Craig's Hybrid, Homebrew Scale
- Protocol
- GFB-HB4
- Version
- 2018 notes
- Effective
- August 2026
Labeled in the original notes as "Craig's best guess on hybrid method" — the synthesis after running the other three. The only method that specifies a mill gap, the only one that adds a viscosity enzyme, and the only one that lauters on the temperature ramp.
Critical: Enzyme discipline carries this method: Termamyl and Viscozyme go into the foundation water before grain, and SEBAmyl goes in only after the mash is cooled to 145°F. The 40 mL Viscozyme figure is a 2018 note, not a supplier recommendation — follow your vendor's dose for your batch size.
Stage before grain-in
Coarse crush, hulls in
- Do
- Mill the sorghum at 1.5–1.8 mm and add 10% rice hulls to the grist.
- Add
- 10% rice hulls
- Advance when
- Grist ready.
- Record
- Mill gap · Hull percentage
Low rest with the viscosity attack
- Do
- Add 20 mL Termamyl SC DS and 40 mL Viscozyme to the foundation water. Mash in at 122°F at 1.25 L/kg, set pH 5.4–5.5, rest 25 minutes.
- Add
- 20 mL Termamyl SC DS class
- 40 mL Viscozyme class
- Sorghum malt at 1.25 L/kg
- Advance when
- Rest complete.
- Record
- Doses and lots · pH reading
Liquefaction at the production baseline
- Do
- Raise the mash to 190°F and hold 60 minutes with continuous stirring — the The Reliable Mash baseline. REVISED 2026-08-15: this step was originally recorded as 163.4°F (73°C) for 95 minutes, which sits inside the gelatinization range and leaves the higher-gelatinizing starch unopened. Craig ruled the change; the original values are kept here so a run against the 2018 notes stays comparable.
- Add
- None
- Advance when
- Hold complete and the mash has visibly thinned.
- Record
- Temperature stability · Whether you ran 190°F/60 min or the original 163.4°F/95 min
Down to conversion
- Do
- Add cool water to bring the mash to 145°F.
- Add
- Cool water to 145°F
- Advance when
- At temperature.
- Record
- Water added
The SEBAmyl rest
- Do
- Add 20 mL SEBAmyl L. Rest at 145°F for 100 minutes.
- Add
- 20 mL SEBAmyl L class
- Advance when
- Rest complete.
- Record
- Conversion start and end
Lauter on the ramp
- Do
- Set the vessel to 168°F and start vorlauf, sparge, and lauter while the temperature rises. Attention on both ends at once.
- Add
- None
- Advance when
- Wort collected at or near 15.0°P.
- Record
- Runoff time · Gravity vs target
| Step | Action | Target | Add | Advance when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mill: more detail | Mill the sorghum at 1.5–1.8 mm and add 10% rice hulls to the grist. | 1.5–1.8 mm — |
| Grist ready. |
| 2. Mash in: more detail | Add 20 mL Termamyl SC DS and 40 mL Viscozyme to the foundation water. Mash in at 122°F at 1.25 L/kg, set pH 5.4–5.5, rest 25 minutes. | 122°F (50°C), pH 5.4–5.5 25 min rest |
| Rest complete. |
| 3. Hold: more detail | Raise the mash to 190°F and hold 60 minutes with continuous stirring — the The Reliable Mash baseline. REVISED 2026-08-15: this step was originally recorded as 163.4°F (73°C) for 95 minutes, which sits inside the gelatinization range and leaves the higher-gelatinizing starch unopened. Craig ruled the change; the original values are kept here so a run against the 2018 notes stays comparable. | 190°F (88°C) 60 min | None | Hold complete and the mash has visibly thinned. |
| 4. Cool: more detail | Add cool water to bring the mash to 145°F. | 145°F (63°C) — |
| At temperature. |
| 5. Convert: more detail | Add 20 mL SEBAmyl L. Rest at 145°F for 100 minutes. | 145°F (63°C) 100 min |
| Rest complete. |
| 6. Run off: more detail | Set the vessel to 168°F and start vorlauf, sparge, and lauter while the temperature rises. Attention on both ends at once. | 168°F (76°C) during runoff During the ramp | None | Wort collected at or near 15.0°P. |
Run each step with its checks and context
Use the run sheet during a routine mash. Use these expanded steps when setting up the process, training an operator, documenting a deviation, or diagnosing unexpected behavior.
Coarse crush, hulls in
Objective
The only crush number in the 2018 document — coarse grind with hulls to build a bed that runs.
Operating instruction
Mill the sorghum at 1.5–1.8 mm and add 10% rice hulls to the grist.
- 10% rice hulls
What good looks like
Grist ready.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Mill gap · Hull percentage
Low rest with the viscosity attack
Objective
Hydration plus a direct assault on sorghum gumminess — Viscozyme instead of managing thickness with water.
Operating instruction
Add 20 mL Termamyl SC DS and 40 mL Viscozyme to the foundation water. Mash in at 122°F at 1.25 L/kg, set pH 5.4–5.5, rest 25 minutes.
- 20 mL Termamyl SC DS class
- 40 mL Viscozyme class
- Sorghum malt at 1.25 L/kg
What good looks like
Rest complete.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Doses and lots · pH reading
Liquefaction at the production baseline
Objective
Clear the whole sorghum gelatinization range (154–178°F) rather than the bottom of it. Termamyl SC DS is a high-temperature alpha-amylase and is rated for this rest.
Operating instruction
Raise the mash to 190°F and hold 60 minutes with continuous stirring — the The Reliable Mash baseline. REVISED 2026-08-15: this step was originally recorded as 163.4°F (73°C) for 95 minutes, which sits inside the gelatinization range and leaves the higher-gelatinizing starch unopened. Craig ruled the change; the original values are kept here so a run against the 2018 notes stays comparable.
What good looks like
Hold complete and the mash has visibly thinned.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Temperature stability · Whether you ran 190°F/60 min or the original 163.4°F/95 min
Down to conversion
Objective
Set up the SEBAmyl rest.
Operating instruction
Add cool water to bring the mash to 145°F.
- Cool water to 145°F
What good looks like
At temperature.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Water added
The SEBAmyl rest
Objective
Saccharification through the long conversion rest.
Operating instruction
Add 20 mL SEBAmyl L. Rest at 145°F for 100 minutes.
- 20 mL SEBAmyl L class
What good looks like
Rest complete.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Conversion start and end
Lauter on the ramp
Objective
Save time and keep viscosity low by running off while the temperature climbs.
Operating instruction
Set the vessel to 168°F and start vorlauf, sparge, and lauter while the temperature rises. Attention on both ends at once.
What good looks like
Wort collected at or near 15.0°P.
Watch for
The bed compacting while heat climbs.
If this happens
Slow the runoff before you rake the bed.
Record
Runoff time · Gravity vs target
A later revision runs it hotter and thinner
A second pass at the hybrid in the archive changes the middle: mash in at 2.2 L/kg (not 1.25), ramp 153°F for 20 minutes then 203°F for 60 minutes — borrowing the old traditional method's cereal-cook logic instead of the long 163.4°F hold — then cool with ~0.5 L/kg cold water, set pH 5.0–5.3, add the SEBAmyl, and recirculate at 132°F for 100 minutes. Both passes are documented; neither has published results. If you run one, say which.
That 100 is longer than the 90 the corrected Bard's lineage now carries, and it stays as documented — the extra time is margin on a conversion nobody has published results for. It is not free, though: hold length is the lever on wort fermentability, so a longer rest here means a drier beer, not just a safer one. Record the hold you actually ran.
The rest of the brew day, as documented
The notes carry the full schedule past the mash — the only one of the four methods that does:
| Stage | As written |
|---|---|
| Boil | 60 minutes; bittering hops at the start |
| 45 min in | Hops, Whirlfloc G, and a gluten-free yeast nutrient (check yours) |
| 57 min in | Late hops |
| Boil end | Target 16.0°P (1.065) |
| Ferment | Cool to 70°F, pitch; ferment at 65°F to 2.7°P (1.011) |
| Condition | Cool to 45°F, transfer to secondary; then 32°F for 14 days with a chill-haze stabilizer |
| Package | Carbonate and serve |
What makes this one different
Viscozyme. A viscosity-reducing enzyme blend in the low rest — the only method of the four that reaches for one. Sorghum mashes get thick and gummy; this attacks that directly instead of managing it with water and hulls.
A specified mill gap. 1.5–1.8 mm is the only crush number in the whole document, and it matters: it's the coarse-grind approach that lets 10% hulls carry the bed (why coarse first).
Lautering on the ramp. Step 7 starts runoff while the mash is still climbing to 168°F, saving time and keeping viscosity low while wort is moving.
It borrows from all three. The 122°F rest is Method 1's, the long liquefaction hold and SEBAmyl conversion are Method 3's, and the discipline about enzyme timing runs through everything. As originally written that hold was Method 3's 163.4°F; the 2026-08-15 revision raised it to 190°F, which is where it parts company with Method 3 and lands on The Reliable Mash's baseline instead.
Watch for
Viscozyme dosing (40 mL is the 2018 Robobrew session's recorded figure, with no grain-weight basis surviving — a session note, not a rate; follow the supplier's guidance for your batch size, not ours); the long total clock; and lautering during a temperature ramp, which needs attention on both ends at once.
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.