The Mash Tun is where the cracked malt is combined with water to create "wort" (sweet barley water). The mash tun has a false bottom called a v-wire bottom. The v-wire bottom supports the malt off the actual pipe that will pull the wort over to the kettle. Other than that, the mash tun is just a big pot. We fill it with the cracked malt and water and heat it to 66.5 - 67.5 degrees centigrade. At this temperature, the enzymes present in the malt create simple sugars out of the complex carbohydrates present in the malt. These sugars dissolve into the water, creating our wort. Once this is accomplished, we re-circulate the liquid from the bottom to the top in order to trap any small particles and clarify the wort. Then it is diverted over to the boil kettle. While that is happening, we spray (or "sparge," as it is called) fresh hot water on top of the mash in order to wash any residual sugars into the boil kettle. Other than that, the mash tun has no use except for an occasional jacuzzi.