8 replies to this topic

[dereka138]

I was shooting to mash in at 155. I ended up at 170 for about 10 mins and between 160-155 for ten more before I was able to get the temp to target.what can I expect and any tips to fix the fermentability?derek

[MakeMeHoppy]

at this point I would think maybe you denatured some of the enzymes and would want to let it mash longer than normal to make up for this. I have never experienced this so I am just guessing, but I see no other posts yet.

[BrewerGeorge]

Definitely mash longer. MakeMeHoppy is right; you will have denatured enzymes and will need more time to complete conversion. I might add 1/2 lb of cane sugar to the kettle, too, to lower overall fermentability a little bit.If this happens again in the future, don't mess around with adding cold water. Add ice to get the temp down quickly two or three handfuls of ice will lower a typical 12 lb mash about 1F without adding too much water. In your case, when you found out the mash was 170F, adding about a quart of ice would have gotten you down around mash temps within just a couple of minutes.

[dereka138]

good info.ok, so I batch sparged and ended up going 75 mins or so and then another 15 mins at 169-165. I ended up at 1.061 and was shooting for 1.057 so I understand why I was higher on the og so I upped the bitterness some. here is the recipe. let me know what you think. I hope this is not too sweet.Batch Size (Gal): 6.00 Wort Size (Gal): 6.00Total Grain (Lbs): 13.88Anticipated OG: 1.060 Plato: 14.70Anticipated SRM: 14.5Anticipated IBU: 42.8Brewhouse Efficiency: 73 %Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes % Amount Name Origin Potential SRM----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.4 0.20 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350 64.8 9.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2 25.5 3.54 lbs. Munich Malt(2-row) America 1.035 6 4.6 0.64 lbs. Crystal 60L America 1.034 60 3.6 0.50 lbs. Special Roast Malt America 1.033 40Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.Hops Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.84 oz. Chinook Pellet 11.40 31.4 60 min. 0.50 oz. Cascade Pellet 7.50 9.5 30 min. 0.60 oz. Willamette Pellet 4.80 1.9 5 min. 0.50 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.75 0.0 0 min. 0.50 oz. Centennial Whole 10.50 0.0 0 min. 0.50 oz. Simcoe Whole 12.50 0.0 0 min.

[macbrak]

I usually mash thick, take a temp and them add until I get up to temp (or run out of water).

[davelew]

If the mash spent 10 minutes at 170, the enzymes were pretty much gone. Even after cooling it, the beer will end up sickly sweet. The best way to make it drinkable is to add some fruit to the secondary, something like cider (which has plenty of acid to balance the sweetness) or blueberry (with plenty of tannins to balance the sweetness).There's another possibility: there could have been a hot spot or a hot layer in the mash. If part of the mash was at 170 and part was at 140, your beer will turn out fine.My recommendation is to relax, let the beer ferment, and see what happens. It's possible that the beer will turn out fine. It's possible that the beer will turn out too sweet, and if it's undrinkably sweet you can add fruit to the secondary to make a pretty good fruit beer (I actually think most fruit beers are too dry, so this could turn out better than typical fruit beer).

[dondewey]

I usually mash thick, take a temp and them add until I get up to temp (or run out of water).

Yeah, that's what I do. I don't think the grain/water ratio is nearly as sensitive as the temp. Set HLT to ~170 and add until hitting mash temp.

[BarelyBrews]

This got me thinking,if you didn't have ice you could hit it with your wort chiller for a couple of minutes i suppose.My mash temp is usually within 5-8 degrees so i just use chilled water mostly.I just racked a porter that i made to a keg.I forgot (first and last time i hope) to check the mash temp ,must of been higher .My Finish gravity ended up at 1.030. I was worried some, it had a very quick and violent fermentation.My Original gravity was 1.061 . And it taste ok,not sweet at all but not very dry.

[zymot]

I have had similar problems. We tend to think of enzymes as living things that once they reach a certain temp, the get denatured and are "killed." I have read that is not exactly correct.I have had mashes that were >165 deg F for a while, like over 30 minutes. I get all worried, pull out the iodine do a starch test, get some a black starch reaction. I stir up the mash to cool it down. Wait, wait, wait. Let it sit at around 150 deg F. Wait, wait wait. Do another starch test. Still get a starch reaction.At this point I figure I cannot do any more. I "killed" the enzymes. Do the run off and the batch sparge. Just for kicks, I do a starch test of my boil volume to see how bad it is anb Ta-Da! No starch.So I wouldn't worry about it so much. At some point you gotta go with the beer you brewed. Trying to tweak and fuss with it can cause more problems that it fixes.Us homebrewers are a compulsive and perfectionist lot. We get into our heads that if beer isn't optimum, it is going to be crap. Remember, beer itself was discover when somebody messed up a loaf of bread.zymot