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brycelarson · 01-21-2013, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bastinsarabia

So should i not expect the FG to drop too much lower? Should i just start bottling?

sorry about my out of order reply.

yeah, I think you're good to go. Give it a couple of days and if it still reads 1020 bottle her up.

**Beer-lord** · 01-21-2013, 07:38 PM

And, it's not a good idea to stir the beer. You want to aerate before you add the yeast and try not to introduce oxygen in it after fermentation begins and stops.
Otherwise, the advise given already is right on.

modenacart · 01-21-2013, 08:36 PM

Lower your mash temperature to about 150 F.

brycelarson · 01-21-2013, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by modenacart

Lower your mash temperature to about 150 F.

I would suggest not doing "about" anything for mash temp.

Low body, drier beers can be mashed as low as 148. Medium body beers in the 150-152 range. 154 and up for heavy body beers.

The windows are small - you need to be precise for repeatable brewing. Mash in, stir well, let it come to temp, measure at multiple locations and adjust up or down with boiling water and ice cubes.

modenacart · 01-22-2013, 01:46 AM

He clearly mashed at a higher temperature than 155 F and ended up with less fermentable sugars. If he shoots for a lower temperature there will be less risk. He can slowly raise the temperature as needed.

Sounds like he is direct firing. I quit that because it is so easy to overshoot.

I would at least check your thermometer at boiling and freezing to see if it is off.

bastinsarabia · 01-23-2013, 12:21 AM

Wow! Thanks for all the replies guys! Remember, I used BIAB method and I was told to raise temp. of water to 165, and then put in the grain, and through that, the temp. would drop about 15 degrees. It didn't! Seemed to work okay, but next time I may just use an initial temp. of 160. What do you guys think?
I was also told that it is okay to stir the beer, as long as I don't aerate the beer. I did not stir vigorously. Is that incorrect?

brycelarson · 01-23-2013, 02:08 PM

http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php

I usually let computers do math for me.

You shouldn't have to agitate your beer unless something is going wrong with your fermentation. In general a good fermentation leads to all kinds of movement in the beer. Once it's done it'll drop.

freisste · 01-23-2013, 02:50 PM

+1. Use a calculator to get close for a strike water temp. If it is a little high, no worries. Stir until temp is correct. Then hold the temp steady for the hour or 90min (whatever your schedule is).

As was said, there is a relatively small range where the enzymes are extracted but not denatured (mash temperatures). Within that range are even smaller ranges where you can produce low-, medium-, and full-bodied brews.

**thadius856** · 01-23-2013, 02:59 PM

Floating thermometers are super slow and often inaccurate.

Spend on an instant-read thermometer. Even a $15 one (here, here, or here). Doesn't need to be ThermoPen, unless you like to spend on that sort of thing.

**high5apparatus** · 01-23-2013, 03:41 PM

If 1.020 is not what you were expecting for an FG, all you have to do is swirl. I have my carboys sitting in dairy crates, and I can easily rotate them and that light swirl picks yeast up from the bottom and suspends it back into the beer. I've made it part of my process after active fermentation ends, I'll swirl once a day for another week before I leave it alone. There was no reason to open it up and stir when an easy spin of the bucket would have been just as effective.