Advice Quick!!

Ó Flannagáin · 03-12-2007, 07:02 PM

I poured my strike water in and the temperature was too high... 160, I added some cold water.. 158, a little more 144!!!!! SHEIZER!!!

I just added some hot water, 147 been about 15 minutes... gonna add some more... should I start counting my 60 minute mash after my next addition (in about 5 minutes)? Should pull it up to 152. Or, should I start counting my 60 minutes now?!?!

thanks!!!!!

Desert_Sky · 03-12-2007, 07:04 PM

first, relax

start it whenever you want. its perfectly ok to go over the 60 minute mark. hell you can do 90 and call it good. Now try and take the temp up just a bit if you can, drink a beer....then go ahead and start your 60 minute timer

Ó Flannagáin · 03-12-2007, 07:05 PM

So, as long as I'm below the 152 mark, I'm not killin any enzymes? Nothing's messing up because its real hot, but not quite hot enough..

pouring a caramel cream ale, relaxing

Willsellout · 03-12-2007, 07:08 PM

Dude, this is what happenned to me yesterday! Strike temp was 162, I added a quart of cold water and BAM! 133!
Cold in small quantities, it's alot harder to add water to heat it up than cool it down especially as the more water you add, the more water you need to heat it up.
I think my total mash time yesterday was around 90 minutes or so because I kept having to add hot water to raise the temp.

Dan

Desert_Sky · 03-12-2007, 07:12 PM

Now remember guys.......

Mash Temperature affects the outcome of your beer, as well as the thickness of your mash. So adding water makes your mash a bit thinner each time. You will extract more, but have a less fermentable wort

Fiery Sword · 03-12-2007, 07:12 PM

Are you doing a good job stirring the mash up? Big temp drops/changes like that make me think you've got hot/cold spots lurking in there. No prob with the time of mash, and there should be no bad effects from dipping a bit low to start. Jsut hit your 15? range and let 'er rip. Are you going to do a starch test to ultimately determine mash activity or just wing it?

Ó Flannagáin · 03-12-2007, 07:13 PM

But if you use less sparge water, won't thing's balance out?

zoebisch01 · 03-12-2007, 07:13 PM

Actually I don't think they are actually alive to begin with

. But I think (not 100% on this) but I think that you can get them pretty hot before they are destroyed (denatured). Not sure what the cutoff is though but I think it is a bit higher than what you went to.

Yeah, I found a good article on the enzymes and temps:

http://byo.com/mrwizard/1391.html

The bottom one is pertinent.

Ó Flannagáin · 03-12-2007, 07:13 PM

How do you do a starch test?

Desert_Sky · 03-12-2007, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seefresh

But if you use less sparge water, won't thing's balance out?

no.....sparging is rinsing the sugars that the enzymes produced. You sparge with water thats hot enough to stop enzyme conversion.