Strike Temps and Target Mash Temp

I just finished mashing for an Alt I'm brewing today. Mash was supposed to be a single infusion at 149*F. In my normal process, I heat my strike water to 20* over my desired mash temp, dough-in, and stir the mash until the temp drops to my desired temp. Normally this takes a minute or two. Then I close the mash tun and let the enzymes do their work.

I don't know what went wrong today (maybe I simply just misread the thermometer on my strike water), but it took my about 20 minutes of stirring like a mad man to get down to 149. I was stuck about 10*+ over my desired mash temp for a substantial amount of time. I even tried adding some room-temp water to cool it quicker, but I didn't want to add too much and make the mash too thin. My concern is that having the mash at 159*+ for the first 10-15 minutes of the mash may produce too many unfermentables and ruin my attenuation.

I'm not going to ask "did I ruin my beer", but am I going to end up with too-heavy, over-sweet altbier? Or will continuing the mash for an hour at the proper temps be good enough?

On a side note, this recipe called for a thinner mash (1.5qts/gal) than I normally use (1.25qts/gal). Could that explain why my strike temp didn't drop as fast as I anticipated? Seeing as the ratio of hot water to room-temp grain increased by 20%?

Twenty degrees over sounds really high to me. I usually go with 11 degrees over, give or take, in a preheated MLT. And yes, a thinner mash will need a lower temperature strike temp.

You may have a "thick" altbier in the end, but it will still be a very tasty beer!

Next time, throw 3 ice cubes in the mash to cool it quickly. Believe it or not, that almost always works well and drops it about 5 degrees in seconds, stirring well.

Yooper said:

Twenty degrees over sounds really high to me. I usually go with 11 degrees over, give or take, in a preheated MLT. And yes, a thinner mash will need a lower temperature strike temp. You may have a "thick" altbier in the end, but it will still be a very tasty beer! Next time, throw 3 ice cubes in the mash to cool it quickly. Believe it or not, that almost always works well and drops it about 5 degrees in seconds, stirring well.

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Thanks for the tips, I appreciate the input. I'll have to remember the ice cube trick.

20 degrees is what I was told by my LHBS when I first started AG brewing. It normally seems to work well enough, but maybe I'll try less next time and see if that gets me there quicker. It was definitely way too much this time around. I guess I'm just paranoid about under-shooting my temps.

Just FYI, a thinner mash actually favors more conversion, although it does take a bit more time to fully convert. Yoopers trick with the ice is the best method though. Even if you do get really thin after adding cold water you just mash a little longer and use less sparge water.

hunter_la5 said:

20 degrees is what I was told by my LHBS when I first started AG brewing. It normally seems to work well enough, but maybe I'll try less next time and see if that gets me there quicker. It was definitely way too much this time around. I guess I'm just paranoid about under-shooting my temps.

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Not sure if you're a super details kind of brewer but I am constantly amazed at how precise the brewing software is at hitting mash temps. You can enter the actual temps of the grain and equipment and I'm never off by more than a degree, and that's with no preheating of the MT.

Regardless of software or not, I also aim to overshoot just a touch. It takes way less water (or even better ice) to bring the temps down than trying to bring it up because the difference in temps between the mash and the adjustment water is so much larger.

+1 on the software. Beersmith always puts me spot on my desired mash temps.

Well I just kegged the batch today. I ended up missing my FG by 4 points, but the sample tasted okay. Honestly that's a lot better than I was anticipating. Thanks again everyone.

hunter_la5 said:

Well I just kegged the batch today. I ended up missing my FG by 4 points, but the sample tasted okay. Honestly that's a lot better than I was anticipating. Thanks again everyone.

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Nice! I am very interested to hear your tasting notes on this one when it has time to condition and carb up. Have you brewed this one before?

First of all, put your strike water into the cooler and close the lid and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. This will make it easier to figure out the rest of the process.

Also, you should usually try and shoot for the same or similar quarts per pound ratio batch-to-batch, to make it easier to predict.

Now check the temp of the water in the cooler once it's equalized. Try and shoot for about 12 degrees difference. So, if you're shooting for 152, add the grains in when the cooler water is 164.

This will get you close. After about 3 minutes of stirring, take note of the temperature you wound up with, then you'll be closer next time.

eltorrente said:

First of all, put your strike water into the cooler and close the lid and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. This will make it easier to figure out the rest of the process. Also, you should usually try and shoot for the same or similar quarts per pound ratio batch-to-batch, to make it easier to predict. Now check the temp of the water in the cooler once it's equalized. Try and shoot for about 12 degrees difference. So, if you're shooting for 152, add the grains in when the cooler water is 164. This will get you close. After about 3 minutes of stirring, take note of the temperature you wound up with, then you'll be closer next time.

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Thanks for the tips, I'll try that next time!

Setesh said:

Nice! I am very interested to hear your tasting notes on this one when it has time to condition and carb up. Have you brewed this one before?

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Me as well, will do. If the sample is any indication, I think it will be pretty good. This is the first time I've breed this particular Alt, it's based off of Jamil's Cowboy Alt recipe.

This beer turned out surprisingly good (I know, I know, RDWHAHB). It's been lagering for well over a month and it was worth the wait. The ABV is slightly lower than target and SRM slightly higher, but the flavor seems more or less spot on for what I was hoping for. I'll be making this again. It is very dark brown but crystal clear. Thanks again for the input everyone.