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**FlyDoctor** · 08-06-2012, 12:53 AM

Agree that 145 should still yield converted sugars, but it is slower and 60 mins may not have been Lon enough to convert all that you could at that temp.

fumanchu · 08-06-2012, 01:13 AM

Ahh, well I'm not able to crush myself, as far as I know. So I get the owner of the shop where I get my grains from to do it. I remember walking in there that day, he had one of the employees there do it.

It could very well be that employee didn't mill too well. And now I know to leave a mash go longer if I'm to go around the 140F range.

So why would some people mash at lower than 150F in the first place anyway? Was the article (John palmer) I read correct in saying that mashing lower than 150F yields a dryer less sweet beer?

duboman · 08-06-2012, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fumanchu

Ahh, well I'm not able to crush myself, as far as I know. So I get the owner of the shop where I get my grains from to do it. I remember walking in there that day, he had one of the employees there do it.

It could very well be that employee didn't mill too well. And now I know to leave a mash go longer if I'm to go around the 140F range.

So why would some people mash at lower than 150F in the first place anyway? Was the article (John palmer) I read correct in saying that mashing lower than 150F yields a dryer less sweet beer?

Different grains yield different sugars at different temperatures but generally higher temps produce less fermentable wort and conversely lower temps yield more, however if you get too low and for not long enough you may not get complete conversion

If you only heated the strike water to 145 then the mash temp was much Lowe due to temp drop with the grain absorption. I'm not sure of the math but you may have only mashed around 120, perhaps less?

Strike water should be around 168 to actually mash at 150ish.

Crush would be a leading cause, I know when I started milling my own my mag efficiency jumped a well as overall efficiency. My mill is set to 1mm and I'm consistent now.

You should also verify your equipment, calibrations and your sparge process as those factors play into this as well.

**shelly_belly** · 08-06-2012, 01:50 AM

I'm not sure how you coud have mashed at 143F using 145F water. Assuming a grain temperature of 80F 145F water temp should have netted you a mash temperature of around 133F @ 1.1 qt/lb mash thickness (4gal/14.5lbs). If your mash tun was not at equilibrium (preheated) then the mash temperature would have been even lower. Also, I believe a 30 second stir was not sufficient - you may have had some doughballs or the water may have stratified temperature wise with the warmest water on top and colder on the bottom as the cooler and the grains absorbed the heat from the water. And, as has already been pointed out, your sparge volume should have been larger. However, if the fermentation goes well, you should still end up with some delicious beer.

fumanchu · 08-06-2012, 01:57 AM

Well that's good to know. I'll heat my water to 170 next time.

**Bobby_M** · 08-06-2012, 02:03 AM

There's also no real reason to let your sparge water sit in the grain for 30 minutes.

fumanchu · 08-06-2012, 02:06 AM

fumanchu · 08-06-2012, 02:09 AM

The fermentation is going well. Down to 1.01, still off gassing quite a bit. Let the yeast do its thing for a few more days.

I don't really get the "should have been larger sparge volume" comment since I ended up with 5 gallons of wort. Any more than 5.5 would have just been thrown out because I'm not doing a double batch. Also, I only have a 5 gallon cooler to work with so I really can't put more than 4 gallons of water with that kind of a grain bill. It was almost overflowing, but that helped keep the temp up too.

Part of the problem might have been the 13-14 pounds of barley is just too much for a a 5 gallon cooler to handle.

I know the boil reduces volume but not that much.

Golly gee, I'm learning a lot here today.

**Bobby_M** · 08-06-2012, 02:16 AM

The "more water" recommendation is quite valid. You ended up with 5 gallons preboil. If you're not boiling off at least a gallon, you're not boiling hard enough. You should be starting with about 6.5 gallons preboil, boil down to 5.5 and you'll lose a little to trub in the kettle and in the fermenter.

fumanchu · 08-06-2012, 02:26 AM

How long should I let sparge water sit for?

stupid question: Is sparging adding water to the mash water that has completed its time cycle with the grain? Or is sparging simply adding more water the grain bed?
I mean is it only considered sparging when you add water to a mash that's been running for a while?

Or nevermind, I can find answers for that on my own. Don't worry about it. heheh