Hey all,
I've recently started brewing all-grain and have about 4-5 batches under my belt. Everything has been working out well with my system with the exception of some of my brews seeing over 80% attenuation when I'm expecting 70-75%. I'm wondering if it is just the way my system is working and I might need to just mash a few degrees higher. Here are some details of recipes that went way lower than planned however they taste good just a little less body than I'm shooting for. I've been mashing for 60 minutes and stirring very well at dough in and another 3-4 times during the full 60 min mash. I'm doing a single infusion batch sparge at an initial ratio of 1.33 qt/lb. Lastly, I've calibrated my thermometers and they're giving true mash temp readings so I know I'm hitting the temps that I've recorded.
Magic Hat #9 clone:
- Mash settled at 154 after dough in and ended at 151 after 60 min.
- Used wyeast 1968 London ESB which is supposed to have ~69% attenuation... I pitched a 1L starter
- Fermented right at 68 degrees for two weeks
- OG 1.052
- FG 1.009 (I was expecting mid-teens but I got over 80% attentuation!)
My 60 minute clone:
- Same exact deal as above... mash settled at 154 after dough in and ended at 151 after 60 min
- Used wyeast 1187 Ringwood ale which is supposed to have ~70% attenuation - I pitched a 2L starter
-Fermented right at 68 degrees for two weeks then dry hopped for a week in secondary
- OG 1.061 (a little low due to low efficiency from bad crush)
- FG 1.011 (I was expecting mid/high-teens but got 81% attenuation again!)
Should I just try mashing higher on my next go-arounds?
Any advice would be appreciated... not sure if anyone has had similar experiences. Oh, I do want to note that my extract brews do seem to attenuate by the expected amount. This really leads me to believe my issue is somewhere in the mash.
I've recently started brewing all-grain and have about 4-5 batches under my belt. Everything has been working out well with my system with the exception of some of my brews seeing over 80% attenuation when I'm expecting 70-75%. I'm wondering if it is just the way my system is working and I might need to just mash a few degrees higher. Here are some details of recipes that went way lower than planned however they taste good just a little less body than I'm shooting for. I've been mashing for 60 minutes and stirring very well at dough in and another 3-4 times during the full 60 min mash. I'm doing a single infusion batch sparge at an initial ratio of 1.33 qt/lb. Lastly, I've calibrated my thermometers and they're giving true mash temp readings so I know I'm hitting the temps that I've recorded.
Magic Hat #9 clone:
- Mash settled at 154 after dough in and ended at 151 after 60 min.
- Used wyeast 1968 London ESB which is supposed to have ~69% attenuation... I pitched a 1L starter
- Fermented right at 68 degrees for two weeks
- OG 1.052
- FG 1.009 (I was expecting mid-teens but I got over 80% attentuation!)
My 60 minute clone:
- Same exact deal as above... mash settled at 154 after dough in and ended at 151 after 60 min
- Used wyeast 1187 Ringwood ale which is supposed to have ~70% attenuation - I pitched a 2L starter
-Fermented right at 68 degrees for two weeks then dry hopped for a week in secondary
- OG 1.061 (a little low due to low efficiency from bad crush)
- FG 1.011 (I was expecting mid/high-teens but got 81% attenuation again!)
Should I just try mashing higher on my next go-arounds?
Any advice would be appreciated... not sure if anyone has had similar experiences. Oh, I do want to note that my extract brews do seem to attenuate by the expected amount. This really leads me to believe my issue is somewhere in the mash.