What I'm describing below has been consistently happening for every batch I've brewed in the last year.
Why does the end temperature of my mash end up higher than the beginning temperature?
What's going on? I figured five minutes of settle time should be plenty. And in any case, why would the temperature *increase* over time? If anything, I can see it decreasing. Enzimatic activity doesn't generate that much heat, if at all, does it?
This has me very, very puzzled.
Why does the end temperature of my mash end up higher than the beginning temperature?
- I have a 10 gallon round cooler (the typical orange type from Home Depot), with a false bottom, etc, which I use for mashing.
- I take both the grains and the cooler out to the garage about two hours before mashing to let their temperature stabilize (I brew in the garage).
- I measure the temperature of the grains and enter that into BrewSmith so it can figure out for me the initial temp of the mash water before putting it into the mash tun.
- Five minutes after I put the water into the mash tun, I measure the temperature. Let's say it's 152F and it's where I want it to be.
- 30 minutes into the mash, I measure the temperature again. Invariably, it's about 4F over the initial measurement and above where I wanted it to be. This temperature usually holds until the end, although sometimes it may be higher by a degree or two by the end.
What's going on? I figured five minutes of settle time should be plenty. And in any case, why would the temperature *increase* over time? If anything, I can see it decreasing. Enzimatic activity doesn't generate that much heat, if at all, does it?
This has me very, very puzzled.