So I brewed the all-grain NB Irish Red kit this past Saturday. It was around 45-degrees in my garage, and I thought I was pretty accurate in calculating my strike water temperature (target mash temp was 153). After doughing-in I moved my 10-gallon rectangular cooler mash-tun inside the house for the next hour. After the 60-minute mash I opened the cooler and took a temperature reading...It was in the neighborhood of 145 if I remember correctly. Needless to say I'll be replacing my cooler mash tun with a new 10-gallon beverage cooler...mine is old and loses heat through the front part of the lid (the sidewall has bowed out over time, so I usually give it a good redneck wrap of duct tape during the mash to hold as much heat in as possible).
So...I noticed yesterday (Tuesday) that my airlock activity had stopped. It didn't cause too much concern, but I thought I'd better take a gravity reading. It was 1.006! The estimated FG is 1.011. I've only been brewing for a year, so I'm by no means an experienced all-grain brewer. That being said, my best guess is the loss of heat during the mash is probably what caused the higher rate of attenuation (85.9%) and will likely result in a much drier Irish Red than I'd hoped for. I tasted the sample I pulled, but it's only been in the fermenter for 4-days so it tasted pretty yeasty and I was really unable to tell what this beer might turn out to be.
Has anyone had a similar problem with heat loss during the mash and missed the FG by such a long-shot? Was the finished beer awful, or did it turn out better than expected? What should I anticipate for my finished product at this point?
Thanks to everyone in advance!
So...I noticed yesterday (Tuesday) that my airlock activity had stopped. It didn't cause too much concern, but I thought I'd better take a gravity reading. It was 1.006! The estimated FG is 1.011. I've only been brewing for a year, so I'm by no means an experienced all-grain brewer. That being said, my best guess is the loss of heat during the mash is probably what caused the higher rate of attenuation (85.9%) and will likely result in a much drier Irish Red than I'd hoped for. I tasted the sample I pulled, but it's only been in the fermenter for 4-days so it tasted pretty yeasty and I was really unable to tell what this beer might turn out to be.
Has anyone had a similar problem with heat loss during the mash and missed the FG by such a long-shot? Was the finished beer awful, or did it turn out better than expected? What should I anticipate for my finished product at this point?
Thanks to everyone in advance!
