mystery of watery/gross beer solved

My last batch of beer was watery and the batch before that was just gross. I was really starting to think that something was wrong with me, I havent had a bad batch of beer for a long time let alone TWO back to back. I think I solved the problem though, and it makes me pretty mad how simple of a problem it was...

I leave my gear in the basement and when I went grab my thermometer in curiosity to check the temperature of the basement I noticed it read 80 degrees.

There is NO way my basement is 80, its probably more like 65... I think that my steeping temp has been 15 degrees too low for two batches due to a broken thermometer... at least I think I have finally found my reason for two bad batches.

Anyone have a trusty thermometer they can recommend? I would think of going digital after all this annoyance.

Thermopen if you want to spend a lot

I've got redundant digital and analog thermometers all over my setup, just because I know one day this will happen to me. Nothing fancy, just going on the chance no two will crap out at the same time.

Steeping or mashing? If it's just steeping I have a hard time believing it's the issue at hand.

This is made by the same people that make the thermapen. Very fast and accurate for $19.00.

ThermoWorks RT600C Super-Fast Pocket Thermometer

I have one of these and love it:

http://www.control3.com/4371p.htm
(you can find them on Amazon or whatever, that's just the first link that came up)

Calibrated, water/shock proof, under 30 bucks.

I've used this with very good luck for over a year now:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0021AEAG2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

+1 CDN Pro Accurate is excellent for the money.

However search around on Amazon for a better price, that one is high and with expensive shipping. You can also get it from BobbyM of HBT fame http://brewhardware.com/thermometers/76-cdn-digital-thermometer

I have been using the below thermometer and the PTFE/FEP tip waterproof wire probe for over a year and it has been excellent. Its a little pricey, but I feel its worth it. I also use a fast response meat probe for checking food temps in the kitchen or on the grill.

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/handheld/mtc.html
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/probe/tc_wire.html

I like my Big Red, its waterproof and very sensitive. On my 3rd year with it and same battery.

Steeping your grain 15˚ lower than the recommended 160˚-170˚ wouldn't cause watery or "gross" beer (I assume me mean off-tasting). At first I thought your ferm temps were too high, but it seems like your temps would be too 15˚ too low. In that case you'd have under-attenuated beer. It would be sweet. And you'd have had possible bottle bombs.

Either way, I don't think 15˚ too low would account for watery beer, and I think you'd have to steep at 175-plus to extract tannins. In my extract brewing days, I know I steeped grains at or near 170˚in some of my first brews, and I couldn't detect any ill effects.

Bottom line is that the OP is trying to troubleshoot "watery" and "gross" beer, and I don't think we've gotten to to bottom of it yet.

I use the foot-long dial-type probe thermometer that came with my original kit to clip onto the boil pot to check temperatures, right through chilling. Checking the calibration is easy, since it's on there during the boil.

For everything else I use a Thermapen. Convenient, accurate, and very fast to register the correct temperature. I use it for brewing, baking, cooking. Right now Thermoworks is having an open box sale on Thermapens for $69, which is a great value.

KayaBrew said:

Either way, I don't think 15˚ too low would account for watery beer, and I think you'd have to steep at 175-plus to extract tannins. In my extract brewing days, I know I steeped grains at or near 170˚in some of my first brews, and I couldn't detect any ill effects.

Bottom line is that the OP is trying to troubleshoot "watery" and "gross" beer, and I don't think we've gotten to to bottom of it yet.

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I agree. Steeping too low or too high wouldn't give watery or gross beer. Something else is the cause.

BigRob said:

Steeping or mashing? If it's just steeping I have a hard time believing it's the issue at hand.

Click to expand...

Your cara malts will add a lot to the mouthfeel. I wouldnt write it off as the problem.

For the sake of curiosity, can we get the recipe of your watery brews?