Thin mash

SO, today was my first AG batch to hit the target OG! YAY!

However, when I started the mash, I overshot the temperature by just a bit. I added some cool water, enough to get the temp down to 153, but I wound up with 4 gallons of mash water with just 12 pounds of grain.

Question:

Will this have any negative effects on my beer?

My first runnings were coming out of the mash tun with a gravity of 1.081 at 150 degrees (target OG was 1.050), and my sparge water was still above 1.015 even at the very end. Everything else seemed normal.

Congrats on the first all grain, especially cause you hit the OG! 4gal water to 12lb grain gives a ratio of 1.33qt/lb, that's not really thin. Most would consider this a normal mash, I usually do around 1.25-1.5qt/lb ratio. If you have anything around 2qt/lb, that's considered a thin mash. Anyway, there will be no negative effects on the beer. I'm sure it will turn out great!

Agreed, you shouldn't encounter any problems with that water volume.

thanks guys.

To clarify, this was my 4th AG batch.

Today was the first time I was able to hit my OG without using adjuncts though, which is double cool, because I was getting frusterated with low OG wort before today!

Anyways, my technique prior to today was lacking, and the guys on this forum shot me in the right direction. Thanks again guys!!

I shoot for 1.25, but haven't noticed any problems as high as 1.75. If you don't stir much, the enzymes tend to stay down with the grain anyway.