Can wort sit out overnight?

I am brewing tomorrow but am thinking about mashing tonight. If I do this can I let the wort sit in the cool garage overnight covered or does it have to be refrigerated or boiled right after it is gathered?

Not that it matters but it's a 5 gallon batch.

Thanks!

Tim

Mashing overnight is fine, but you need to maintain your temp within a few degrees. If you let it go cool lactobasilus will take over and it will sour. You need to keep it above 140 degrees

The people who I know who mash overning wrap their cooler in a sleeping bag or other insulated wrapper and put it near the furnace or the warmest spot in thier house, or use a heating pad.

Here's some info for you http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=30815

http://www.fermentarium.com/homebrewing/brewing-beer/shorten-your-brew-day-with-overnight-mashing/

You could leave it out if you have not yet boiled it but there is no gaurantee that something nasty might affect the flavor of it preboil. Its probobly not the best idea.

Shinglejohn said:

You could leave it out if you have not yet boiled it but there is no gaurantee that something nasty might affect the flavor of it preboil. Its probobly not the best idea.

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Mashing overnight is quite common.

but allowing it to "sit in the cool in the garage" is "probobly not the best idea".

Ok, I'm not gonna do it then. I wouldn't be able to keep the temp up.

I bought an all grain kit from Northern Brewer. The grain is crushed but the bag is sealed. Will it be ok in my kegerator (no food or anything in there to give off flavors) for a couple weeks? I'm going on vacation next week for 2 weeks and if I don't get to it tomorrow it will sit until the weekend of the 10th.

Thanks!

Can you freeze the grain?

Itll be fine.

Probably. It's been in the kegerator for a week already. If I don't brew tomorrow I'll freeze it while I'm gone.

timm747 said:

I am brewing tomorrow but am thinking about mashing tonight. If I do this can I let the wort sit in the cool garage overnight covered or does it have to be refrigerated or boiled right after it is gathered?

Not that it matters but it's a 5 gallon batch.

Thanks!

Tim

Click to expand...

I don't know how much value this post is to you, but I brew lagers most of the time. I put the main wort into a fridge at 32* and use Three liters of it for a starter. Two days later, I pitch the starter at high krousen to the main wort warmed to 48*. So IMHO, storing chilled wort is no problem.

timm747 said:

Ok, I'm not gonna do it then. I wouldn't be able to keep the temp up.

I bought an all grain kit from Northern Brewer. The grain is crushed but the bag is sealed. Will it be ok in my kegerator (no food or anything in there to give off flavors) for a couple weeks? I'm going on vacation next week for 2 weeks and if I don't get to it tomorrow it will sit until the weekend of the 10th.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

yes, the grain will be fine in the kegerator since the bag is sealed. i'd freeze it too, though.

timm747 said:

Probably. It's been in the kegerator for a week already. If I don't brew tomorrow I'll freeze it while I'm gone.

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WHY

I buy and grind at my LHBS Its sits in a 5gl bucket for up to 3 months be for I get to use it. Just keep it dry.

dogtailale said:

WHY

I buy and grind at my LHBS Its sits in a 5gl bucket for up to 3 months be for I get to use it. Just keep it dry.

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+1

I made a red rocket clone with 6 week old grains (already milled) and it turned out awesome. As long as they are dry in an air-tight container, it should stay good for a while. Taste it when you're ready to use it. If it tastes chewy like stale cereal, then it's probably not good. My bet is that it will remain crunchy for a while.

businesstime said:

+1

I made a red rocket clone with 6 week old grains (already milled) and it turned out awesome. As long as they are dry in an air-tight container, it should stay good for a while. Taste it when you're ready to use it. If it tastes chewy like stale cereal, then it's probably not good. My bet is that it will remain crunchy for a while.

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Tasting ingredients gives you much needed feedback. If you taste your grains and it is wet and chewy or tastes stale then it probably is. I let my 8 year old son taste some grains and he could tell me which ones tasted like chocolate and which tasted like honey etc. Good fresh ingredients = good fresh beer. Don't be afraid to taste your ingredients and beer along the journey. It will help you develop a feel for what your final product will be. :rockin:

I think what Revvy is talking about is mashing overnight and the what the question is is if you can store wort overnight. I can't see why you couldn't store wort overnight in a cooler and boil tomorrow but mashing overnight requires more control over the temperature.

rjwhite41 said:

I think what Revvy is talking about is mashing overnight and the what the question is is if you can store wort overnight. I can't see why you couldn't store wort overnight in a cooler and boil tomorrow but mashing overnight requires more control over the temperature.

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Wrapping it in a blanket and leaving it in a warm place really isn't that a difficult way to "Control Tempertature." It's actually preferable to just leave it in the cooler WITH the grain, i.e. mash over night, then to drain the tun into ANOTHER cooler. You have the thermal mass of the grain and cooler going a long way to keeping the wort from letting lactobasillus take hold. Most folks I know who do this, report no more tha 1-2 degrees lost over night, with a simple sleeping bag in a warm place......Not all that complicated, and we KNOW it works doing it this way.

I almost always collect all of my wort tbe night before. It sets in my boil pot with no temperature control. The wort wont sour that fast unless add addition grain.