Missed my Mash temp, RDWHAHB?
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At 146 I'd leave it for 90 minutes to ensure conversion. Your FG will be pretty low. You could do a decoction to get the temp up where you want it.
TeleTwanger
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what are you mashing in? A 4 degree drop in 20 minutes is not very good. You can try a decoction to raise the temps.
yup...pull out some of the liquid and boil it then add it back and stir like a mad man!
I mashed in at 165 or therabouts, but used hot, not boiling, to prime the mash tun.
Heating up sparge water now, 25 minutes left on the 60 min mash.
I suppose i could drain some, boil, and dump it back in and let it sit for 90...
Edit: That's what i'll do...pull the sparge up to around 200 and pull off the burner, set aside to let it cool to 168 while i do some decoctions.
Who knew i'd do Decoctions on my first AG?
EDIT 2: Oh, is star san safe to use bare hands with? I usually use Idophor.
It helps to do dry runs where you add your strike water as if you were going to dough in a batch, then record the temp loss over 15 minutes. Then on brew day you know how much over your planned strike temp you need to heat your water to account for the temp loss.
I have found preheating my cooler to be very error prone so I don't do it.
Yep.
Soulive
Well-Known Member
Losing 4 degrees that quickly is more of an issue than missing your target temp. Figure out why your cooler is not holding the heat. I personally like to preheat with my strike water. I heat it to about 20-25 degrees about my desired mash temp and let it get down to strike temp. As it is dropping down to strike temp, it is preheating the tun...
3 half gallon decoctions did it, so i'm letting it rest until about 5:20 or so. Luckily, all of my hops are pre-sorted and ready to go, so i dont think i lost too much time.
Plus, the girlfriend gets home from work in 40 minutes, perfect to help corral the cats when it's time to pitch the yeast
Trial and error, it seems. Next brew i'll shoot for 17 degrees higher or so.
Thanks guys
Edit: Also, i guess the heat loss is from leaving the mash tun outside in the cold while i did everything, plus that damned Chicago wind i keep hearing about.
Plus, the girlfriend gets home from work in 40 minutes, perfect to help corral the cats when it's time to pitch the yeast
Trial and error, it seems. Next brew i'll shoot for 17 degrees higher or so.
Thanks guys
Edit: Also, i guess the heat loss is from leaving the mash tun outside in the cold while i did everything, plus that damned Chicago wind i keep hearing about.
Soulive
Well-Known Member
You got that right and you got the right attitude...
DONATE TO ME!
Anyway, just got my first runnings on the first wort hops, sparge has been stirred and is sitting, boil shall be in 15 minutes.
What a day, i need a beer
What type of cooler are you using, and did you pre-heat with 180 degree water. It definately makes a difference. Also if you don't have brewing software find an online strike water calculator. If your grain is stored in cold temps, it can have a big effect as well. I usually let mine set at room temp starting the day before I brew.
10 gallon igloo...the water was heated to about 150, which obviously wasnt hot enough.
I use Beersmith, so all my amounts were right :cross:
And the grain was about 72-75 degrees.
Brew-boy
Well-Known Member
That is the one great thing about Beer Tools Pro, you calibrate your equipment. No need to per warm the tun and I hit within 1 degree each time.
oswegan
Well-Known Member
I lost a bit of heat in mine this weekend when I did a big grain bill and higher water to grain ratio then normal. I think that the closer the mash is to the top of the cooler (i.e. more grain and water) the easier it is to lose heat out of the cooler.
Mine still leaks too, even after 15 batches I haven't found a way to clamp it without it leaking. I'm finally going to pull off the hoses and use compression fittings to add an extension tube so I can clamp away from the boil kettle. Then I won't care if it leaks since it won't drip into my wort.
Every batch is a learning experience. It's rare to have a brew session where SOMETHING doesn't go wrong.
If your cooler lid is hollow, drill a few holes on each side and spray expanding foam insulation into it. The excess will squeeze out of the holes and you can cut it off with a knife. I did this with my 9gal Igloo and the temp loss went from 4*F/hr down to 2*F/hr which is acceptable. Tossing a blanket over the cooler may also help.
BeerSmith has the option to adjust strike temp for equipment. I don't preheat the cooler at all and hit temp every time.
Sounds like OP needs to mash inside or out of the wind. Last batch was mashed outside in 40dF and didn't drop a degree over 60 minutes with a 10G drink cooler.
I haven't tried that option. I really should Google around and see what folks say they are doing for their Coleman 70 with BeerSmith. I bet someone already figured it out. Then I can try a dry run to compare what the software says with the actual temp loss I get... I agree software would definitely make the job easier.
comj49
Well-Known Member
I have thought about doing that, but have read that you should add Water to grain, not the other way around, is it really a problem to dump your grain into a cooler full of pre-heated water?
It just makes it harder to get rid of the dough balls, that's all.
chriswilkes33
Well-Known Member
Mine still leaks too, even after 15 batches I haven't found a way to clamp it without it leaking. I'm finally going to pull off the hoses and use compression fittings to add an extension tube so I can clamp away from the boil kettle. Then I won't care if it leaks since it won't drip into my wort.
Every batch is a learning experience. It's rare to have a brew session where SOMETHING doesn't go wrong.
If your cooler lid is hollow, drill a few holes on each side and spray expanding foam insulation into it. The excess will squeeze out of the holes and you can cut it off with a knife. I did this with my 9gal Igloo and the temp loss went from 4*F/hr down to 2*F/hr which is acceptable. Tossing a blanket over the cooler may also help.
I like to sit on my cooler and play guitar while the mash is in there. I think it helps lid heat loss and since I call my brewery six string brewery, I think it fits nicely.
Thanks for the help everyone, it was a rocky day, but i still had a lot of fun, and i cannot wait until next brew day to work out the kinks
Incidentally, here are the final results:
Target OG 1.092, Actual 1.086. This i expected after missing my mash temp and not knowing the efficency of my set up yet. Still, big beer.
Color was dead on at 10.4 SRM, beautiful copper amber.
Hopping went perfect, and the FWH really made the aroma of the wort something to behold. After moving to the fermenter, it STILL smelled like hops.
18.5# of wet grain is NOT held well in a standard kitchen garbage bag, so all of you may rest assured all of the neighborhood squirrels are well fed.
Thanks again everyone, will bump this once fermentation is complete and i get my FG. No airlock activity as of this morning, but i'm not worried, i pitched plenty and aerated so much i had to skim some fluff from the top of the fermenter to get the lid on
Incidentally, here are the final results:
Target OG 1.092, Actual 1.086. This i expected after missing my mash temp and not knowing the efficency of my set up yet. Still, big beer.
Color was dead on at 10.4 SRM, beautiful copper amber.
Hopping went perfect, and the FWH really made the aroma of the wort something to behold. After moving to the fermenter, it STILL smelled like hops.
18.5# of wet grain is NOT held well in a standard kitchen garbage bag, so all of you may rest assured all of the neighborhood squirrels are well fed.
Thanks again everyone, will bump this once fermentation is complete and i get my FG. No airlock activity as of this morning, but i'm not worried, i pitched plenty and aerated so much i had to skim some fluff from the top of the fermenter to get the lid on
