Mash temp 10* too high for first few minutes?

jclucca said:

I highly recommend making sure your equipment profile is configured in Beersmith so you can hit your temps right on. Then, come brew day, enter actual (or even approximate) values for your tun & grain temps and then just add the exact strike temp calculated in Beersmith - you will be amazed at how you consistently hit your temps.

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wittmania said:

Guys,

Tried making my first Russian Imperial Stout this weekend and screwed it up big time. I usually heat my strike water about 10-15* warmer than what Beersmith calls for to make up for any heat loss from the tun or transfer, and then I stir it until it cools down to the right temp before I dough in. However, Saturday morning I was very distracted and forgot to let it cool first. I wanted to mash around 150* and instead it came in at 160* once all of the grist was in. I quickly measured out a gallon of 70* water and added it, bringing the temp back down to 150*, but the mash was at 160* for at least 5 minutes while I was doughing in.

I was already worried about getting this beer to attenuate well enough that it wouldn't be a sweet mess when it's done, and now I'm even more concerned due to the initial high mash temps. My OG was only 1.073 into the fermenter (should have been 1.095), which I also attribute to the higher mash temp.

I'm already bummed about only getting 1.073 out of almost 20# of grain for a 5 gallon batch, but I will be even more so if this beer finishes out in the high 1.020s.

What do you guys think? Should I dump it? (Kidding... just kidding...) Does anyone have any experience with that high of a mash temp, but only for a few minutes?

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wittmania said:

Of course, that does leave room for human error, something I'm good at introducing into my brewing process.

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JakeFegely said:

I've had efficiency problems with high OG mashes as well. I've read about at least 2 causes. The first is that as you increase the amount of grain (while keeping your boil volume the same), your ratio of total water to grain drops. You have less water to wash sugar out of the grains. A second issue is that as the sparge water becomes a lower percentage of the total water into the BK, the efficiency starts to drop. This seems to get significant around 30-35%. I believe Kaiser has documented this extensively on here somewhere.

I've done a few things to help. First, I've increased the temperature of mash additions from what Beer Smith recommends. When you increase the temp, Beer Smith recalculates the volume to a lower number. This allows for more sparge volume. The second thing I've done is to increase the boil length (which may not be appropriate for all styles). Longer boil length equals higher initial volume equals higher sparge volume (equal more sugars washed out of the grains).

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KeythL said:

Also, have a bottle of Amylase Enzyme Formula (get the stuff specifically for brewing\wine makeing...not Beano!) on hand, if you fear you've seriously denatured your mash, you can replace the enzymes from the malt. Just a couple of things you can add to your arsenal that might help you save the day, brew day that is.

Keyth

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