Brew day is here

[redrocker652002]

Started great. I was able to get my pot on the stove in the kitchen by sliding the stove away from the wall a bit. So, I am thinking I can hold the temp a bit better. So, my strike water is at about 160 for a mash temp of about 154, at least that is what I thought. I add the grains, and low and behold, my strike water doesn't change much. I got it down to about 155 or so within the first 10 mins of the mash, so I am hoping all is ok. I figure if my gravity is a bit low, I can mash a bit longer and see where I end up. So now, I wait. I have another 3 gallons at the ready for my sparge in a hope to get a preboil amount of somewhere around 7.5 gallons. I hope the higher mash temp for that short period did not screw things up, but I guess I will find out in about 3 weeks. LOL. Anyway, thanks to all who helped me so far in this journey, I am still finding that I am learning a lot. RR

 

[hotbeer]

After adding the strike water to the malts, are you measuring the temp in the bag or just in the water outside the bag? And did you turn off the burner when at the time you mixed the two. Otherwise your temp can get out of hand quickly in some parts of the pot.

Check you mash temps in as many places as you can to ensure your temps are homogenous as possible throughout.

 

[doug293cz]

A 155° start to your mash vs. 154°F won't make a noticeable difference. You will be fine.

Monitoring SG during the mash (a refractometer is much better for this than a hydrometer) is a good way to tell when your mash is done. After about 50 minutes in, start checking SG (after a good stir), then sample every 10 - 15 minutes. When the SG stops rising, your mash is done.

Brew on

 

[redrocker652002]

After adding the strike water to the malts, are you measuring the temp in the bag or just in the water outside the bag? And did you turn off the burner when at the time you mixed the two. Otherwise your temp can get out of hand quickly in some parts of the pot.

Check you mash temps in as many places as you can to ensure your temps are homogenous as possible throughout.

Thank you for the reply. I cnecked the temp inside the bag, in the water and with the grain in it. I cannot remember if I turned to burner off, but if I did not it was on very low. It was my fault, I thought the grain would bring the heat down but it did not. Live and learn.

 

[redrocker652002]

A 155° start to your mash vs. 154°F won't make a noticeable difference. You will be fine.

Monitoring SG during the mash (a refractometer is much better for this than a hydrometer) is a good way to tell when your mash is done. After about 50 minutes in, start checking SG (after a good stir), then sample every 10 - 15 minutes. When the SG stops rising, your mash is done.

Brew on

Good idea, thank you. I pulled a sample with about 10 mins left in the mash, cooled it and checked it. It was within about 5 points or so of the Brewfather number, so I figured I was good.