guinnessface
Well-Known Member
I've been getting consistantly low efficieny on my partial mash kits as of late. This is partially due to the fact that I used a fine mesh bag for the mash and sparge portion. I also heard that I should use five star to ensure I have 5.0 for Ph.
For my last batch of pale ale, I used a proportional amount of five star for a 2.5 gallon mini mash. I added it to the spring water before I turned the heat on. While the water was heating up, it got very cloudy at about 140-150 degrees.....and stayed that way. I thought it would settle down, but it never did. Unfortunately, I poked and prodded the grain bag way too much and now I'm left with a very bitter, cloudy beer. The efficiency was much better, but it's not very drinkable
My hunch is that the cloudiness is mostly from squeezing the grain bag, but am afraid to try again until I get some answers. My next beer is a kit of either pumpkin ale or english bitter. I think I've narrowed down how to avoid the bitterness and get good efficiency, but can I expect that five star to cloud my brew? Has this happened to anyone else? Perhaps I should add it once the water is at 170? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
For my last batch of pale ale, I used a proportional amount of five star for a 2.5 gallon mini mash. I added it to the spring water before I turned the heat on. While the water was heating up, it got very cloudy at about 140-150 degrees.....and stayed that way. I thought it would settle down, but it never did. Unfortunately, I poked and prodded the grain bag way too much and now I'm left with a very bitter, cloudy beer. The efficiency was much better, but it's not very drinkable
My hunch is that the cloudiness is mostly from squeezing the grain bag, but am afraid to try again until I get some answers. My next beer is a kit of either pumpkin ale or english bitter. I think I've narrowed down how to avoid the bitterness and get good efficiency, but can I expect that five star to cloud my brew? Has this happened to anyone else? Perhaps I should add it once the water is at 170? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance