Everything I post seems to be a mistake of one sort or another, but I feel I may have made a proper mess on this one. I am new to biab and mashing, and have mashed at about 10 degrees higher than i should have due to a misread... My mash temp should have been 68/154, however due to my foolishness was actually at 78/172. I understand that I will not be anywhere near a reasonable gravity - do I turf and redo? Is this beer going to be worthwhile???
Way too high mash temp
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fartinmartin
Well-Known Member
It's done, so just make the best of it !
I would tell myself that I will have loads of unfermentable sugar in there, so I must make sure that I get a very thorough fermentation on what is there, I would over pitch my yeast, and get the temps as good as I can, 62C, then after five days add a shovel full of dry hops to give it some interest to make up for the damage already done.
This hobby never stops giving very surprising results !
I would tell myself that I will have loads of unfermentable sugar in there, so I must make sure that I get a very thorough fermentation on what is there, I would over pitch my yeast, and get the temps as good as I can, 62C, then after five days add a shovel full of dry hops to give it some interest to make up for the damage already done.
This hobby never stops giving very surprising results !
Use your hydrometer to see if you are close to the expected OG. If not you would want to add some malt extract to get some more fermentable sugars in the beer. At 172F you probably denatured the enzymes before they had time to do much so if your OG is really low you might want to start over.
mfranzer
Active Member
I did this with one of mine. Ended up with a double ipa that ended at 1.032. Couldn't get it any lower. Wasn't my best beer, but still drinkable by all means.
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Surprisingly higher .og than expected at 1.050... Will definitely take the advice here and smash some hops into it on a few days though. Will let you know how it turns out and what the final gravity is. Just one more lesson learnt I guess...
There are a few factors that you have to take into account with BIAB brewing and mash temperature. The first one is that if you are used to the mashing at thicker rates your strike water temperatures with full-volume BIAB style mashing will be less to get you to the desired mash temperature. This is because the greater water volume has greater thermal mass and isn't as apt to lose heat to the grain and kettle. Second thing is, you really do need to take temperature of your grains. I was surprised the other day to find my grains were at 59F even though they felt fine. Using http://biabcalculator.com that only comes out to be one degree higher in my strike water temperature, but if you're trying to hit a certain mash temp it does make a difference.
Have you ever used brettanomyces? Brett pitched in the secondary can add some interesting flavors and it'll eat through anything and lower your gravity even as low as 1.000. If you find your beer is undrinkable think about racking to a secondary fermenter you don't mind being occupied for at least three months and pitch a vial of brett. For more info visit the lambic & wild brewing forum.
Don't dry hop until the beer is done fermenting. 5 days is typically not long enough when fermenting at 62°F.
Dry hopping is best done 3-7 days before packaging. It will help to offset the sweetness.
I would keep the ferm temps low for the first few days until the fermentation is past its high point, 62 sounds OK, but depends on the yeast. Then slowly rise the temps all the way up to 75° or so over 5-6 days (2 degrees per day). The yeast will stay more active and may chew a few more points off. Keep it there for a week or longer. Then taste and decide what direction you want to take it. It's not ruined it's a different beer.
You could always brew another batch, mashed correctly (lowish, 148°) and attenuated as low as can be, and mix the 2 together.
Dry hopping is best done 3-7 days before packaging. It will help to offset the sweetness.
I would keep the ferm temps low for the first few days until the fermentation is past its high point, 62 sounds OK, but depends on the yeast. Then slowly rise the temps all the way up to 75° or so over 5-6 days (2 degrees per day). The yeast will stay more active and may chew a few more points off. Keep it there for a week or longer. Then taste and decide what direction you want to take it. It's not ruined it's a different beer.
You could always brew another batch, mashed correctly (lowish, 148°) and attenuated as low as can be, and mix the 2 together.
Glad you mentioned that, I forgot to add it to my reply.
Brett by itself won't make your beer sour, but has a very unique flavor aroma profile.
Well... I bit the bullet last night and threw the offending 'brew' away. I took a gravity reading, long after visible fermentation finished, and was left with a beer at around 1.5%.
I am really interested in using brettanomyces, however I don't have a spare fermenter so unfortunately this was not an option. Next time I make a huge balls up I will hopefully have more kit.
The good news is that I have learnt a massive amount from this, and have brewed the same recipe again and the brewing process was the best I have done yet. Redemption Pale Ale.
I am really interested in using brettanomyces, however I don't have a spare fermenter so unfortunately this was not an option. Next time I make a huge balls up I will hopefully have more kit.
The good news is that I have learnt a massive amount from this, and have brewed the same recipe again and the brewing process was the best I have done yet. Redemption Pale Ale.
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