Cont'd thin beer...

I had previous posts about "off tastes" in my PM batches that I wasn't getting in full extract batches...at that time I thought it was due to water (chloramines) but am now thinking it is simply my mash temps based on my last batch which was a Belgian White IPA (I used campden tablets in all water used from start to finish - not the water). I use a 5 gal coleman cooler (round). My strike temp was above 160 and my temp after stirring in the grains I got to right at about 155 so I covered and let sit for couple hours (kids, etc..) and temp at end of mash was low 140's (I tea-bagged in 170 deg water). I was worried of the low mash temp again...but hoped it stayed near low to mid 150's long enough for most conversion. Apparently not, based on how it tastes. The problem with these partial mash kits is the amt of grain is still minimal so there is TONS of air space in the cooler still which I think is why the temp is not staying consistent. BUT:
My FG was 1.015....if it is a more fermentable beer from low mash, shouldn't it have dropped more than that? My other thought is since it still came with like 6lbs of LME, maybe it is enough to keep the FG a little higher, but enough base grain conversion at low mash temp to give it the thinner feel that clearly I do not like?!? I think I need to ditch the PM kits and start my own PM's (I have a few and kept grain amt high and extract low) so I fill most of the cooler and keep the temps more consistent....Any other possibilities you all can think of??

 

Bump for help otherwise I will trod on!

 

Are you preheating the the cooler before your mash? A final gravity of 1.015 doesn't sound like it should taste thin.

 

I did. It was 135 deg tap water. Does it need to be hotter? The grains were only like 2-3 lbs or so...I wanted there to be at least 2gal of water in order to take up more space in cooler, but even then the cooler was only like 1/2 full. I know there will be more heat loss b/c of this. Would the mash being thinner have something to do with it? Obv I exceeded the 1.5qt/lb ratio.

 

Yes, the thin mash could likely be your culprit. If I were you I'd mash in a pot on the stove top if it's just a couple pounds of grain. That will solve your temp problem and your water to grist problem. Just mash in the stove and dump it into your cooler to lauter and sparge (ignore the scary monster Hot Side Aeration).

 

Yeah, I have wanted to do that in order to control the heat (gas stove top)/temp better but my 10gal boil pot is just too big for it and my outdoor propane burner has no control re getting flame to a low level. I guess my choice is custom PM recipes with large enough grain bill to fill the 5gal cooler and rid the air space issue vs buy a 3-5 gal pot for stove top to keep smaller grain bills at consistent temp. Thx.

 

I do not use a mash tun and have only read that some people lay a film on the top of a small mash in a cooler. Something like a disk of aluminum foil or Reflectix. Supposedly it helps maintain the temp of the smaller mass. I hope someone chimes in with this experience.

More water in the mash tun means more thermal mass. More heat has to escape to lower the temperature of the larger amount of water.

 

My last large PM batch (6lbs grain) was Yoopers pale ale, did as a BIAB/ dunk sparge and I kept strict mash temp b/w 153 and 155 for 45min's then dunked and sat in 170 deg water, and gave grains thorough squeeze. Came out as my best brew yet, it was definitely my jacked up mash temps leading to thin mouthfeel in previous batches.

 

I did a few partial mash kits. When I mashed I did it in my 20 qt aluminum pot. I preheated my oven to 150 degrees then put the pot in there. I checked the temp part way through and turned on the heat for a little while. Mash temperature only varied a couple of degrees.

 

With an FG of 1.015 I don't believe it's the mash temperatures. It could be your carbonation levels. If you have too much carbonation it can give you a thin mouthfeel. In partial mashes, you are using a lot of malt extract as the bulk of fermentables, and most use some type of Crystal or carapils malt in it as well.


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