Temp problems with small(ish) batch

So, I've got about 10 AG brews under my belt, all turned out tasty, and I went to go do a smallish batch for my wife who loves sweet stout (but me not so much). Well one thing I never considered was the extra headspace and subsequent temp lose in my Igloo MLT. In the past with 5 gallon batches I've dropped about 1-1.5 F over the course of an hour mash. Well, the 3 gallon batch I did last night dropped 5 degrees in an hour and the headspace is the only thing that differed from my normal process.

Now I'm hoping that my sweet stout will have way to many fermentables and come off too dry. Has anyone else had this problem?

I attempted a fix by adding a gallon of 200F water to raise temp back up to mash starting temp for an extra 10-15 minutes at the end of the mash, but now I'm worried that made the mash too thin which in turn would result in more fermentables.

I'd like the ability to do small batches going forwards. If this issue arises in the future what's the best course of action? Decoction?

 

first mash in my 70-quart cooler tun, I lost 5-6° over the hour, due to my headspace

after that, I put a layer of aluminum foil over the top and now only lose 1°

after the mash, I poke holes in the foil and that helps keep from disturbing the grainbed during vorlauf

 

First thing: If your crush was decent, your conversion was done long before your temperature dropped significantly.

Second thing: If your crush wasn't decent, find a new place to get it crushed.

 

+1 to the aluminum foil. I did a 3-gallon batch last night, and my total mash volume in my 5-gal drink cooler was just under 2.5 gallons. With the foil, I lost maybe a degree or two.

 

Awesome, I'll try the foil next time I do a batch. Thanks

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For a 2.5 gallon batch, I preheat with about 10 degree hotter water than what beersmith calls for. Then I let the mash tun heat up for 15-20 minutes instead of the normal 10 minutes for a 5.5 gallon batch.


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