Yup. I screwed up. I had been mashing my grains at ~152 for 30some minutes when I noticed my temp had dropped to ~145. So I increased my heat and, unfortunately, I let myself get distracted and the grains boiled for about a minute or so. I then dropped the grains back down to ~150 and continued the mash for a bit, although I figured I had denatured the enzymes necessary for starch conversion. Anyhow, this Irish Red Ale has now been in primary for one month and is finished fermenting. I pitched an appropriate starter (OG 1.060), but my brew appears to have finished at 1.020.
My theory? Boiling the grains extracting lots of proteins that are now keeping my gravity high despite how much sugar is reduced. I had 18oz of grains for my partial mash (1.125lb), and 8.1lb of LME. Could cold crashing cause these proteins to precipitate out and still leave me with enough yeast to naturally carbonate? If not, is there any other solutions? Do finings help reduce protein levels? Does my speculation that proteins are the culprit seem plausible?
My theory? Boiling the grains extracting lots of proteins that are now keeping my gravity high despite how much sugar is reduced. I had 18oz of grains for my partial mash (1.125lb), and 8.1lb of LME. Could cold crashing cause these proteins to precipitate out and still leave me with enough yeast to naturally carbonate? If not, is there any other solutions? Do finings help reduce protein levels? Does my speculation that proteins are the culprit seem plausible?