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beerfactory

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I messed up and mashed in at 161. Within 10 minutes I had it down to 153.

Grain bill
5 lbs 2 row
5lbs Vienna
1.5 lbs munich
.5 lbs 20l
.5 lbs 60l
 
What do you want to do? At this point you have two choices. Throw it out or wait and see.

I'd opt for wait and see.
There's nothing I can do but wait a month and see how it tastes in a glass...

Of course I could post in the beginners forum and see if anyone who has made the same mistake might tell me how it turned out for them. :)
 
see if anyone who has made the same mistake might tell me how it turned out for them
Well if that's the case, I've not had any major issues from too high or too low a mash temperature. It still made beer. And I've had much higher temperature excursions.

Even if someone did have a bad brew. Are you going to trust that it was from their incorrect mash temperature and not one of the multitude of other things they may have done wrong and not realized those mistakes.
 
What was your original gravity? The only issue would be enzymes denaturing and that's going to take some time. It's more like rolling down a hill than falling off a cliff. I'm willing to bet there will be no adverse effects as long as your conversion was complete.
 
What was your original gravity? The only issue would be enzymes denaturing and that's going to take some time. It's more like rolling down a hill than falling off a cliff. I'm willing to bet there will be no adverse effects as long as your conversion was complete.
That's along the lines of what I was thinking. Thank you for that feedback.

Something like a smoker starting out hot and coming under control reasonably is not going to affect the brisket meaningfully.

I didn't actually measure my OG. Based on my process' historical performance against this recipe it should have been 1.058.

I ended up .75 gallons high on volume too. So I am extending my boil time by 45". Not my best day.

Neighbor was hauled in an ambulance right after I milled and it's been hectic around here. In retrospect I should have never have proceeded with the mash...
 
Well if that's the case, I've not had any major issues from too high or too low a mash temperature. It still made beer. And I've had much higher temperature excursions.

Even if someone did have a bad brew. Are you going to trust that it was from their incorrect mash temperature and not one of the multitude of other things they may have done wrong and not realized those mistakes.
Ha! That's so true. If one thing goes wrong, things just seem to keep rolling down hill.
 
I messed up and mashed in at 161. Within 10 minutes I had it down to 153.

Grain bill
5 lbs 2 row
5lbs Vienna
1.5 lbs munich
.5 lbs 20l
.5 lbs 60l
No worries. I've done much worse. It'll be fine.

They say that close is only good enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. I'd like to add brewing to that.
 
No worries. I've done much worse. It'll be fine.

They say that close is only good enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. I'd like to add brewing to that.
My wife uses that expression a lot since I first used it on her over 30 years ago. Surprisingly a lot of her co-workers have never heard it even today.

Many fail to understand it so there-in might be the problem for the people she has said it to.
:bigmug:
 
My wife uses that expression a lot since I first used it on her over 30 years ago. Surprisingly a lot of her co-workers have never heard it even today.

Many fail to understand it so there-in might be the problem for the people she has said it to.
:bigmug:

I've played plenty of horseshoes, and have thrown some hand grenades (in the marine corps). So I guess it's familiar to me. Maybe not so much to others these days, especially urbanites.

Regarding brewing, I've made so many dumb mistakes, played it loose on measuring and temperatures. In the end I've made some damned fine beer. Like this pale ale I just poured :)

1653269614551.png
 
There's nothing I can do but wait a month and see how it tastes in a glass...

Of course I could post in the beginners forum and see if anyone who has made the same mistake might tell me how it turned out for them. :)
I've made the same mistake and then some. All of the enzymatic reactions happen over time, and it sounds like you were on top of the problem so you likely saved it. Your beer will probably turn out fine, but you should find extra satisfaction in that added flavor of experience, knowing that you are a better brewer for having been through it. Brew on brother.
 
I’m not tracking. What’s the problem? Don’t we usually mash around 155 anyway? Maybe off on the beta vs alpha side of it but still.
Yeah OP mashed at 161, not a problem IME, 170+ is kind of the danger zone. I predict a delicious slightly higher gravity result, so long as the hops come through it'll be drinkable.
 
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I was just looking to buy that glass! Couldn't pull the trigger, because I'm too cheap, ...uh, thrifty, ...uh financially responsible -- yeah, that's it, financially responsible. But I kind of WANT one, unless you tell me it's just not worth it. Another option: I understand it's hard to buy gifts for those who are "financially responsible." Do I just put in a request?

Sorry, that was off topic. I have never mashed in at more than about 154F, and now I just feel stupid that I have been so careful for so many years and really don't know what happens if you push the envelope a bit. So, OP, there's that.
 
With Vienna and Munich I’m guessing is something like an Oktoberfest? Which I think a slightly higher temp benefits the profile of that style of beer. And even then it was only higher for a bit than came back down to an average temp. 140-148 for thinner drier, 149-158 for medium and 159-168 for fuller sweeter, do not go over 170. That starts to leach tannins. At least this is what I go by.
 
I was just looking to buy that glass! Couldn't pull the trigger, because I'm too cheap, ...uh, thrifty, ...uh financially responsible -- yeah, that's it, financially responsible. But I kind of WANT one, unless you tell me it's just not worth it. Another option: I understand it's hard to buy gifts for those who are "financially responsible." Do I just put in a request?

Sorry, that was off topic. I have never mashed in at more than about 154F, and now I just feel stupid that I have been so careful for so many years and really don't know what happens if you push the envelope a bit. So, OP, there's that.

I have the same glass but mine says "Be Hoppy" instead of Cascade. I got mine from Amazon.

I always order my glasses in pairs in case I ever break one. Same with these, but one actually came broken (thanks Amazon :rolleyes: ) so heads up in case you decide to get one from Amazon.

I like mine and is usually one of my go to glasses.
 
I did something like that once. Wasn’t watching my mash temps.

I ended up cooling the mash down, then on the fly, I doubled down on the recipe with a duplicate batch of more grain, then mashed at regular temps. Plenty of enzymes there.

Boiled with more hops, filled two carboys instead of one, topped off with jug distilled water. Everything turned out fine.

Ended up calling the batch “Double Trouble” !
 
With Vienna and Munich I’m guessing is something like an Oktoberfest? Which I think a slightly higher temp benefits the profile of that style of beer.
I brewed my interpretation of Yoopers pale ale
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/da-yoopers-house-pale-ale.100304/
Unfortunately, I didn't brew it the way I normally do.
Our neighbor had health issues that left some other responsibilities. I should have known better, there was literally an ambulance blocking my drive just before I started adding grain to the mash tun.
That lack of focus led to:
1. Mashing in too high. Once I had everything stirred and took a temp it was 161. A quart of water and ice got me back into range pretty quick.
2. Gallon high on boil kettle volume. Added boil time before my first hop addition and brought it back to target.
3. I forgot to put my immersion chiller in. Absolutely forgot and did not realize until 20 minutes after my flameout addition had been added. I just racked into my sanitized kegmenter. Pressurized and tossed it into the fermentation fridge. Pitched 36 hours later.

It's actively fermenting now. Will spund after 4 days. Dry hop from days 18 to 21. Cold crash. Keg and condition for a week.

Then I will let you guys know how it measures up. And hopefully my friend will have a glass too.
 
I was just looking to buy that glass! Couldn't pull the trigger, because I'm too cheap, ...uh, thrifty, ...uh financially responsible -- yeah, that's it, financially responsible. But I kind of WANT one, unless you tell me it's just not worth it. Another option: I understand it's hard to buy gifts for those who are "financially responsible." Do I just put in a request?

Sorry, that was off topic. I have never mashed in at more than about 154F, and now I just feel stupid that I have been so careful for so many years and really don't know what happens if you push the envelope a bit. So, OP, there's that.

Buy it you must.
 
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