Cooler too Big!

[Mobstar]

Just brewed an AG batch of Maple Porter and it was rather frustrating!

I'm wondering if anyone else had this problem.
I'm using a 60L cooler and a digital cooking thermometer. The combination of slow temperature reading and too much overhead space in the cooler made the mashing a living hell! Initial water was too cold so I had to add more hot water to bring it up. then the thermometer reading skyrocked to 165 degrees. I had to add cold water to bring it down again which was 2 degrees below mash temperature "152". At the end, I couldn't raise the temperature to mash out temp because there was too much water, I had remove 1/2 the wort and then mash out at 168.

All this to say.. Is my porter F$@#'d?? or is there a chance of survival?? I couldn't do a conversion test... Gravity reading was 1.052

Any recommendation on coolers/thermometers would be appreciated!

 

[cvstrat]

I've seen a few calculators that help with this type of thing. http://www.brewheads.com/tempchange.php is one I found real fast on google. Use boiling water so you don't have to worry about measuring the temp of the water addition.

If you add cold water a bit at a time and measure the temp, once it gets within a few degrees just stir the hell out of the mash until it cools the rest of the way.

I don't honestly think there's going to be anything wrong with you beer. You were within a few degrees of your mash temp and mashing out is a step skipped by lots of people (including myself) without any negative results. It sounds like you have a hybrid of a no mash and mash out batch. I'm sure it's fine.

I use the rubbermaid orange water cooler. AKA the Home Depot Special. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Converting_a_cooler_to_a_mash_tun

I brew 6 gal batches to end up with 5 in the keg/bottles. Even huge grain bills fit, although sometimes it's tight. If it's cold outside expect the plastic inside to warp after maybe 20 batches or so and eventually it will crack and become unusable. They are affordable enough though that you can replace it pretty easily.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I also use a 10 gallon home depot cooler-turned mash tun. I even use it for 3 gallon batches. The excessive headspace does make keeping the mash steady much more difficult. Pre-heating the MLT is a must.

You should also stir for several minutes before you take the temperature because it takes a while for temperatures to equalize through the mash, so if you add water and take the temperture, you'll get several different readings depending on how deep in the thermometer is, how thick the part of the mash is where you take the reading and how close you take the temperature to where the hot water was added.

 

[DrawTap88]

I too use the Home Depot special. A good way to solve the headspace problem is to use some of that styrofoam insulation which is cut to fit inside the cooler and rest directly on top of the mash.

 

[Mobstar]

Thanks for the comments! I'd love to get the Home Depot bargain cooler but ours doesn't stock this "Up in Canada eh!" I'm using a chest style Coleman MaxCool from Costco.
DrawTap, I like the Styrofoam suggestion but won't it decompose and release toxic ooze into my wort?

Next time, I'll try pre-heating the cooler and see how that goes.

Until then.. I'm praying to the beer gods that this Porter turns out fine!

 

[wilceaser]

DrawTap, I like the Styrofoam suggestion but won't it decompose and release toxic ooze into my wort?

I have used just foil or a combination of styrofoam and tin foil and it hasn't killed me yet.

But if you don't want to use styrofoam, build yourself a false lid out of 1/4" plywood and wrap it in tin foil.

 

[MAsteveINE]

I did a batch with grain in first then water and was surprised at all the stirring it took to get the mash up to temp, so I started doing water first and found I got a uniform temp much quicker and easier.

MAsteveINE