Excessively long mash time

[Nic]

My last batch, an IPA, kept failing an iodine test and I mashed it for about 130 minutes at 150-155.

Should I be expecting any off flavors or other problems.

What happens during a long mash ?

THanks,

Nic

 

[Evan!]

I had this very "problem" on my first decoction mash. I sat at 158 for an hour, and still saw starch. So I said screw it. Then I find out via HBT that sometimes, you can fail the test just by having a few bits of grain in your sample. So...long story short...I ended up with great beer. The only "problem" you might have is awesome efficiency.

 

[Orfy]

I've known people mash overnight with no problem.
I've seen conversion in 15 minutes!!!!!!

 

[SenorWanderer]

i failed an iodine test on a pumpkin wheat after 30min protein rest and 45 min sacc rest. the runnings i was testing were very clear after vorlauf, so i was confident that all the starch from the pumpkin was the problem. i remembered from a post about mashing pumpkin that it can f&@k your efficiency so i added a lb of 2row. iodine test was good after 25 more minutes, and i hit my original efficiency goal. i'm not sure that adding more malt in order to add more enzymes is the traditional answer to the problem, but it worked for me.

 

[Rhoobarb]

I've known people mash overnight with no problem...

I've read on other forums about people who have done that and they say all was fine. Too afraid to try it myself.

 

[Orfy]

Nothing to be afraid of apart from the Goblin.

 

[the_bird]

The only potential issue with a really long mash is that your wort becomes extra-fermentable; probably not a good idea to go much beyond 60 minutes if you're doing something where you want it to be real thick and chewy.

 

[eriktlupus]

The only potential issue with a really long mash is that your wort becomes extra-fermentable; probably not a good idea to go much beyond 60 minutes if you're doing something where you want it to be real thick and chewy.

conversely, if you want something dryer than normal then this would be the way, right?

 

[Nic]

Well it should be dry, strong, and overly hopped. I can't wait to try it.

Thanks for the info.

 

[the_bird]

conversely, if you want something dryer than normal then this would be the way, right?

I did a 90 minute mash (at around 148°) on my Belgian, and I got somewhere around 90% attenuation, with only a pound of simple sugar in the mix.