heating element quit during mash

[BalloonGuy]

My heating element died/stopped about 15 minutes in to mashing. I am using an older grainfather bought in 2016. I froze the mash and the grains (separately). Do you think I will be able to restart the mash when I get the heating element fixed/replaced or should I just dump and start over? It is a pretty simple hefeweizen recipe.
Thanks.

 

[conlun]

I have no idea to be honest (but can’t see why It wouldn’t work), personally I wouldn’t do it, simply the cost of new grains are so low in comparison on the time going in to completing a brewday.

 

[IslandLizard]

Most had probably converted already by the time you started chilling.
Did you take a gravity sample?
If the mash hadn't completed yet, I'm pretty sure you can revive it and finish the brew.

I would have packed a thick blanket around the Grainfather and let the mash do its thing for an hour or so. Then finish up the brew by splitting the wort into smaller amounts that could be boiled on the stove or so.

 

[BalloonGuy]

I wasn’t thinking about finishing… To worried about the source of the problem. I bagged the grains and froze the “mash”. I did not take any measurements though.
I figured out that the problem with the grainfather is the controller. I tried the inkbird temp control as a test last night and it worked perfectly. I am going to thaw everything Friday night and try again Saturday. I will let you know.
Thanks for the input.

 

[IslandLizard]

Please, let us know how your time-suspended mash fared when resumed.

You said the issue was with the controller. Have you figured out what failed? Could it be simply a thermal protection that can be reset or replaced?

 

[JakeBowden]

I'm not sure if freezing the wet grains will destroy the enzymes. Hopefully this will never happen again, but in a similar situation, just boil water and use it to boost or adjust your temperature.

 

[BalloonGuy]

I did replace the temperature switch. It did not help.
I have an inkbird tem controller for my fermentation fridge. I used that and plugged the heating element straight to the inkbird. It worked pretty well. I was getting different readings with the grainfather thermometer and the inkbird. I used an instant ready testing the circulation temp and got it dialed in pretty well. It too a really long time to thaw the grains. I took them out of the freezer at 8:00 am thinking they would be fine by 2:00. It was more like 7:30 and even then there were some frozen spots. I too my time getting back to mash temps. I ended up .004 shy on my OG. I used safeale 06 dry yeast (pitched about 1:00 am) and it was bubbling very nicely this morning at 8:00. I think at the end of the day I am happy to have overcome this issues with this brew but for the $21.00 worth of grain it would have been wiser to dump and start over.

 

[IslandLizard]

but for the $21.00 worth of grain it would have been wiser to dump and start over.

In the name of science... thank you!

 

[amber-ale]

Enzymes are not damaged by freezing. Overheating, yes but not freezing

 

[BalloonGuy]

I bottled these last night. The color is off a little but the taste was pretty good. I will update in 3 weeks or so when they are carbonated. The ABV was pretty low. It came out to 3.75%. I was off on my OG so I am not surprised.

 

[IslandLizard]

The ABV was pretty low. It came out to 3.75%. I was off on my OG so I am not surprised.

It's a bit low for a Hefe, yes. What was your expected ABV?

I ended up .004 shy on my OG.

Being 4 points low on OG reduces the ABV potential by 0.5%

Your mash efficiency may have been lower due to other factors than your unexpected midway freezing, then thawing out your mash.
Wheat malt are smaller kernels than barley, and can benefit from using a tighter mill gap to crush them adequately.