Help fixing mashes in the 160s

[gxm]

I've brewed my last few batches with a f****d up thermometer (+10F) and as a result, I've been mashing at 162-164F instead of 152-154F.
All the beers have fermented completely to about 40% AA instead of the ~75% I've been aiming for.
In tasting the beers, they don't taste bad, nor do they taste sweet, it's just that they're in the 2.5-3% range instead of the expected ~5%.

At this point, what are my options if I want to get them closer to expected FG?
I've added champagne yeast to one to see what it would do. I could add Beano to another to experiment. Any other ideas?

 

[phuzle]

Pitch a brett and bacteria culture and wait a year. All those maltodextrins will become great food for a long souring process.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

I'd just toss in some boiled and cooled corn sugar to boost the ABV to within "operating" range, and leave the complex sugars in there for body and mouth feel.

 

[gxm]

I'd just toss in some boiled and cooled corn sugar to boost the ABV to within "operating" range, and leave the complex sugars in there for body and mouth feel.

Thats a great idea. Hadn't even crossed my mind.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

When you've screwed up as many times as I have you can build up a pretty good library of simple solutions....

 

[Arneba28]

When you've screwed up as many times as I have you can build up a pretty good library of simple solutions....

Simple solutions are what homebrewers do best. We can all fix some problems that no one has ever run into but a homebrewer. Then again, we come up with some rediculous problems!

 

[KYB]

Amalyse Enzyme. I had the same issue as you a while back (bad thermo, mashing way high) and kept getting stuck fermentations. Amalyse Enzyme brought it down to exactly where it should have been.

 

[gxm]

Amalyse Enzyme. I had the same issue as you a while back (bad thermo, mashing way high) and kept getting stuck fermentations. Amalyse Enzyme brought it down to exactly where it should have been.

Thanks ODaniel, another great idea.
My understanding was that amalyse works at mash temps. Did you just add it to the beer at fermentation temp?

 

[gxm]

I've added Termamyl (liquid alpha amylase) to 3 of the beers at 70F, and after a week all 3 have gone from ~40% AA to ~55% AA. So far so good, I'm going to let them sit for awhile longer.

 

[JonK331]

Pour some damn corn liquor in there and buy yourself a $10 digital thermometer at the grocery store. Digitals don't ever need to be calibrated. I use analogs for convenience an to be able to leave them in there but I always check with a digital. I keep mine in my pocket or clipped on my shirt the whole time I'm brewing.

However, I think the brett idea is great if you want to salvage these beers. F it. why not.

 

[gxm]

Digitals don't ever need to be calibrated.

Sure thing JonK331
http://www.cdn-timeandtemp.com/consumer/products/proaccurate/

 

[onthekeg]

What yeast and temp are you fermenting at? If you were using for instance 1968 and fermenting cold you would get the same attenuation mashing at 152. Mashing temp does affect the final outcome, but I don't believe it will that much.

 

[gxm]

What yeast and temp are you fermenting at? If you were using for instance 1968 and fermenting cold you would get the same attenuation mashing at 152. Mashing temp does affect the final outcome, but I don't believe it will that much.

I used to believe the same thing, that mash temp typically didn't change fermentability by more than 5-10% between the far ends of the my typical mashing range, 149F-158F.
My issue is that I went past the far end, effectively mashing at 162-164F.

I did 3 mashes, resulting in 6 different fermentations. I used 5 different yeasts, 2487 on pair, 3068 & 3638, and 3522 & 1882. I did the lagers at 50F, the Hefes at 62F, and the last two at 66F. The particularly interesting part was that each beer was within a couple points of AA for each mash pair, and the range of AA was 40-47.
Since I've added enzyme, two of the beers have gone from 47% to 72%, so it's doing the work that didn't get done in the mash.

 

[passedpawn]

Amalyse Enzyme. I had the same issue as you a while back (bad thermo, mashing way high) and kept getting stuck fermentations. Amalyse Enzyme brought it down to exactly where it should have been.

This will work. It will work all the way down to lager temps, but slower. It might go lower than you would like, but it is FAR better than Beano.

I've used 2 teaspoons per 5 gallons.

If you use AE, give your beer extra time to completely ferment out. You'll have gushers / bombs otherwise.

 

[gxm]

This will work. It will work all the way down to lager temps, but slower. It might go lower than you would like, but it is FAR better than Beano.

Yep, you've got that right. I ended up with 90-95% AA when I'd originally planned on 75-80%. On the bright side, SWMBO can get drunk from these