HELP!!!! Need to leave and ...

[Nightstalker]

OK long in the short. Something came up, I am 40 minutes into the mash and I need to leave. FWIW I am mashing at 156°F. Can I leave it in a cooler till tomorrow?

What are my options. Thanks in advance. I will be checking this quickly so thanks again.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

The boil is what sanitizes all the goodies in the mash. You could leave it and see what grows overnight, but it likely won't turn out all that great. Since grain is fairly cheap I'd just toss it and start again tomorrow.

 

[Indianhead_Brewer]

Two words: Berliner weiss.

 

[Nightstalker]

Two words: Berliner weiss.

So its OK? Are those brews mashed overnight or for extended periods of time?


@Sandy ... those were my concerns and my LHBS is closed tomorrow. I just hate wasting anything especially on a tight budget. A friend that brewed years ago said he used to mash by throwing the grains and strike water in a cooler, then go to bed. Sounded strange but figured I would see if anyone else has done that with any success.

 

[freisste]

It won't hurt anything to try it. But previous posters are correct. Grain is crawling with bacteria that don't die in the mash. So you're asking for them to multiply. Maybe they'll multiply enough that you can taste their byproducts, but maybe not. Just get it to a boil ASAP when you get a chance.

Alternatively, when you get back (still ASAP) bring it up to at least 170 or so, just to kill off the wave of bacteria. Then brew as if it was an extract batch tomorrow.

Good luck.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Since they are closed tomorrow then it seems like a good experiment! Let us know how it goes!

 

[Zuljin]

Leave it. Report back when you drink it.

 

[gr8shandini]

You don't need a full boil to kill bacteria. If you can safely eat poultry at 160 F, I don't think 156 degree mash is going have enough bad stuff in it to spoil overnight. I'd see what I could do about cooling it down, though. Odds are that you're going to end up with a highly fermentable wort if you don't either cool it down to slow down the reactions or get it over 170 to denature the enzymes.

 

[Nightstalker]

HAHAHA ... well I will tell you I went ahead and through it in the cooler just in case y'all said yes. LOLOL

 

[Queequeg]

yeah leave it over night. Alot of British home brewers seem to do this as a matter of course.

 

[Larso]

I used to do all my mashes overnight. I found that the beer always turned out thinner, lower FG so for some styles that was great but didn't suit others. These days I mash out and pull the bag before bed, then I start the boil the following morning. No negative impact doing it this way. Never had any sourness or flavour issues with overnight mashing

 

[ChrisL_]

There is a thread dedicated to doing a mash overnight. Due to time constraints I have done it a few times and never any issues with my beer. Not thin, and not infected or soured. As long as you can hold the mash temp so it does not get to low (around 140) the consensus on this thread is that it is all good. And I agree.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/overnight-mash-keeping-my-cool-295579/