Mash >160 degrees : /

[mekanical]

Hey guys, in a batch yesterday I had a little mishap with my water temperature for a pale ale. I was aiming for a single infusion at 156 degrees (igloo cooler), 60 minutes, sparge 168 degree F. The temperature got away from me a bit this time around and I ended up with a temperature of about 162 degrees F in my mash, I left the top off the cooler but I still didn't get into the range I wanted until 40 minutes into the mash (in retrospect I probably would have added some cool water to bring the temperature down).

This got me thinking about the science a lot, am I just going to end up with a fuller body beer or are the consequences more severe? I'm very well aware of what happens when you don't hit the mash temperature but what happens when you surpass it?

 

[stpug]

Fuller body is fairly likely. Yeast strain will have a strong influence on overall attenuation; a weak attenuator may leave too many sugars behind and end up sweet as well. Surpassing mash temperature is said to lead to more complex dextrin sugars that are less fermentable by many yeast strains - some can handle them better than others.

 

[Yooper]

Next time, have a couple of ice cubes on hand, and stir well. Sometimes stirring with the lid off makes the mash temperature drop a few degrees in just 5 minutes, plus as little as two or three ice cubes can quickly cool the mash.

If you got conversion, and the mash didn't get over the 162 range area (say, 165 for a period of time) to denature the enzymes, it should up with a fuller bodied beer with a high FG.

 

[dwhite60]

You could add some corn sugar to get the ABV where it should be. Probably going to be pretty sweet like it is.

Might even brew up another batch, something maybe 1.040, at a low temp, say 145F then blend the two batches.

Stuff happens.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[wolves63]

I wouldn't worry about it. It will be a fully body beer with a little less attenuation, but it should still be good. There should be enough sugars remaining that will give the yeast plenty to eat. At that temperature the enzymes slow down but are not denatured.

If your mash temps got over 165 for a long time though there won't be much conversion, because they do start to denature at that temperature.

 

[ImNoExpert]

This happened to me a few years ago on my Wee Heavy. Problem was that I maxed out the space in the MLT and couldn't add anymore ice or water. FG was WAY too high. Just too sweet to enjoy. I tried rousing the yeast, increasing the temp, adding more yeast with more nutrient. Finally I added this and dropped the gravity about 10 or 12 points. In the end it the beer was a little too sweet still so I wish I would have added more, but the beer was still good and drinkable.

 

[cobrem]

For what it's worth, I recently heard an archived 'can you brew it' podcast which described the mash temp for Lagunitas beers somewhere around 160. You're probably fine.