Mash dropping fairly rapid...

[GrantH]

I mashed in and hit a perfect 152 but when I just checked it at 30 minutes in I am seeing it at a bit above 145. How am I losing a degree an hour for the most part? I have towels over the lid and I now have blankets wrapped up around and over it in hopes it won't fall any more.

Am I looking at a huge loss on anything at this point? What are the effects of it dropping so bad?

 

[Hammy71]

When I mashed in a cooler I would stir like the dickens when I first mashed in. Then check the temp again after about 5 minutes. If it was OK, I'd let it go and check/stir again at 30 minutes. Sometimes having to add some hot water. Basically, give it a stir before trusting the 145 temp. That may be the temperature at the very top only. At this point I wouldn't worry too much. Most of the conversion should happen with in the first 15 minutes or so. But, next time have some boiling hot water on hand to add a few quarts to bring the temp up when you check half way through.

 

[DregAddict]

Did you preheat your mash tun? I usually add water that is a few degrees above what my calculations require, then I close the lid and wait 20 minutes or so before if check to see if I'm at the temp I want. Then I add my grainbill and stir like Hammy suggested.

Also, did you use any type of calculator to compensate for heat loss from adding room temperature grain? I know beersmith had one that I use.

 

[bob1006]

Please don't stir it. Let it sit. Your fine.

 

[brockettbrews]

I would go to the fridge get a homebrew drink it do this about three times then it should be fine!!!

 

[bob1006]

I would go to the fridge get a homebrew drink it do this about three times then it should be fine!!!

+1
Four might be better with a bowl of chips.

 

[Hammy71]

Please don't stir it. Let it sit. Your fine.

And pray tell why? I stirred when I used my cooler, and I my RIMS basically stirs constantly. Hell, commercial breweries stir their mash. So why, is it bad, especially when I have to assume the OP is batch sparging?

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Please don't stir it. Let it sit. Your fine.

There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with stirring it. As a matter of fact since I started stirring my mash about 2-3 times during the mashing I get better efficiency. The catch is don't stir it after about 15 minutes left in the mash so it has settled some before vorlouf. ALSO to the OP the tip to preheat the mash tun is a good one . It is also possible that you didn't stir enough during mash in and you had uneven temperatures and your reading was in a "hot spot" in the mash. When you mash in, stir the bejesus out of it and take reading in several spots to make sure you have it all incorporated. If you hit your temp, cover it up and wait about 20 minutes or so and stir it again. Like I said I do this 2-3 times depending on the length of the mash.

 

[bob1006]

And pray tell why? I stirred when I used my cooler, and I my RIMS basically stirs constantly. Hell, commercial breweries stir their mash. So why, is it bad?

I did not say it was bad. By your own words you said conversion is completed in the first 15 minutes. So, why stir it after 30 min? Why stir at all? Loosing a couple degrees is not a big deal. I don't stir. I don't even look at it.

To each his own I guess.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I did not say it was bad. By your own words you said conversion is completed in the first 15 minutes. So, why stir it after 30 min? Why stir at all? Loosing a couple degrees is not a big deal. I don't stir. I don't even look at it.

To each his own I guess.

The way it came across, it seemed as if you believed it to be detrimental to the mash.

 

[bob1006]

I add grain and water in steps. So I don't get hot and cold spots. Warming the tun is a good idea.

 

[GrantH]

I didn't bother with it; I just let it go. Ended up getting the perfect run off amount and currently heating up to a boil.

 

[Hammy71]

I did not say it was bad. By your own words you said conversion is completed in the first 15 minutes. So, why stir it after 30 min? Why stir at all? Loosing a couple degrees is not a big deal. I don't stir. I don't even look at it.

To each his own I guess.

No worries. It's all good.

 

[thisoneguy]

You might also want to try drilling a few holes in the lid and filling it with foam insulation, in addition to covering with blankets. I lost about 1 degree (slightly less than that, actually) in a 60 minute mash today using that method.

 

[toast]

Are you guys mashing in insulated drinking water coolers or chest coolers? I use a drinking water cooler type and have done 90 minute mashes and only losing about a degree the whole duration.

 

[GrantH]

I'm using a 20 dollar rectangular cooler. I may move up to a 10 gallon powerade type cooler coon though since my brother can get me a discount from Academy.

 

[supermoth]

GrantH, did you say whether or not you were preheating your tun? I mash in a 5-gallon drink cooler, and during that initial preheating stage it loses a lot of heat. I typically add my mash water to the tun at 180F and let it preheat the tun. The water will cool to 170 within a half hour or so, I'll dough in, stir, and close it up, and after that preheat the temp stays pretty stable.

 

[bob1006]

I use a drinking cooler with a screw on lid. My friend users a push on, and it seems to loose temp a little faster.

 

[Stauffbier]

I only stir mine in the beginning now. After about 45 mins it looks like I lose 4 degrees, but if I do stir it again the temp usually rises back up within a degree or two.. This tells me I just have a cool spot where my thermometer is reading. When I figured this out I stopped stirring. My gravity is always as expected or slightly higher, and my beer tastes good to me. That's all I really care about.

 

[GrantH]

I'll be sure to preheat next time. I didn't do that this time. May be where I went astray.

 

[Stauffbier]

I'll be sure to preheat next time. I didn't do that this time. May be where I went astray.

Almost guaranteed that was your problem!