Mash out got too hot - 96 C

[pym99]

I was brewing a British Brown on my Grainfather. I was on the phone when the alert for starting the sparge came in, and I okayed it thinking it would just sit there at 75 C until I was ready to sparge. It didn't occur to me that I had changed the settings so the wort would start heating during the sparge to save time. The mash got up to 96 C before I removed the grain basket and then conducted the sparge at 75 C.

Will that high temp cause off flavors like tannin extraction or any other problems?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Will that high temp cause off flavors like tannin extraction or any other problems?

Thanks for doing an experiment for us! You will have to report back. From what I know temps that high should extract tannins.

Edit: I am not sure how much you can detect tannins in a sweet wort or if the sweetness overpowers it, but for me they represent like a sandpapery feeling on my tongue and sides of my mouth...sorta like bitter or acidic but not the same.

 

[RM-MN]

Tannin extraction is driven by too high of a pH, not temperature alone. If your mash was below 6.0 pH you should be fine. Think in lines of decoction where the brewer boils part of the mash to bring the rest of the mash to the next step in a step mash.

 

[Wolfbayte]

I think you should be ok. I had a cpvc manifold fall apart spilling lots of grains into my kettle. I left them there and boiled like normal for the full 60+ minutes. Beer turned out fantastic.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

You will be fine. Enjoy your brew!

Thanks for doing an experiment for us! You will have to report back. From what I know temps that high should extract tannins.

Edit: I am not sure how much you can detect tannins in a sweet wort or if the sweetness overpowers it, but for me they represent like a sandpapery feeling on my tongue and sides of my mouth...sorta like bitter or acidic but not the same.

Taste profile of tannins: Sip on a bad $2 merlot. You'll instantly know what tannins are

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Taste profile of tannins: Sip on a bad $2 merlot. You'll instantly know what tannins are

Honestly, I have never experienced a beer with tannins. It may have been there but I did not notice...my palate ain't that good. Tannins exist $100+ bottles of red wine where it is not an off flavor but an expected aspect of the style of wine...not that I buy $100 bottles of wine.

I am very interested to see how the OPs beer turns out. You read so much about tannins in beer, but I have seen lots of experiments that make me think it is really hard to get a noticeable level, even if you try pretty hard.

 

[kevin58]

You mash-out to halt enzymes from converting so as long as your mash conversion is complete you have nothing to worry about. A lot of new thinking says to skip the mash-out step entirely. That one is up to you.

 

[pym99]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. One thing I noticed was that the sparge went super fast, and I undershot my OG for the first time (just by 2 points, but I normally overshoot). I suspect the sparge wasn't very effective in rinsing the sugars out.

I tasted the beer this morning (after about 12 hours fermentation) and it tastes rather bitter instead of sweet. Not hop bitterness, but from the grain I think. I used 90% Maris Otter, 7.5% UK Crystal 60, 2.5% UK Chocolate.

The thing is, I've never brewed a beer with so much chocolate malt in it, so I don't know if that's just how it should taste given the grain bill or if it's "astringency" due to tannin extraction.

I'm sure I'll be happy to drink it,.

 

[RM-MN]

The thing is, I've never brewed a beer with so much chocolate malt in it, so I don't know if that's just how it should taste given the grain bill or if it's "astringency" due to tannin extraction.

The bitterness you taste could just be "yeast bite" from too much yeast in suspension.

Make a pot of tea, not too strong. Pour your self a nice cup. Now put the tea bag in your mouth. That's tannin astringency.