Mash Temp Help

[MPaiv12]

Yesterday, during my brew day I mistakenly mashed too high @ 158F. My intention was to mash at 148F, but I became distracted and made the error. It was about 30 minutes before I realized. I lowered to the temp I mashed at 148 for an additional 50 minutes. My mash efficiency was 83.9% according to BeerSmith.

My question: Is it possible to for the beta-amylase to become active when the temperature is brought down, or once the temp passes that threshold does the activity of that enzyme cease?

I'm asking so I can get a picture of what to expect as a finished product.

Thank you for your insight in advance!

 

[balrog]

Heat denatures the enzymes and lowering temp does not "re-nature" them.

 

[IslandLizard]

You may not have denatured all beta, and surely not enough alpha to stall conversion. When you dropped the temp the leftover beta will have done what it could, as did the alpha. It was good to lower ASAP to limit the damage, and mash longer to allow for better fermentability.

It will be a bit more dextrinous and not attenuate as intended. Expect a somewhat higher FG and richer mouthfeel.

Once you dropped the temps you could have added a few more pounds of base malt to reintroduce more beta back into the mash process. That would have evened the field more.

Enzyme Activity In Mash

• IslandLizard
• Jun 10, 2018

 

[MPaiv12]

That’s a great idea, I will be sure to keep a little extra on hand. I was unsure how the enzymes were affected. I’ll throw this in the learning experience pile. Now it’s just waiting to see the finished product.

Thank you!

You may not have denatured all beta, and surely not enough alpha to stall conversion. When you dropped the temp the leftover beta will have done what it could, as did the alpha. It was good to lower ASAP to limit the damage, and mash longer to allow for better fermentability.

It will be a bit more dextrinous and not attenuate as intended. Expect a somewhat higher FG and richer mouthfeel.

Once you dropped the temps you could have added a few more pounds of base malt to reintroduce more beta back into the mash process. That would have evened the field more.

Enzyme Activity In Mash

• IslandLizard
• Jun 10, 2018

 

[IslandLizard]

That’s a great idea, I will be sure to keep a little extra on hand. I was unsure how the enzymes were affected. I’ll throw this in the learning experience pile. Now it’s just waiting to see the finished product.

Thank you!

If you started low and raised temps slowly but overshot the target, quite a lot may have converted already in the right range, 50% conversion can happen in the first 10-20 minutes.

Key is to estimate your strike water temp so the mash is exactly on target after stirring and putting the lid on. I still tend to undershoot with my converted cooler mash tun as I lose a lot of heat due to lid being off while stirring. I know I'm losing 6-7°F during those first few minutes (12# of grist, 4.25 gallons of water). In that scenario it's much harder and slower to raise the temps than to cool it down.

 

[Smellyglove]

But if conversion has occurred, it doesn't mean that the fermentability is what TS wanted. It takes longer time to break down those longer chain sugars to the sugars one want, than it takes to convert.