Mash temp just jumped up to 180F

[tim_s]

Hi,

So I started my mash and it just jumped from 140F to 180F. The brew is suggesting 156F and I am having trouble bringing it down.

What will be the result of this?

 

[sikkingj]

Stir your mash more frequently. The water trapped beneath the grains got hot and then bubbled up through the rest of your mash to give you a higher overall temperature.

 

[tim_s]

Yeah, it is not even on the heat source anymore. It is just keeping its heat. Honestly I am not overly passionate at this stage to hit the brew on target. I just want drinkable beer.

 

[tim_s]

Should I try mashing for another 30 mins and the right temp? I don't have any iodine to test conversation.

 

[MattyIce]

Can you describe your mash process? There is no reason for the temperature to increase like that unless the heat was supplied by your burner/stove.

 

[tim_s]

It was supplied by the burner

 

[pablosbrewing]

If the whole mash went to 180 then there is no reason to mash further, the enzymes are gone.

I would check the gravity, you would have some conversion between 140 and 180 - adjust it with DME if needed and ferment.

 

[tim_s]

Hi,

So - now that I am not on my mobile / trying to dealing with the problem, I have the opportunity to be more specific.

The story is simple, I had a friend who wanted to learn the process of brewing beer. We did everything up to the mash as described by the recipe but as I attended to the dinner I was cooking and "shouting" instructions to my friend as I was confident in his abilities. About 20 mins into the mash, I asked what temperature the mash was at, in which the reply was "It is 140F". I asked him to put it back on the propane burner and get it back up to 156F, which is the required mash temperature for this brew. In an attempt to bring it up to 156F, my friend, turned up the propane burner and placed a lid on the mash - roaring it from 140F -> 180F. I could not believe it and never having this problem before I was not sure how to deal with it or the outcome. I immediately took it off the burner and stirred it but the temp stayed solid on 180F, which sucks. I tasted the wort, it did not taste burnt and it was very sweet. So for the f*** of it, I mashed it 30 minutes longer, sparged, pitched and carboyed the beer.

I am hoping for the best but I do see some bubbles within the airlock, nothing active yet, plus I am seeing a formation of a "krausen layer". I hope it does not sputter out.

 

[MattyIce]

It may finish a little high if it did not remain within mashing temp for long enough. That said, there are a number of folks who are mashing less than an hour now. No one can say for sure what will happen, but there is hope!

 

[tim_s]

Dammit, I did see what I thought looked like a joint - dam beer getting high. You make them but life just changes them.

 

[doug293cz]

Did you happen to take a gravity reading before you pitched your yeast?

Brew on

 

[tim_s]

Unfortunately not - this brew was poorly handled. I am not overly worried, I have a free carboy and if nothing shows any activity soon - I will start another brew.

 

[tim_s]

So I am not seeing any bubble activity but I will keep checking up on it. I assume the conversion basically did not happen. I lost my iodine in a move and confess to not be using it to check conversion but I am buying a bottle right now.

 

[MattyIce]

Take a hydrometer reading yet?

 

[microbusbrewery]

Not trying to talk cr@p but I think it's kind of funny that you had a buddy over that wanted to learn the process and he ended being left in charge of it. The opposite usually happens at my house...I'm so in tune with the process that I forget to let people help.

So was 140 your strike temp? If so, how long did it stay there before the heat was raised? As long as it was below 168-ish for a little while, you should have a fair amount of conversion...which would explain why it was sweet rather than starchy. It would take a while to raise the entire mash temp. My guess is it'll be a bit fuller bodied than what you planned, and probably finish a bit higher gravity too. But if it didn't taste bad, I'd say let it ride. Worst case toss some brett and bugs in there and let them chew away on those longer chain sugars.

 

[tim_s]

Not trying to talk cr@p but I think it's kind of funny that you had a buddy over that wanted to learn the process and he ended being left in charge of it. The opposite usually happens at my house...I'm so in tune with the process that I forget to let people help.

Well, this was one of the influences to why I did let him take control. I did everything up to the mash. We also had the smoker, BBQ and stove going for dinner. My girlfriend came down and asked my friend "Learning to brew", in which the remark was, "Seems like a 1 man process to me so far". *I took the hint*. It really seemed like babysitting a thermometer.

So was 140 your strike temp? If so, how long did it stay there before the heat was raised? As long as it was below 168-ish for a little while, you should have a fair amount of conversion...which would explain why it was sweet rather than starchy. It would take a while to raise the entire mash temp. My guess is it'll be a bit fuller bodied than what you planned, and probably finish a bit higher gravity too. But if it didn't taste bad, I'd say let it ride. Worst case toss some brett and bugs in there and let them chew away on those longer chain sugars.

The strike was 158F - 160F, to mash at 156F. I am really guessing at what exactly happened but I guess the temperature dropped to 140F. I just wanted him to bring the temp up a bit by placing it back on the heat for a minute or two and well ----- 180F was the outcome. I would say we sat probably 140F for 20 mins and then whatever the time it took to get to 180F, which had to be 10 mins. So maybe 30 mins in the saftey area.

I have a definite krausen layer, which looks healthy but I am not seeing any bubbles from the air lock even within a viewing period of 20 - 30 seconds. It technically has been only 24hrs as of right now.

 

[tim_s]

Take a hydrometer reading yet?

Not yet! I am just leaving it be right now, that, and I cannot find anything but a siphon to take a sample.

 

[tim_s]

Hi,

The forums went down for a little bit but I wanted to share that the beer was "bubbling", the issue is that the air-lock's water was just a ml too low and the gas was escaping. I filled it with water / star-san and the bubbles where roaring out of it yesterday.