Mash tun question

[webguru74]

I am new to home brewing and getting ready to start all grain I made a mash tun but after testing it with my mash temp for 1 hour it is dropping about 5 to 10 degrees. Is this going to cause a huge issue or am I ok?

 

[worksnorth]

That's quite a bit of a temp drop. Grain will help hold the temp somewhat but still..... What type of cooler are you using? Was the cooler warmed up prior to the start of the test? As in, prior to mashing I preheat my cooler with 130 degree water, dump it and then immediately start adding strike water and grain, so the cooler is hot/preheated prior to the mashing. I wonder if the temp loss was due to the cooler being warmed up initially with the hot water?
You might try it again with a preheated cooler?
I don't know?
Good luck

 

[webguru74]

It is an old igloo 36 I am running another test after heating the cooler up first. I will keep you posted thanks for the help

 

[worksnorth]

You bet, hope it works for you.
Yeah let us know how it ends up.

 

[aquenne]

You may have consistency issues, but no doubt you will end up with beer

A friend of mine who has been homebrewing for decades mentions his early methods were basically to mash in at 140, and then just take it up to 180 over the course of an hour on a burner.. that was the norm back then.

 

[wilserbrewer]

A mash will hold temperature much much better than just water, you will be fine. Strike 2-3 degrees high on your first batch just for reassurance. Might also want to keep a few quarts of boiling water on hand to raise temp if needed. Water will always lose much more heat than a mash, RDWHAHB.

Be sure to stir well and let the mash sit for 3-5 minutes before taking temp...temperature needs to stabilize as the grain is heating up and the strike water is adjusting to mash temps.

 

[webguru74]

Well the mash tun worked great held the temp like a champ, However after I put the wort I the fermenter and added the yeast 2 day later the lid of the fermenter was nearly blown off and I was wondering if I should be worried about contamination of the beer ?

 

[wilserbrewer]

...should be worried about contamination of the beer ?

Likely your beer is fine, besides worrying helps nothing...RDWHAHB! Cheers!

 

[Brett3rThanU]

Well the mash tun worked great held the temp like a champ, However after I put the wort I the fermenter and added the yeast 2 day later the lid of the fermenter was nearly blown off and I was wondering if I should be worried about contamination of the beer ?

Happened to me more times than I'd like to count and everything came out fine.