Please help..did I kill my porter

[bferullo]

So I am brewing a porter as we speak. I wanted a mash temp of 155 and hit only 150. Guess I am still getting the hang of the strike temps. Beersmith told me based on my grain weight and room temp of grain to strike at 163 degrees to ge to 155. I did so and only hit 150.

Is there anything I can do to save my brew in terms of body and mouthfeel. I have a feeling I am going to end up with 5 gallons of a very THIN porter

 

[japhroaig]

no, you're gonna have a great porter. i *loooove* darker beers mashed at lower temps. you can taste the roasty wonderful goodness sing through the beer.

 

[bferullo]

thank you, those are just words i needed to hear. the RDWHAHB wasn't working. I planned on adding some coffee to this one so i was quite excited. hoping to have a nice fall beer.

 

[Carter5112]

Nope. Thin could never constitute ruined! RDWHAHB. I've had a few temp undershoots with Beersmith/Promash and started going a little higher then stirring to decrease temp.

 

[japhroaig]

btw, what is your gravity?

 

[japhroaig]

as a kind of aside/rant, i've always hated the term 'thin'. missing your temperature doesn't make a brew 'thin' or 'thick', it simply affects a small amount of unfermentable sugar left in the final beverage. would you call lemonade thick? would you call a bourdeaux thin? the mouthfeel (which is what thick and thin really should be describing) is only partly influenced by mash temperature, and it isn't the biggest contributor to mouthfeel. (rant over)

 

[bferullo]

btw, what is your gravity?

I believe I ended at about 1.052

 

[JetSmooth]

I think it's ruined. I am local and would be happy to come by and dispose of it for you, glass by glass.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Did you gauge the temperature as soon as you added the water, or after you thoroughly mixed the grains and water? I find some pretty big swings in temperature depending on how soon after adding the water I check temperature, how thick of a mash the thermometer is placed in, and how well I have stirred. It's always advisable to mix the mash very well, but I never take temperature readings until I have mixed everything for a few minutes and let the temperature even out across the mash. Otherwise I tend to believe I am way off and start messing with the mash unnecessarily.

 

[jmf143]

Any chance you could post the recipe? I'm looking for a porter recipe for my first AG batch.

 

[bferullo]

sure, when i get home from work. Basically I took the ingredients that go into KOna Brewing Co. Pipeline porter and fiddled around. No idea how it will turn out yet. Smelled wonderful while brewing. Still waiting for primary ferementation to finish up. Used S05 yeast and was crazy first few days now really slow, but have a huge Krausen still so I assume its still plugging away.

 

[bferullo]

here is the recipie i used....

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: "Coffee" Porter
Style: Robust Porter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.57 gal
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 24.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 41.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 66.95 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 8.37 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.37 %
0.75 lb Special Roast (50.0 SRM) Grain 6.28 %
0.75 lb Victory Malt -- Briess (28.0 SRM) Grain 6.28 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (400.0 SRM) Grain 2.09 %
0.20 lb Roasted Barley -- Briess (300.0 SRM) Grain 1.67 %
0.70 oz Warrior [17.20 %] (60 min) Hops 37.6 IBU
0.50 oz Williamette [4.70 %] (15 min) Hops 3.6 IBU
0.35 lb Coffee (Secondary 5.0 days) Misc
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #S-05) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule:
Total Grain Weight: 11.95 lb
----------------------------

Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 17.93 qt of water at 164.0 F 154.0 F


Notes:
------
Grain 11.95 lbs
Mash Ratio 1.2 qts/lb of grain
Absorption rate in mash 0.2 gallons/lb grain
Boil Off Rate 1.1 gallons/hour
Boil Time 60 minutes
Desired volume to primary 5.5 gallons

Gallons Quarts
Mash Water 3.59 14.34
Water Absorbed 2.39 9.56
Wort After Absorbtion 1.20 4.8
Sparge Water 5.41 21.6
Boil Volume 6.60 26.4

Mash temp ended up being 150 degrees. (mashed in at 163 degrees)
mash pH = 5.2
Brix 1,2,3 = 21, 11, 5.8


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[jmf143]

Looks tasty! Good luck with yours.
Thanks for posting.
Jim