What should I expect from mashing for too long?

[AndrewNSachs]

Alright, so I just finished up my second all grain brew a week ago, and thanks to a clogged mash tun, it mashed for about an extra 25-30 minutes before we were able to solve our little problem. We proceeded with the boil and it's sitting in the carboy now, but my question is what I should expect from the beer after it's all done? Is it worth following it through to the end? Or should I just dump it now?

 

[tom_gamer]

Not an all grain guy yet, so can't tell you too much about what the side effects will be ( probably tannins or something). But I will say don't dump! Let it finish and taste it and then decide. Every beer I have ever made tasted great, or at least good, once the fermentation was done. So make your mind up then.

 

[Yooper]

Should have no effects, unless the temperature dropped a lot before conversion happened so the beer could be drier. But that's a stretch, and I've mashed often at 75 or 90 minutes when I've used a lot of adjuncts or had a lower mash temperature.

 

[JonK331]

Mashing too long will not hurt anything at all. Your temp may have dropped into the lower 140s which would give you a more fermentable wort but the only result would be a drier beer.

 

[Piratwolf]

I probably shouldn't mention this in public, but I once mashed for 3 hours b/c I had a spousal emergency. Turned out great (although I have to say my mash tun only lost 3 degrees!) so I think 20 mins is probably safe!