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Martybhoy

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Mid mash I have realised I forgot to turn the rating element off. Mash sitting at 85 degrees. Have I buggered it up?
 
About 20 mins. Raging. I can start again so not a major issue.

Complete idiot. Not a good start to the day.
 
Yep. You've mashed out. Killed the enzymes that convert the starches into sugars. Sorry to give you the bad news.
 
That's ok. Better that than try and salvage something that would never have been like the original idea.
 
Yes you've blown it but at least you can start over! I've got the opposite problem... midway thru the boil now but when I checked my mash temp earlier, after it had been going for 45 minutes, it was 62C. A combination of sloppiness/haste/distractions. I tried something resembling a decoction but apart from probably being too late, it seemed to have little effect in raising the temp despite numerous attempts. Oh well, looks like a really dry, dry stout is on the cards.
 
I've only done a decoction mash once. I found it a long process, and struggled to raise the mash temp with the decoction alone. That said, the resultant wheat beer was one of my best.

So why does a low mash temp result in a dry beer?
 
A low mash temp produces more simple fermentable sugars, resulting in a lower FG, therefore a drier beer. It sure what overall effect something as low as 62 would have though.
 
A low mash temp produces more simple fermentable sugars, resulting in a lower FG, therefore a drier beer. It sure what overall effect something as low as 62 would have though.

Ye that's the theory but I have never actually mashed anywhere near that low, so I for one will be interested to see how it turns out.
 
A rescue could be attempted by letting it cool to sub 70c temps and adding a couple of handfulls of fresh base malt and mixing well in, then leaving overnight to mash.
as is however i would suspect most of not all the enzymes in the current mash have been denatured by the sustained heat. an iodine test will indicate the success of the mash.
 
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