tsukemen_king86
Member
Hi there, relatively new brewer but experienced cook and fermentation enthusiast. I'm doing BIAB and I've got a 35L Klarstein kettle with a built in thermometer, which seems to have kicked the bucket much sooner than it should have. This is something I noticed in my last brew when the thermometer read 95°C (203°F) but wort began boiling anyway, whereas in the past it had only boiled once it got to 100°C (212°F), as it damn well should have. This of course likely meant that my IPA-oriented mash—which I had done at 68°-64°C (154-147°F)—was also going to be off. I took some deep breaths to quell my rage and decided to just proceed with the help of a spare thermometer. Later, after cool down, and aided by the spare thermometer, the kettle thermometer was reading about 10°C (15-20°F) less than actual, and in subsequent tests has shown about the same. Thus, my mash actually happened at anywhere from 54°-62°C (129-146°F), and I suspect it was at the lower end of that because of what I've observed during fermentation. My initial hydrometer reading was 14.1°P when the liquid went into the carboy. I pitched Wyeast California Ale that had become active over 36 hours in a 2L starter. Fermentation has been at a really consistent 18-20°C (64-69F) and began in first 6 hours. It was super vigorous for two days before slowing down—and it slowed down much more abruptly than previous brews. I took a reading at day 3 and got 6.1°P. Also at this time, I racked the liquid off the trub in to a clean carboy.
It's now been 7 days since brew day and my reading was the same as day 3: 6.1°P! This tells me, among other things, that primary fermentation has all but ceased and I can take my current numbers to calculate ABV and attenuation. This gives me an apparent attenuation of a mere 57%, and an ABV of only about 4.5% (when I was aiming to get it around 6.5%). The taste of the beer has some IPA characteristics: really solid bitterness for example, and nice simcoe and cascade notes, though there is a slight lingering sweetness, at this point. I don't detect any off-flavors right now, in fact it's quite pleasant at this particular stage. Though I'm entirely unsure of how it will continue developing.
So, I'm wondering if I can get any sage wisdom from anyone out there. Have you ever accidentally mashed at temps that probably straddle the protease and beta-amalyse phases? Is that low mash temp directly responsible for the low attenuation, or did attenuation stop because I racked into another fermenter too soon? What happened with your beer in a situation where you mashed too low or racked off the trub too soon? Would it be better to drink asap or might it actually get better if I age it for a while? Can I pitch some Brett or lactobacillus and see what happens? Any anecdotes or advice is very welcome!
It's now been 7 days since brew day and my reading was the same as day 3: 6.1°P! This tells me, among other things, that primary fermentation has all but ceased and I can take my current numbers to calculate ABV and attenuation. This gives me an apparent attenuation of a mere 57%, and an ABV of only about 4.5% (when I was aiming to get it around 6.5%). The taste of the beer has some IPA characteristics: really solid bitterness for example, and nice simcoe and cascade notes, though there is a slight lingering sweetness, at this point. I don't detect any off-flavors right now, in fact it's quite pleasant at this particular stage. Though I'm entirely unsure of how it will continue developing.
So, I'm wondering if I can get any sage wisdom from anyone out there. Have you ever accidentally mashed at temps that probably straddle the protease and beta-amalyse phases? Is that low mash temp directly responsible for the low attenuation, or did attenuation stop because I racked into another fermenter too soon? What happened with your beer in a situation where you mashed too low or racked off the trub too soon? Would it be better to drink asap or might it actually get better if I age it for a while? Can I pitch some Brett or lactobacillus and see what happens? Any anecdotes or advice is very welcome!
Last edited: