Acid rest was too long, now what?

[dylanphelan]

Hi

yesterday i brewed a weiss for the an upcoming homebrew fest. I decided to try a decotion mash for the first time.

My grain bill looked like this:

3.23 kg Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 49.2 %
2.53 kg Pilsner (Weyermann) (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 39 %
0.63 kg Munich II (Weyermann) (8.5 SRM) Grain 4 9.6 %
0.15 kg Caramunich I (Weyermann) (51.0 SRM) Grain 5 2.3 %

I wanted to mash like this:

Rest 44.0 C 20 min
Saccharification 66.7 C 40 min
Mash Out 75.6 C 10 min

But it ended up working more like this as i didnt manage to adjust the temp as quickly as i'd hoped.

Mash in (about 46-48 C for around 10 mins while trying to get it down to 44C)
Rest 44.0 C 20 min (got it to 44 C and held it there for 20 mins)
Saccharification 66.0 C 40 min
Mash Out 72 C 10 min (didnt quite hit 75C, held it at around 70-72C)


What effect would this have on my brew? should i rush off and get ingredients to redo this tomorrow?

I am fermenting in the middle of the range, my STC 1000 is set to 20.C - it will be a little warmer in the bucket. I planned to ferment a little cooler, but what i understand about Safbrew wb-6 is that it gives more clove on the cooler side. I had a longer initial rest than expected, so i am fermenting slightly warmer than planned.

 

[ianw58]

Yeah, you're pretty well screwed there, Dylan. Just toss it out and start again.


YIDDING!

Enzymes are not that precise as far as temperatures. The 44°C mark is optimal, but the enzymes will be working at your strike temp.

Relax! Enjoy a nice warm summer day with a cool homebrew and toast your good fortune at being a brewer...

Protein rests aren't really all that important with current generations if grain stocks.

Wheat beers are typically higher in protein content anyway.

 

[Callacave]

I hate saying this but this is a classic case of RDWHAHB.

I can't believe you'd think to run out and re-brew this all over again. Looks like you weren't that far off from your intended numbers.

I'm no expert in the acid rest department, so maybe someone else can chime in on that, but I think you're going to end up with a delicious Hefe when all is said and done!

 

[dylanphelan]

ok, thanks!

I was mostly concerned that it has been in the 44C-48C range for about 30 mins...

 

[dylanphelan]

I can't believe you'd think to run out and re-brew this all over again.

it's not like i would have tossed it out. I would have just taken the best one to the competition and drank the rest myself!

 

[Callacave]

it's not like i would have tossed it out. I would have just taken the best one to the competition and drank the rest myself!

Gotcha. Would hate to see a perfectly good brew get dumped!

 

[dylanphelan]

so - I am thinking that I do want to brew another weiss. Then I'll take the best of the 2 to the homebrew competition.

At least that way I'll be left with something to drink after the event.

This maybe a little off this topic, but the last weiss i brewed (it was my first one) - the flavour was great, but head retention wasn't that good.

it had a very similar grain bill to the recipe above, just without the caramunich.

it was basically

50% wheat
40% pilsner
10% munich

single infusion mash at 66.7 C (my latest one used the 2 step decoction mash)
fermented at 20.5 C

Any ideas on why the head retention wasn't that good?

 

[VladOfTrub]

I'm not sure what the pH of malted wheat is but pilsner malt is usually 5.8. Munich, depending on the malting co., 5.3 to 5.5. What leads you to believe that the acid rest is too long? Sometimes, in the decoction method, by the time the 1st decoction is stepped, converted and boiled, an acid rest can be an hour. Unless you know what's in the water and have a pH meter you have nothing to go by. The pH should be below 5.8 before attempting to boil mash. As long as the pH didn't drop below 4.6 and wasn't above 5.8, all is good. Were you trying to do a ferulic rest? If you are brewing a German style wheat, acid rest temp is usually 36 to 37C and a protein rest at 50C. The 1st decoction is heated from 37C to 50C and rested for 10 minutes. The decoction is then heated to 67-68C and rested 20-30 minutes, before boiling. The 1st decoction is added to the main mash to reach 50C. Then, the 2nd decoction is pulled. The 50C protein rest is skipped in the 2nd decoction. The decoction is heated from 50C to 65C and rested 20 minutes, before boiling. The 2nd decoction is used to raise the main mash temp from 50C to 63C. Main mash is rested at 63C for 20 to 30 minutes. Then infused water is used to reach 68C and rest 5 minutes. Infuse water to reach 72C and rest until conversion. Mash out at 77C by boiling only the mash liquid and or water. If you use malt expressly made for decoction method, pH will gradually reduce during the main mash protein rest. Certain nutrients needed by yeast are produced.

 

[dylanphelan]

What leads you to believe that the acid rest is too long?

just that it was longer than i had planned for it to be. i don't know much about mashing at decoction mashing - previously i always used to use a single infusion mash.

I don't have any way to measure PH, but i have an idea of what my local water supply is and do some calculations based on that.

yes - i was trying to do a ferulic rest. I understand that it helps bring out the clove flavours in a weiss. Last time I did a weiss I used WB-06; I fermented at 20.5C - I got banana, but no clove.