Low Mash Temp - Stupid Mistake

[mention]

So this is my first post here, I can usually find all the info I need without having to posy, so thanks for that.

Brewing an all grain today, and I did something really stupid. I read my floating thermometer wrong, looking at the Celsius... So, thinking my mash temp was at 168, I dumped some wort and added some cold water (1 gallon of each) after about 30 minutes I figured out what was going on. My mash was at 123F at this point.

I added 3 gallons of 190f water to get the temp up but it only reached 144F (for approx 15 min). Now it's dropping again, into the high 130's. my plan was to give it some extra time to mash and hope I get to my OG. I only have 1.4 gallons of sparge water to add now instead of the original 4.4. My plan was to leave some of the wort in when I sparge.

Is this beer worth saving, or should I just try again when I learn to read? I figured I'd give it until the mash/sparge is done and depending on my OG go from there. Not sure i will get the starches I need at such a low temp though. This is supposed to be a rye juniper ale.

 

[climateboy]

Hmmm. If you have the time and ingredients, I might consider starting over, but then again, maybe not.

You need that temperature above 144, and held there for an hour or so, in order to get conversion. What you dumped out at 123 degrees likely did not have many converted sugars or enzymes in it.

Get back up to the temperature range you want, and hold it there for at least an hour. Maybe try 90 minutes. Then, yes, check the OG. If it's not where you want it, maybe add some DME.

If you had way overheated the mash, then yes, you would have denatured enzymes and might have to start over (or add DME) if you didn't get the conversion you wanted. If you had dumped out wort in the conversion range (144-158), then you would have been in danger of dumping out enzymes, which could have hurt your conversion.

I think you will be ok, as long as you can get the mash at the right temp and hold it there.

 

[mention]

Thanks. I dumped out the wort when it was probably in the 150's. it had only been mashing for maybe 10 minutes. The temps have probably been close to 144 for an hour. My total mash time will likely be around 2 hours now.