Hello everyone I have a question about my first all grain brew and my mash temperature landing at 137 degrees (below target). I'm brewing Oat Brown Ale with about 11 pounds of grain recipe mix in a 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler with copper manifold. since I landed below target I decided to heat up about two quarts of water to boiling and add. I did this several times until i added approximately 8 quarts over 2 hours to get mash up to about 148 149 I held it here for about 25 minutes. my recipe called for a 90 minute mash but it turned into 120 minutes because I was trying to get the temp to 151 but still fell short. My OG reads 1.049 at 68* after 60 min boil. Is this good enough for conversion? I used strike water of 159* and I will try 167* next time? Any comments on this method and these mash temps?
mash in at 137d - first all grain question
- Thread starter hurley195
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
JordanKnudson
Well-Known Member
You will be fine. Different mash temperatures are useful for different things, but your numbers still fall within the range in which the beta-amylase enzyme is active. This is still a saccharification rest temperature, the only difference being that a higher rest temperature would favor a different diastese enzyme, alpha-amylase.
Beta-amylase is most active between 140-149 degrees F (your range), while alpha-amylase prefers 155-158. The common single infusion mash at 152 is an attempt to split the difference and get a little of each.
The most common difference in the final beer is the body. Alpha-amylase attacks chains of glucose from random points, breaking the big chain into smaller pieces. Not everything that alpha-amylase leaves behind is completely fermentable, and this results in a beer with a bigger body and some extra sweetness. Beta-amylase, on the other hand, works on glucose chains from a single specific point of attack, and only forms maltose. It requires a longer mash time (usually we give it about 90 minutes for full conversion), but creates significantly more fermentable sugar. This drives up the alcohol content a bit, but leaves a drier beer.
In other words, you've successfully performed variant of a normal, light-body saccharification rest. Nothing to worry about. If you want to hit higher temps next time, use a calculator (of which there are plenty online) to determine your optimal strike temperature. This should take into consideration the temperature you want for the mash, the temperature of your grains (a minor piece of the puzzle, but easy to check and it makes a small difference), and the ratio of grains to strike water.
Hope this helped!
Beta-amylase is most active between 140-149 degrees F (your range), while alpha-amylase prefers 155-158. The common single infusion mash at 152 is an attempt to split the difference and get a little of each.
The most common difference in the final beer is the body. Alpha-amylase attacks chains of glucose from random points, breaking the big chain into smaller pieces. Not everything that alpha-amylase leaves behind is completely fermentable, and this results in a beer with a bigger body and some extra sweetness. Beta-amylase, on the other hand, works on glucose chains from a single specific point of attack, and only forms maltose. It requires a longer mash time (usually we give it about 90 minutes for full conversion), but creates significantly more fermentable sugar. This drives up the alcohol content a bit, but leaves a drier beer.
In other words, you've successfully performed variant of a normal, light-body saccharification rest. Nothing to worry about. If you want to hit higher temps next time, use a calculator (of which there are plenty online) to determine your optimal strike temperature. This should take into consideration the temperature you want for the mash, the temperature of your grains (a minor piece of the puzzle, but easy to check and it makes a small difference), and the ratio of grains to strike water.
Hope this helped!
insanim8er
Well-Known Member
You may end up dryer and thinner in body than what you want. It can also screw with the balance of the over all beer. You may be less malt forward more hop because of the dryness. But overall you'll still have beer.
I hit my temps dead on by preheating my mash tun with water hotter than recommended by several degrees. So I add my total volume of water, put the lid on and wait a few minutes. Then I open and stir until I'm a couple of degrees too high from the recommended temp (using a calculator to determine strike temp) The extra couple degrees depends on the outside temp and how much grain I'm stirring in, but it allows me to stir the grain well. I stir until I hit my temp then I put the lid on. I normally don't lose more than 1 degree if even that over a 60min mash.
I hit my temps dead on by preheating my mash tun with water hotter than recommended by several degrees. So I add my total volume of water, put the lid on and wait a few minutes. Then I open and stir until I'm a couple of degrees too high from the recommended temp (using a calculator to determine strike temp) The extra couple degrees depends on the outside temp and how much grain I'm stirring in, but it allows me to stir the grain well. I stir until I hit my temp then I put the lid on. I normally don't lose more than 1 degree if even that over a 60min mash.
Thanks for your replies folks. I've done a lot of reading but a quick reply on here always helps as it put things into simple perspective. We aiming for a higher temp next time to hopefully add the body I am looking for..
Similar threads
