Refrigerating runoff to boil later?

[diesel_88]

What would happen if I mashed and sparged one night, then put the runoff in the fridge (following sanitary procedure, of course) and boiled & finished it the following evening? How might that affect the finished beer?

As a dad of young kids, I'm working to fit brewing in on weeknights after their bedtime. Sliming down to BIAB one-gallon batches has sped things up a lot, but the mash and boil remain.

 

[tgmartin000]

As long as the wort is safe from kids/pets/bugs/etc, no real need to refrigerate it. The boil will kill any bacteria that develop. Just this weekend I mashed and ranoff in the am, went to a party, came home and boiled in the pm.

 

[diesel_88]

You're right--it would be pastuerized after the mash. I had envisioned cooling the mash pot, putting the wort in sanitized milk jug(s), and into the fridge out of my wife's way. Guess I could just as easily leave it in the covered pot.

 

[Carlscan26]

It will not be pasteurized. Your idea to throw it in the fridge will help but you want to boil asap or you risk souring the mash.

 

[jro238]

Yes, mash is *not* sanitized by any means. You will run a real risk of souring your mash if you leave it out, or even refrigerated, overnight (not that this might not create a good bear, but be warned). You could try mashing, then boiling the wort for 5-10 minutes to sterilize it THEN refrigerating overnight. I have never tried this, but it should probably be fine.

 

[Carlscan26]

Yes, mash is *not* sanitized by any means. You will run a real risk of souring your mash if you leave it out, or even refrigerated, overnight (not that this might not create a good bear, but be warned). You could try mashing, then boiling the wort for 5-10 minutes to sterilize it THEN refrigerating overnight. I have never tried this, but it should probably be fine.

But then at that point you may as well finish the boil. Just my opinion. I get the lack if time what with my own little ones

 

[jro238]

But then at that point you may as well finish the boil. Just my opinion. I get the lack if time what with my own little ones

Yep, you're right.

Perhaps you could just leave it out (covered) overnight instead of having to cool it once you finished the 5-10 minute boil to save time. Again, never tried it.

 

[diesel_88]

It will not be pasteurized.

Most of the brewing how-to's I've read say (not that they're necessarily right) that for ingredients you don't want to boil, like fruit puree, heating them to 150 for a period of time will in effect pasteurize them and render them safe to add to cooled wort. Is this not the case (or is it not the whole story)?

 

[jro238]

Most of the brewing how-to's I've read say (not that they're necessarily right) that for ingredients you don't want to boil, like fruit puree, heating them to 150 for a period of time will in effect pasteurize them and render them safe to add to cooled wort. Is this not the case (or is it not the whole story)?

I was actually looking through a number of threads yesterday about storing wort overnight. I was roasting a pumpkin to make my pumpkin ale when I realized that I didn't have the hops

From everything I read, it was pretty much a crapshoot whether people's wort soured overnight. Refrigerating it certainly helped, but there were people who refrigerated and still had a sour mash. My guess is that the amount of nasties in raw grain (a lot) just aren't taken care of in a 150-155 mash.

 

[diesel_88]

...You could try mashing, then boiling the wort for 5-10 minutes to sterilize it THEN refrigerating overnight.

That sounds pretty safe. With BIAB, I'm sparging into my brew pot on the stove anyway. And adding 20 minutes to the process (by the time I get the pot up to boiling) is way shorter than a full 60-90 minute boil, plus extra cleanup at 1 AM

 

[c3hutson]

From what I understand, lactobacillus still lives through the mash (less so if you mash out at ~170) and produce a considerable amount of lactic acid. The next day boil will kill of the lactobacillus, but the sourness is left behind.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

just as a caution, refrigerators usually have more gram-positive bacteria than your toilet. make sure your containers are sealed tight and you'll likely be ok.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20324304

 

[c3hutson]

just as a caution, refrigerators usually have more gram-positive bacteria than your toilet. make sure your containers are sealed tight and you'll likely be ok. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20324304

A little staphylococcus never hurt anyone... Oh wait.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

A little staphylococcus never hurt anyone... Oh wait.

I hear fresh cow-dung applied directly to the affected area is a great remedy, they do it all the time in India so I understand.

 

[ResumeMan]

But then at that point you may as well finish the boil. Just my opinion. I get the lack if time what with my own little ones

Not necessarily. There's still quite a lot of work in a brew day between the start of the boil and the final cleanup. Stopping as soon as it comes to a boil would definitely shorten that part of the day to be worth it if it's getting late.

I did the bring to a boil then set overnight (tightly covered but unrefrigerated) a few times years ago. In the 3-5 times I did so, I did not ever have any problems I could attribute to spoilage overnight.

 

[diesel_88]

Well, I tried it: mashed, sparged, and boiled for 5 minutes, then cooled off the covered brew pot in the sink (1-gallon batch, so no biggie) and put the whole thing in the fridge. Boiled, cooled, & pitched the next, but didn't taste the wort (guess I was chicken). Will know in two months or so after it's finished!