details of a mash

[matthewdick23]

so I did my first overnight mash last night

over 60-90 min mash I will only lose around 1oC

went from 68 last night to 60.

assuming I only lost 1oC again in the first 90 minutes last night, is it safe to assume that all the conversion had taken place before temps dropped?

what are the disadvantages, if any, to finishing a long mash like this at 60?

first runnings were pretty high 1.085 iirc and everything seems to be running smoothly

thanks

matthew

[Eoin]

As far as I am aware it should ferment out pretty dry and not have a lot of body left.

[mr hoppy]

Did you mash out or batch sparge the night before? Sparge temps in the high 70s would denature the enzymes and stop conversion.

[matthewdick23]

yeah thx eoin. looked into it more and theres a danger of gettin some lacto in ur mash which could sour it. that if it drops below 60.

i think ill do it again as long as this one turns out well. will use more liquor in mash next time and maybe start mash a degree or 2 higher to stay away form the 60oC mark.

so far so good though

[matthewdick23]

Did you mash out or batch sparge the night before? Sparge temps in the high 70s would denature the enzymes and stop conversion.

sparging now

[mr hoppy]

Makes sense from an infection perspective.

If you're mashing overnight and you want body it should help if you do a mash out.

[matthewdick23]

yeah think ill do that nxt time. hitting all my marks which is nice. pre boil is perfect

think ill add in some kettle fulls nxt time for a mashout before sparging though. we will c

its for a porter so should b interesting to see how it turns out

[Bazza]

Nice one Matthew.

Never tried the overnight mash, though I've heard nothing but positive things about it.

Because my weekends are no longer my own (upcoming brewday and ATP festival in Kent excepted) I tend to do all my brewing on weekdays after 8pm, split over 2 evenings.

First evening I mash, sparge, and leave the wort in a sealed plastic boiler till the next day.
Second evening I boil, cool and pitch.

Advantages:
- I'm not up till all hours brewing and potentially annoying neighbours
- get time to play with the kids (is that an advantage?) and they're in bed before I start
- I get to miss Eastenders and similar shite.

Disadvantages:
- Extra electricity needed to bring cool wort back to the boil
- Slight possibility the wort might go off over 24 hours in warmer months.
- Any others?


Cheers,

-Barry

[Hop Bomb]

On my last brew my girlfriends family arrived up mid brew so I had to go out to dinner with them (would have been rude not to + free dinner   By the time I got back to the house the mash was nearly 3 hours on. Temp had dropped by 10c (coleman coolbox mash tun). 

My preboil gravity was a lot higher than I was shooting for (I was nearly at 87% efficiency) so I had to increase the hop load to balance the beer. It turned what was meant to be a pale ale into IPA.

My SG was 1.067
My FG was 1.010

Hopefully it turns out nice. The hydrometer sample at the end of ferm tasted quiet alcoholic. Dunno what that means (i know its strong 7.5%) so only time will tell.

[irish_goat]

I imagine consistency goes up the left if you do an overnight. Though obviously that only matters to some brewers and not to others.

[RichC]

I've done several overnight mashes and it does result in thinner beer, which doesn't suit every style. Most recently I've been going mashout before bed to avoid that. I've had the wort drop well below 60, for the few hours involved I don't think your risking souring

[sub82]

Sounds good Bazza - we've considered this a couple of times. How do the brews turn out? Any differences?

[Bazza]

Sounds good Bazza - we've considered this a couple of times. How do the brews turn out? Any differences?

None that I've noticed Chris. I find it makes for a more relaxed brewing experience all round. Much less pressure of time & everyday niggles, so less silly mistakes are made.

I did a mash & sparge last night. Going to be boiled this evening. The wort's sealed in my DIY insulated boiler (the Frankenstein's monster you saw in Hilden) and it's still warm to the touch this morning.


Cheers,

-Barry

[sub82]

Will definitely try this then - want to get a few Xmas brews on the go and the weekends are already filling up!

[matthewdick23]

nice! the last time you did a brew for xmas it didnt turn out too badly iirc...