I'm brewing right now, seems like there is maybe 8" of head space. I'll try to wrap it next time. Last batch had same problem, missed projected OG by just a hair, so I wasnt to concerned. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The drop to 146 F doesn't even matter in my experience. I've brewed many dozens of batches that way and they come out just fine.
Garrett, my strike water temperature is often about 6 F hotter than the desired mash temperature to compensate for grains being much cooler than the mash temperature. Are you using a strike water calculator to determine how hot your strike water (water for first infusion mash) should be?