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Author Topic: Do I need a rest?  (Read 5981 times)

Offline dons

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #15 on: January 27, 2011, 01:54:56 pm »
Okay, no.  I constantly took temperature readings to assure that the temp remained where I said above.  I'm fanatical about that.
I've finally figured out my problem.  I have Cenosillicaphobia.

Offline Slowbrew

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #16 on: January 27, 2011, 02:17:16 pm »
Based on your recipe and you OG reading, it seems to me that you did pretty well for your first all-grain brew.  Your efficiency was a little low but that will get better as you get more comfortable with the process.  If the beer lacks body after it's carbonated and aged a bit you can do one or two simple things to adjust body and mouth feel.

1) Mash at a little higher temp, 156 to 158.
2) Add some additional Crystal to the recipe to add more unfementable sugar to the wort.

If you haven't checked you thermometer yet you should.  My first thermometer was off by -9 degrees so I was always mashing 9 to 10 degrees lower than I thought.

Good luck with it, it's already beer and that makes it good.  If no one has said it yet, relax, don't worry and have a homebrew (or at least a beer until your homebrew is done).  Don't sweat the small stuff until you feel confident about the big stuff, you drive yourself nuts.

Paul
Where the heck are we going?  And what's with this hand basket?

Offline Kaiser

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #17 on: January 27, 2011, 02:42:13 pm »
I my experience, yeast and fermentation can also have a big effect on mouthfeel.

Kai

Offline bluesman

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #18 on: January 27, 2011, 02:42:30 pm »
Well, I was careful with the temps.  I added the grain to the water when it was 155, then held for an hour.  Then moved the mash to my sparge bucket and sparged with water at 160 - perhaps less by the time i was done monkeying around with the wrong equipment.  Funny you should mention, but this was one of my departures from the original recipe.  That one called for mashing an hour at 126, then 30 more minutes at 160.  My partner and I found no reason that (step mashing?) was necessary.  Not sure, in fact, how I ended up at 155 - just what it was.

By my calculations, if you added 3.5 gal of strike water at 155F into 11.5lbs of grain the resultant mash temp should be 143F +/- which will eventually convert the starches to sugar but you will end up with an attenuative thin beer.

At 70% efficiency the recipe should have given you an OG=1.065 +/- of which you only got 1.044 which leads me to believe you didn't fully convert your mash because your saccharification temp was a bit low at 143F. I haven't yet cosidered your mash pH but assuming that it was in range you will need to mash higher at 156F +/- to achieve what I think you are lookig for in your beer.
Ron Price

Offline Hokerer

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #19 on: January 27, 2011, 05:57:47 pm »
Okay, no.  I constantly took temperature readings to assure that the temp remained where I said above.  I'm fanatical about that.


Still not quite understanding this.  Earlier you said you measured the water at 155 and then added the grain.  Here you say you constantly monitored to make sure everything stayed at 155.  Something doesn't compute :)

If you measured your water at 155, then added your grain, and then measured again, there's no way it could still measure 155.  Adding the grain is going to drop the temp.  To get/keep things at 155, you'd have to either direct heat the mash (you said you mash in a cooler so steam or a heatstick would be your only option) or you'd have to add a goodly amount of significantly hotter water to the mash.  Did you do either of those things?  If not, how did your mash measure 155 both before and after adding your grain?
Joe

Offline dons

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #20 on: January 27, 2011, 09:16:03 pm »
Sorry if I'm not making sense.  I sparge in a cooler.   I added the grain to a kettle on the stove with a constant heat.
Yes, I'm sure the temperature when down somewhat when I added the grain, but it quickly heated back up to 155 - and
I kept it throughout the mash.
I've finally figured out my problem.  I have Cenosillicaphobia.

Offline tubercle

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #21 on: January 27, 2011, 10:02:27 pm »
Worrying about a problem you may not have is like paying interest on a debt you may not owe!

 Denny, mind if I quote this sometimes? I can think of a thousand situations. Pure genius. You're awsome, Dude.

  Back on topic...to the OP: Mouth feel is somewhat subjective and varies by the individual. If your brews are thin to "you", then try some oatmeal in your mash.

 Start out with a handful ( this is an official measurement on the Tubercle Scale, AKA TS) and bump it up/down (another official measurement, AKA B-U/D) as necessary. Remember...you are brewing for YOU. Make what you like.


Sweet Caroline where the Sun rises over the deep blue sea and sets somewhere beyond Tennessee

Offline Hokerer

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #22 on: January 28, 2011, 07:29:32 am »
Sorry if I'm not making sense.  I sparge in a cooler.   I added the grain to a kettle on the stove with a constant heat.
Yes, I'm sure the temperature when down somewhat when I added the grain, but it quickly heated back up to 155 - and
I kept it throughout the mash.

Aha, see that light bulb go on over my head?  Sorry I wasn't getting it.  Anyways, now things make much more sense.  Sounds like you're mashing in a direct-fired kettle and then transferring to a cooler to do the sparge.  That's a perfectly valid way of doing things.  And your temps make sense considering you could control the heating of the kettle to keep them exactly where you wanted.  All in all, sounds like your mashing process is not your problem.  The only thing you might want to think about is increasing the amount of water if your kettle has room.  3.5 gallons  with 11.5 pounds of grain is 1.2 qts/lb which is in the right range (1 - 2 qts/lb) but a little higher ratio might be even better.
Joe

Offline dons

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #23 on: January 28, 2011, 12:03:34 pm »
Okay, let me ask you this.  If I increase the mash water to 4 gallons, I'd still like to sparge with at least 3.  My kettle is plenty big, but it would mean that I'd have to boil out nearly 2 gallons to fit in my carboy.  Question then - since I have your ear(s), can you boil TOO long??  An hour last time of boil took it down well over a gallon.  If I boil 1.5-1.75 hours, would that negatively affect the process?

Thanks to you all for your help.  I'm learning a lot.  Sample my first bottle tonight (5 days in bottle - I can't wait any longer).
Looking forward to my next patch of AG.

Don
I've finally figured out my problem.  I have Cenosillicaphobia.

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #24 on: January 28, 2011, 12:41:00 pm »
I regularly boil 90 minutes when I use pilsner malt.  I've even heard of people boiling overnight for maximum concentration and kettle caramelization.  Just save your hops for the last 60 minutes or so, they can add veggie flavors when boiled too long.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline denny

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #25 on: January 28, 2011, 01:03:09 pm »
Uh oh...you said "kettle caramelization".   :o  I'm a firm believer that that can't actually happen.
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #26 on: January 28, 2011, 01:22:36 pm »
Uh oh...you said "kettle caramelization".   :o  I'm a firm believer that that can't actually happen.
I agree, caramelization probably doesn't actually happen, the water content is too high.  I was using it in the colloquial sense of the flavor changes in the beer caused by Maillard reactions while boiling. ;)  I'll try to be more explicit and say what I mean next time. ;D
Tom Schmidlin

Offline dons

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #27 on: January 28, 2011, 02:00:12 pm »
LOL.  You guys are too much.  I hope that once in a while there is a face-to-face get-together to
sample beer and joust.  I'd love to be there - the tidbits I'd pick up would be worth the trip.

Thanks again.
Don
I've finally figured out my problem.  I have Cenosillicaphobia.

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #28 on: January 28, 2011, 02:04:30 pm »
LOL.  You guys are too much.  I hope that once in a while there is a face-to-face get-together to
sample beer and joust.  I'd love to be there - the tidbits I'd pick up would be worth the trip.

Thanks again.
Don

It's called the National Homebrewers Conference, I met Denny at one years ago (and see him there every year since) ;D
Tom Schmidlin

Offline denny

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Re: Do I need a rest?
« Reply #29 on: January 28, 2011, 02:16:28 pm »
It's called the National Homebrewers Conference, I met Denny at one years ago (and see him there every year since) ;D

No matter how hard I try to avoid him!   ;D
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

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The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell