Quick help

[Martybhoy]

Mid mash I have realised I forgot to turn the rating element off. Mash sitting at 85 degrees. Have I buggered it up?

 

[Chrissparky]

How long into the mash has it gone to this temp

 

[Martybhoy]

About 20 mins. Raging. I can start again so not a major issue.

Complete *****. Not a good start to the day.

 

[JapanBrew]

Yep. You've mashed out. Killed the enzymes that convert the starches into sugars. Sorry to give you the bad news.

 

[Martybhoy]

That's ok. Better that than try and salvage something that would never have been like the original idea.

 

[Gunge]

Yes you've blown it but at least you can start over! I've got the opposite problem... midway thru the boil now but when I checked my mash temp earlier, after it had been going for 45 minutes, it was 62C. A combination of sloppiness/haste/distractions. I tried something resembling a decoction but apart from probably being too late, it seemed to have little effect in raising the temp despite numerous attempts. Oh well, looks like a really dry, dry stout is on the cards.

 

[Martybhoy]

I've only done a decoction mash once. I found it a long process, and struggled to raise the mash temp with the decoction alone. That said, the resultant wheat beer was one of my best.

So why does a low mash temp result in a dry beer?

 

[Budgie]

A low mash temp produces more simple fermentable sugars, resulting in a lower FG, therefore a drier beer. It sure what overall effect something as low as 62 would have though.

 

[Gunge]

A low mash temp produces more simple fermentable sugars, resulting in a lower FG, therefore a drier beer. It sure what overall effect something as low as 62 would have though.

Ye that's the theory but I have never actually mashed anywhere near that low, so I for one will be interested to see how it turns out.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Definitely not good, but don't throw it away. Carry on as normal

 

[Fil]

A rescue could be attempted by letting it cool to sub 70c temps and adding a couple of handfulls of fresh base malt and mixing well in, then leaving overnight to mash.
as is however i would suspect most of not all the enzymes in the current mash have been denatured by the sustained heat. an iodine test will indicate the success of the mash.