Hey all,
I ended up with a mash temp of 149 instead of 153 for the pale ale I’m brewing today. To make matters worse I didn’t realize this until my tun was full to the top so I couldn’t add water.
Just how much drier will this make the final beer? I’m willing to leave it as is, but is there anything that can be done post-mash to compensate for the temp mistake?
I think the importance of mash temp is overstated. The temp range is so narrow, and modern malt has so much enzymatic power, that a mash at 149* probably won’t be any drier than a mash at 153*, all other things being equal. Strain selection and grain bill have a much bigger impact on dryness than mash temp.
Now, if you’re mashing at say 145 instead of 160, that’d be a big difference.
The only other difference is the beer may lack a little body and mouthfeel. BUT, you may really like it that way!
RDWAHAHB or a SNPA if none is available!
Has your Thermometer been calibrated lately? Maybe its off and you were closer to your mash temp then you thought. Either way, you’ll still get good conversion and a great beer.
Yeah, after checking it with boiling water then an ice bath I bought a lab thermometer that is supposed to be accurate to within 1 degree F and it’s dead on with that at mash temps (which I had to laugh at because I only paid $5 for the one I’m using).
I realized yesterday why I was off: I had my grain in the fridge up until about 10 minutes before I mashed in, so the grain wasn’t 72 degrees like I had it in Beersmith. Had I taken the grain temp before mashing I would have seen this and adjusted accordingly. Oh well, live and learn. I samples some yesterday and it tastes great.