Scorched Electric Element

Last brew day I started to notice a burning smell towards the end of the mash.  After a minute or two I figured out that a cavity had formed below the mash (I use a 4-in-1 system).  I immediately turned off the power to the heating element and stop recirculation (was pumping back in too quickly) to correct the problem.

Anyways so only the very tip of the heating element scorched a bit and I’m here to ask if this is a big deal or not?  I was going to brew today but I figured it’s better to be safe than sorry and not potentially waste ingredients.

This is my first post on these forums so I’m not quite sure how to post an image here but I provided a link to the image (it’s quite bad - was taken with my phone).

Thank you for listening!

https://imgur.com/ogjTqRt

It’s no big deal, but you do need to clean it off. That scorch can impart ‘smoke’ flavor and aroma to the beer. I know of a first-hand instance of this. A soak for something like PBW should loosen up the buildup and enable you to wipe it off.

I agree with Martin. I clean my kettle and heating element with PBW, but every few batches I take out the coil and clean it with Barkeeper’s Friend until it looks shiny and new. My next brew is going to be a Scottish ale, so I am not going to bother. Any flavor contributions from gunk on the coil would be in style!

Awesome.  Thank you very much guys!