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ok....Until yesterday I had pretty much a whole day Sunday to brew, so I was going to do 2 batches, which on my system is usually a pretty long day. Of course that got completely kyboshed and at best I'll be able to devote my whole attention to brewing at around 12:30-1:00. That doesnt leave me much time to get 2 batches off. My question is this...

If i get everything ready Saturday night, get up early and get mashed in at around 9:30am Sunday and get back to it when I get home, will I still be ok? Any detrimental effects on my mash setting it set for 3+ hours. I'm not worried about losing too much temperature...my tun is usually pretty good and I can put it inside where its warm.

Any advice at all is great! Thanks.

Yep. I do this all the time. If your outside holding mash temp may be an issue. I mash high and hope for the best when I do this.

Sandy

Awesome Sandy. Thank you!

I do brew in the garage, but it's easy to take the cooler inside and leave it there. I'm going for it.

Cheers!

I mash 5 to 6 hours all the time. With one child in school on days off I mash in after lunch when the other child is napping and finish when we get the troops down to sleep that night. So I dough in around 2pm and start back up at 730 pm ish. I would not mash dark grains this long for fear of astringent flavours but I add them for 10 mins and get all the flavours, colour and complexities they add if brewing that style. So you do get a very fermentable wort (excellent for IPA's etc) and I find my efficiency goes up. Make brewing work for you. I insulate my pot with a winter jacket and sleeping bag and loose maybe 10F in 5.5 hours. I just wouldn't want the mash temp going below 130f. Sounds like that wont be an issue for you. I've read others say the boil would fix any issues that could cause but haven't let the mash temp go too low.

afternoon mashes for me always. Love how it splits up my brew day. I mash in typically on my lunch hour and then sparge when i get home from work and have supper. I wouldn't do it any other way!

i'm in the same boat, mash in at lunch - go back to work - boil after supper.

same thing I do when trying to get other stuff done during brew day

How long would you guys risk letting it go? I've thought about mashing in before bed and finishing first thing in the morning.

as long as you can stay close to your targeted mash temp...I'd say go for it
gets risky when it drops below 115f. it could sour

I've done overnight before, just wrapped the tun in a sleeping bag which helped.

One thing to note is that longer mashes _generally_ produce higher attenuating wort. This is the case, partly at least, because the enzymes work until they break down. They break down faster at higher temperatures.

If you mash low be careful of drying out your beer too much. Something I've done in the past for overnight or day long mashes is to mash at slightly higher temperature so the amylase breaks down in due time.

jacinthebox wrote:as long as you can stay close to your targeted mash temp...I'd say go for it
gets risky when it drops below 115f. it could sour

I know just from leaving my grains in the vessel post mash for 24 hrs how true this is.

Although I've read on the internets that it's somewhere around 8 hrs before there's any problems in that regard. The source was a distiller who I'm guessing was trying to achieve a sour mash.

I can see mashing high intentionally and then after a few hrs hopefully temp hasn't dropped too much. Although I make mostly Belgian ales, I mash around 149-150 for 75 mins. The carb level is so high that the beer still perceivable has a lot of body. It certainly is not thin or dry considering the attenuation is very high on some.

I don't make many beers that call for a high mash temp so I can't speak to how a super long mash or missing those temps to the lower side has really had a negative outcome as is suggested by almost every piece of literature I've read.

I just can't see how a super long mash wouldn't end you up with a highly attenuated beer.







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Works great I would suggest you try it... your beer will attenuate like a son of a gun. keep that in mind.

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This sounds great. With kids around - always trying to find a way to make the process more efficient. And as Woody says - nice to be able to make it work with my schedule. Being able to start the mash and finish when kids are asleep.

Any notable differences for BIAB'ers? I recently finished making a mash tun cozy, and I wrap that in 2 comforters and then 2 quilts on the lid. Should this be enough to hold mash temperature?

I have a 15 G kettle from OBK - with a 2" temperature probe. The problem I'm having when checking mash temp - is that it seems like the grains will aggregate around the probe and 'insulate' it and give me a falsely low temperature reading. I've found that if I open the lid and use my mash paddle to push the grains away from the probe that the temp will raise immediately. It just makes it frustrating - not knowing how accurate I am with my mash temp and I don't like having to open the lid all the time. Would a 6" temp probe help here?

I'm trying tonight for the first time!
Brewed 2 batches earlier (A 5gal and a 10gal) and was planning another for tomorrow. With the rain coming, this may allow me to be done before the rain hits!!!
Great advise everyone, thanks.

ackes wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:19 pm

This sounds great. With kids around - always trying to find a way to make the process more efficient. And as Woody says - nice to be able to make it work with my schedule. Being able to start the mash and finish when kids are asleep.

Any notable differences for BIAB'ers? I recently finished making a mash tun cozy, and I wrap that in 2 comforters and then 2 quilts on the lid. Should this be enough to hold mash temperature?

I have a 15 G kettle from OBK - with a 2" temperature probe. The problem I'm having when checking mash temp - is that it seems like the grains will aggregate around the probe and 'insulate' it and give me a falsely low temperature reading. I've found that if I open the lid and use my mash paddle to push the grains away from the probe that the temp will raise immediately. It just makes it frustrating - not knowing how accurate I am with my mash temp and I don't like having to open the lid all the time. Would a 6" temp probe help here?

Its not likely to make much difference...and a 6" probe may end up costing you a new bag or a new temp gauge as the bag will catch in it at some point, if not regularily. I would stick with what you have right now...and just learn to trust the fact that the temp is in and around where you want it to be. Every time you open the lid and stir it around to check you are letting heat out. Just leave it.

ackes wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:19 pm

Any notable differences for BIAB'ers? I recently finished making a mash tun cozy, and I wrap that in 2 comforters and then 2 quilts on the lid. Should this be enough to hold mash temperature?

I have a 15 G kettle from OBK - with a 2" temperature probe. The problem I'm having when checking mash temp - is that it seems like the grains will aggregate around the probe and 'insulate' it and give me a falsely low temperature reading. I've found that if I open the lid and use my mash paddle to push the grains away from the probe that the temp will raise immediately. It just makes it frustrating - not knowing how accurate I am with my mash temp and I don't like having to open the lid all the time. Would a 6" temp probe help here?

Definitely stick with your 2 inch probe and yes your in good shape to maintain temp with all that. Dough in and check your temp with a thermometer and leave it. I stopped worrying and was surprised how the temp doesn't drop that much in 5-6 hours if you insulate the pot. Don't open it for the reasons Mark mentioned and don't worry about what the pot temp probe says. It does give false readings compared to stirring the mash and checking. With all the grain and liquid in your pot it will take awhile to loose temp. Most conversion happens in the first 20 min anyway. I'm a BIAB'er and always brew 10-12 gallon batches in my 19 gallon pot with a sparge.

That thread got way more attention than I was expecting. Thanks for all the great advice folks!

Cheers!

Awesome. Thanks fellas. Can't wait to try this on my next brew day.


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