Biab ooops

Mashing
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this post is really just lamenting a goof because I finished up the batch and got it into the fermenter.

I got my strike water too hot (168-170) and by the time I realized it I had already put the grain in the bag. I immediately added ice water and got it to 155 within a few minutes. 90 minutes 150-155.

I’m sure something will be fouled but it seems like most of my brews (biab or extract brews) all have one minor calamity and the beer still turns out pretty good. I’m hoping for that here too.

I got overly confident with the speed of my Thermopen and took a bad temp reading (it was still climbing).

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If you added cold water right away (like within 3-4 minutes) then everything will turn out just fine. It takes more time than that to kill all your enzymes. Maybe 10 minutes.

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Hmm…hope I didn’t murder my enzymes. First time BIAB, strike water was 170 assuming it would come down to 153 quickly. Recipe only called for 6.25 lbs grain, so definitely not enough to bring it down fast enough. Was prob at 165+ for 10-15 mins, stirred and stirred, then remembered to add cold water. Dur

Live and learn, I will still carry the process through and see what happens. Now sitting at 152 for 20 mins. Should I just skip the 170 mashout since it seems like I may have already done that? Maybe a quick sparge with the remaining water I saved for emergency that I forgot to use immediately?

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Often a temp of 163 or so is what is called for so 165, even 170 shouldn’t be disastrous.

I also keep a half gallon of treated water around at room temp to dump in if necessary.

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Ok thanks. That makes me feel a bit better. The pot was sitting right there, ready to use, and I guess a huge brain fart ensued. My volume is a gallon over somehow, so boiling down to 6.5 then continuing. Had no idea it would take so long to heat the strike water. Chalking it up.

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Well, my og ended up at 1.037 and the target was 1.043. Must have gotten something out of it. Wort was tasty, starter was pitched a couple hours early but was foamy and krausen was relatively high. All locked up in my igloo in the living room, much to my wife’s dismay. Oh well, Happy Holidays!

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All of the oops turn into a learning process. Sounds like a step backwards but having some extract on hand can get your gravity up a little. Add some after the end of the boil after taking a cooled wort sample then decide if you are happy with the FG or need to add some.

.006 isn’t much to worry about IMHO though. I bet your beer will be great.