Good morning
I brewed an all grain Pumpkin Ale from NB yesterday. Had several problems that I had to deal with. This is my 4th all grain and am still sorting out mash temps. The first problem was that the mash temp was way high at 171. I used extra water to cool it but it was at this temp about 15 minutes. Finally got it down but was still too high at 152 for the remainder of the mash. Sparged at 168.
I used safely 05 dry yeast that was part of the kit. It was reconstituted 30 minutes prior to adding to the fermenter at 71 degrees. The normal very active ferment did not occur. This morning the is a small amount of Krausen (sp?) on the top but no activity in the Big mouth or the air lock.
Is this batch junk or is there a way to save it?
Thanks in advance for your help.
When I started using a Big Mouth Bubbler, I found that I had to use keg lub around the lip of the flat part of the lid assembly in order to get a proper seal. Try applying lube and you might find that your airlock begins to exhibit normal activity.
Given such a high mash temp, though, you probably got a lot of unfermentable dextrins. I’ve never experienced that, so not sure how it would affect the fermentation activity.
Thanks for the input beersnob
The yeast finally took off and is very active. Funny how problems create incredible learning opportunities. After much research here on the forum I see that I have been pitching yeast at too high of temp. Next batch I will run cooling coil longer to get down to ferment temp or wait until it lowers in the fermenter room.
Now my question is whether the high mash temp will allow the beer to be drinkable. Guess time will tell.
Still learning with every batch. At least batches have been very tasty since I solved the water issue.
Considering that mash out is typically 170 degrees F for ten minutes, I’m surprised it’s fermenting at all. Are you sure your thermometer is accurate? Perhaps it’s reading higher than actual temperature? It’s easy enough to check. Alternately place it in boiling water and ice water. You should be close to 212 degrees for the former (depending on elevation and atmospheric pressure) and 32 degrees for the latter. A good article on the subject is located here:
https://byo.com/stories/issue/item/412-calibrating-thermometers-techniques
Thanks Ken
Fermentation going well, hoping that you are correct on the therm and all will be well with this batch.
I will be changing my procedure with the next batch to be sure my temps are in line with the recipe. I think that the mash water temp got away from me. Getting mash temps correct have been the hardest part of the process. Preheating the mash tun made for significantly higher mash temps than the last batch.
Struggling a little but I will keep working at it.
