Djehuty
Master Brewer
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 56
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Yesterday I brewed my second all-grain beer, and I had the same problem as with the first: the mash didn't get up to the right temperature. I have everything set up properly in BeerSmith, including the weight of my mash tun, and I've checked the box for adjusting the temperature to the brewing equipment. It said to add 14 quarts of water at 170 degrees (well, 169.6), which I did. Instead of going up to 154 degrees, the mash only reached 149. I added some boiling water and stirred, and it dropped a degree. I added more boiling water and stirred more, and it just held steady. Curious, I began poking the thermometer probe in to various depths in different areas, and found that 149 degrees held from the bottom of the mash tun up to the top two inches (or a bit less) of the mash, then it rose sharply from there to reach 160 degrees just below the water level. I'm not sure quite what to make of that. I just closed the lid and walked away at that point.
How do I reach that 154-degree target? Is there some trick or setting that I'm missing?
How do I reach that 154-degree target? Is there some trick or setting that I'm missing?