NotJoe Fakr's Light Ale

[fakr]

Attempt at a light (5%) refreshing ale for the warmer weather ahead.  Lighter on the hops than I'm usually used to, but wanted to make an ale that most will enjoy.

12GAL post boil

Grain:

16lbs   2-row malt
3lbs    flaked white corn
1.5lb   light munich malt
1lb      vienna malt
1lb      toasted wheat
0.5lb    carafoam

Hops:

0.7oz Centennial @ 60min
0.5oz Cascade @ 15min
0.5oz Amarillo @ 10min
0.5oz Palisade @ 5min

Mashin 35L for 60min @ 156F
Batch sparged 3 separate times using 13L each @ 168F

Yeast:

Pitched 3 x s-05

OG = 1.046  (edited this OG to reflect true OG, previous calculation was off)

[fakr]

my efficiency went up with the 3 batch sparges.  I was aiming for the typical 70% that I always get.  I ended up a little over 80% but took twice as long to sparge.

So insteady of hitting my initial calculations of 1.050, I ended up hitting 1.058.

The light beer has been upgraded to a pale ale of sorts...

[fakr]

Strange, just took an SG and it came in at 1.005.....?!?

I would have thought with the higher mash temp of 156F that I would have got a higher final gravity.  I'm assuming the flaked corn contributed to the lower FG?

So instead of hitting 5-5.5%, this stuff is sitting at 7%....a strong pale ale??? No idea....

[Richard]

You take a temp reading at the end of the mash? Sounds like it might have taken a bit of a dive.

The corn shouldn't be any more fermentable than any of the other starches you added, afaik.

[fakr]

The mash started at 158-159 and dropped down to 156 in the first 10-15 minutes...
each batch sparge was well above 160....though I think the last one was somewhere around 155...I did stir the mash each time, then collect the runnings until it went clear, then transferred to the kettle...

I'll have to take another reading when I get home.  My refractometer was out in the cold, and I warmed it up by hand...could have been a bit of water in the pippet or something that dropped it down....not sure...I was in a rush at lunch to check.

[Richard]

Only other thing I could think of is the duration between first runnings and the wort being raised to ~180F - the mash is still active up to that point.

[fakr]

well, I'm hoping I had extra water in the pippet or something.  I'll do both a refrac and hydro test when I get home tonight.

From mash in to completing the last sparge, I'd say it was a total of 2.5 hours...pretty damn long...and it was really only the last sparge that would have dropped below 160.

[Richard]

Did you heat the first-runnings and following sparges immediately to halt enzymatic activity? That used to bite me in the ass... Leaving your first-runnings sitting without heating it to above 180F will essentially extend the mash, further simplifying the sugars in the wort (and leading to lower body/FG).

[fakr]

well, that very well could have been Richard.  I did heat my first runnings but kept turning the burner off when foam appeared in the kettle (a bit before boil).  I'm sure I did this a half dozen times during the sparge, but I could be wrong.

Thanks for the input!

[Chris Craig]

Did you heat the first-runnings and following sparges immediately to halt enzymatic activity? That used to bite me in the ass... Leaving your first-runnings sitting without heating it to above 180F will essentially extend the mash, further simplifying the sugars in the wort (and leading to lower body/FG).

I don't heat my first runnings, and I've not had any issues like this. My FG is usually right around where it's supposed to be.

As for the conversion not being finished, well, it was likely finished before he even started sparging...at least close enough that it's wouldn't make that much of a difference. The most likely explanation is that the temperature dropped more than he expected.  Although, I just checked an APA recipe I have in beersmith, and the difference in FG between a mash of 156 and one of 147 is 8 points.  So, you would have to have lost a LOT of heat...

[fakr]

I don't think the temp dipped down that low.  I typically lose 3-4 degrees during a 60 minute period.  My mash stabilized at 156F.  
I checked starch conversion at about the 50 minute mark and it was complete.  started collecting and recycling first runnings until clear, then started the transfer to the kettle at about the 60 minute mark.

[Chris Craig]

You should bring me the batch for "scientific" analysis.  

[fakr]

I'll definitely bring some to the 28th meeting for a tasting, be it in a bottle or growler.

I'll post later tonight what I find....has to be something obvious....

[Richard]

I don't heat my first runnings, and I've not had any issues like this. My FG is usually right around where it's supposed to be.

You probably don't take 2.5 hours

As for the conversion not being finished, well, it was likely finished before he even started sparging...at least close enough that it's wouldn't make that much of a difference.

I for one don't like the whole idea of conversion being "finished" as a measure of what you'd expect to result in terms of body... Conversion from amylopectin/amylose might be finished, but the ongoing reduction of sugars into simpler and simpler forms isn't done until the enzymes are de-activated; for Alpha-Amylase this isn't until 180F, so all the time you leave your wort sitting below that temperature, the alpha is still working. There are various other stages between amylopectin/amylose and mono/di/tri-saccharides - having fewer of these polysaccharides will contribute to lower body and higher fermentability. Stopping the mash immediately after conversion is complete as per an iodine test will result in a higher body than if you leave it to sit for 2.5 hours longer than your conversion rest...

The most likely explanation is that the temperature dropped more than he expected.

We already covered this

[fakr]

if the FG is actually 1.006 and my reading wasn't diluted with starsan, then I guess I'd have to go with Richard's explanation of the 2.5 hour sparge.

I didn't take a temp reading in the kettle, I just turned the burner on and off over and over to try and keep the wort temp up...I could very well have not hit 180F...

So if this is the case, and if I decided to batch sparge like this again, should I just ensure I maintain a kettle temp of at least 180F throughout the sparge?

And how do I reduce the length of time it takes to batch sparge?  maybe it's typically only done twice, where I did it 3?

I usually just keep an inch of water above the grain bed while sparging...