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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org


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Contents:
  Poor Attenuation ("John W. Zeller")
  Re: Poorly fermentable wort ("David Houseman")
  Re: Poorly fermentable wort (Joe Walts)


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Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2011 02:27:48 -0400
From: "John W. Zeller" <jwzell at cincic.com>
Subject: Poor Attenuation

Fred L Johnson inquired about why his beer is not finishing out 
sufficiently.  Well Fred, this is a very common problem for many home 
brewers.  You are far from alone.  Here's my read on the situation.  
IMO, your mash temperatures were too high.  I know that you think you 
had a good handle on the mash temperatures, but what I am trying to say 
is that the temps may have been much different than what you think they 
were.  This could be a problem with the thermometer(s) or possibly with 
your technique.  Direct firing a mash tun while manually stirring the 
grain bed is a very hit or miss way to go.  It certainly can be done, 
but it's very difficult to maintain uniform mash temperatures and there 
is a high risk of overheating the wort.  I don't know how your mash tun 
is set up, but if you are using a false bottom, remember that you cannot 
stir the wort below the FB and that is where the heat is being applied.  
You can circulate the wort manually, a la vorlaugh to keep the wort from 
pooling on the very hot kettle bottom.  My solution to the temperature 
control was to move up to a semi-autmatic direct fired RIMS.  Others 
will chime in and tell you that you probably under-pitched or did not 
properly aerate the wort, but the No. 1 suspect IMO is the mash 
temperature.  I would look there first and foremost.

 -john zeller
cincinnati





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Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2011 07:37:36 -0400
From: "David Houseman" <david.houseman at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: Poorly fermentable wort

Fred,

Was the 1.021 FG due to fermentable sugars or proteins?   With 50% wheat, my 
step mash schedule would have been more like 95oF for 15min acid rest, 
120-122oF for 20min protein rest, 130-132oF for a beta-glucan rest and then 
150oF saccraffication rest until conversion indicated with iodine test, then 
mashout (for solubility).   Perhaps the wort was adequately fermentable but 
the gravity is due to proteins.

David Houseman


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Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2011 09:00:12 -0500
From: Joe Walts <jwalts at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Poorly fermentable wort

I'd wager that your pilsner malt had insufficient beta amylase.  I
don't know if German pilsner malts usually have less beta amylase than
the Belgian pilsner malts usually used in witbiers, but it could be a
seasonal variation of the particular malt that you used.  My next
guess would be that heating your mash created hot spots that denatured
some of the beta amylase, which may have already been in short supply
due to the high proportion of adjuncts.  I don't think the raw wheat
was an issue because your efficiency was good, suggesting that both
starches and alpha amylase were abundant.  Did you test for large
starches in the wort?

Joe

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