EMERGENCY!!

[Speyedr]

I think my BEST bet is to actually READ my thermometer and TRUST what it says, but if that fails me (again) I appreciate the tips, and even the bad musical lyrics.. You can be sure that if this sort of thing happens again I will be humming Vanilla Ice...

Everything looks OK right now. I pitched a 2qt starter yesterday around 4pm and now at 10:10am things are churning away as normal. I expect my Wife to bitch about the smell in the pantry any minute now .....ahhhhh there it is

We'll see how long this primary lasts...

I'll keep you all posted.

Rob

[Lufah]

What did your OG turn out to be?

Travis

[Speyedr]

OG was fine, 1.053. Would that have been effected? I figured the amount of disolved sugars wouldn't change much, just the MAKEUP of those sugars, i.e. unfermentables instead of fermentables.. But it's a fermentin'!

Specific gravity just measures disolved solids in the wort, right? I used to be hardcore into Reef tTanks and used a refractometer to check salinity. In Homebrewing some people use the same device (I sold mine) to check SG, but it is the same thing. The only difference is the actual substance that is disolved.

[Lufah]

I don't know. If you killed your enzymes would the starches come into solution? Or if you don't convert them do they stay in the grain? Anyone?

Travis

[bub]

A refractometer or hydrometer will measure the disolved solids in water in the form of specific gravity for a hydrometer, the way it bends light for a refractometer.
You got some conversion from starch to sugars, what kind of sugars is unknown. You could have a bunch of unfermentables in there and get a sweeter beer. You probably don't have any long chain starches, I don't think they would come out of the mash that well. probably just had your high temp amalayse working and not your low temp amylase. (cant remember which is which alpha or beta.) You get beer, just how it tastes will be the key.
BUB

[Speyedr]

You got some conversion from starch to sugars, what kind of sugars is unknown. You could have a bunch of unfermentables in there and get a sweeter beer. ..probably just had your high temp amalayse working and not your low temp amylase. (cant remember which is which alpha or beta.)
BUB

Well, it's still fermenting away nicely as of this morning.. LOTS of activity in there and a healthy Krausen too, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Also, Beta is low temp, but as I said above, according to Palmer it can live 40-50min at 150f, so I may have gotten the temp down in time to save some of them too... hopefully.

I'll keep ya posted. Should rack this Thursday or so and I always taste when I rack

Rob

[Big Chooch]

why not just do a check on it with some idophor at the end to see if you got conversion?

This may be a stupid question, but what is this that you speak of? This conversion test.

New to all grain.

Thanx

Chooch

[seanhagerty]

If you get some of your wort and put it on a white saucer, then put a drop of idophor next to it when they mix a bit, they turn really dark in the presence of starch. So, if you havent given you mash enough time to convert all the starches to fermentables you will see a dark spot.

One caution, you must make sure you do not have ANY husks or grain bits it will interfere with the reading and mak it go dark. B very careful about this.