Comment on Potential reasons for undershooting gravity
SpiderShoeCult@sopuli.xyz 3 months ago
Why are you heating your strike water to 71C? is it enough when adding room temp grain to cool down to your target mash (I wonder if you’re not accidentally destroying some enzymes)? What about the age of the grain? Enzymatic activity drops the longer grain is stored. Maybe you got a very old batch?
Using and AIO system, it should have the ability to control temp during the mash. I use one myself and a general all rounder mash program would be this: add the grain at around 45-54 C, then let it ramp up to 63. Hold for about an hour, ramp to 72, hold 10-30 minutes and then mash out at 78. Sparge at 78. I’d rather start too cold than too hot. Plus, there’s some other enzymes in there that work at low temps but get denatured at 63+ (like proteases and beta-glucanases).
Aarkon@discuss.tchncs.de 3 months ago
71 °C is the temperature that will drop down to 67 when adding the room temperature grains, yes. The grains are also fresh, I bought them only a couple of months ago and stored them in air tight buckets with click- or screw on-lids ever since.
I know about the purpose of a step mash and my last two brew days involved them, yet without benefit. What I picked though up is that given today’s grains, starting the mash as low as 50 might even be detrimental to the head retention as the proteases might eat away more protein than required. But on this, I’m only reciting theory learned elsewhere and can’t speak from experience.
plactagonic@sopuli.xyz 3 months ago
I just read comments here for the last few days. But what I would try is start lower, the 78°C temperature denaturates alpha and beta amylase, you are well under that temperature but guy from brewing institute here suggested to me few years ago that 64°C is optimal for malts nowadays (in home setups).
Other than that as suggested in other comments check flow and your malt crushing.
Iodine test may point you in right direction, it may occur in sparge - negative starch test, or before that - positive starch test before sparge.