Overnight Mashing

simple one · Post by **simple one** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:01 pm

Does anyone have any bad experiences of overnight mashing/long mashes?

Things usually quoted are a low fg, thin beer, no head, fizzyness and mash infections/sourness. Has anyone had problems first hand.

Also good to hear from those that use this. What are your timings, temperatures and method.

Maldon John · Post by **Maldon John** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:43 pm

Far from being an expert on this I did an overnight mash( Full volume BIAB) with a EPA a few weeks ago. Mash start was 72c, mash finish( 9 hrs later) 59c. Very high mash efficiency. Turned out a pretty good beer. Finished Slightly lower than usual for the yeast(SO4) and a little drier. No noticeable issues with this first attempt.

Dennis King · Post by **Dennis King** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:49 pm

I've done 2 overnights, and got stuck mashes on both, the only times it's happened to me.

simple one · Post by **simple one** » Tue Oct 25, 2016 6:00 pm

Cheers John.

Oh dear Dennis, I take it you don't have a false bottom/BIAB. Worth knowing that the mash compacts that much.

oliver tate · Post by **oliver tate** » Tue Oct 25, 2016 11:25 pm

The vast majority of beers I brew are pale hoppy beers. I have time to get home from work on my lunch break, put a mash on and come back to it 5 hours later after finishing work. I get 80-85% efficiency, temp drops by 5-6 degrees from strike temp of 68 (bit more in winter). They all finish around 1010 and never feel too thin, my pales are right where I want them to be and have never had a problem that I would associate with this long mash time. Bit shorter than an over night mash but it works.
This is using biab and solely for pales. If I do a stout I just mash for an hour.

The benefit for me is splitting the brew day. I am home for 5.45-6pm and all done by 9pm

PhilB · Post by **PhilB** » Wed Oct 26, 2016 11:42 am

Hi simple one

Have a read of the information over there (link) ... the main pros and cons around overnight mashing, and the steps you need to take to ensure success, are discussed there.

If you experience or are worried about a stuck mash from grain settlement then you could add enough boiling water to raise to mashout temps, and stir the mash and allow it to resettle before commencing sparging, to help

... but I've never had to do that when I've done an overnight mash

Cheers, PhilB

simple one · Post by **simple one** » Wed Oct 26, 2016 12:02 pm

Phil,

Cheers. That does put my mind at rest over a few issues. Especially tannin extraction (for haze issues) and over fermentability.

Dennis King · Post by **Dennis King** » Wed Oct 26, 2016 1:18 pm

simple one wrote:Cheers John.

Oh dear Dennis, I take it you don't have a false bottom/BIAB. Worth knowing that the mash compacts that much.

I mash in a standard cool box with copper strainer.

laithclark · Post by **laithclark** » Wed Oct 26, 2016 5:49 pm

I almost always overnight mash as it saves so much time on the brew day. I've never had a mash or indeed finished beer issue as a result.

I use a 5 gallon igloo cooler with a false bottom to mash in. I always wrap it up well with bubble wrap and a few old coats and only lose about 10 degrees overnight. In winter I mash in the kitchen rather than the garage just to help maintain the temperature

Gastronaut · Post by **Gastronaut** » Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:17 pm

I tend to mash in the evening (standard length mash), then leave the wort in the kettle overnight on a timer switch set to start about 20 minutes before I get up the next morning. No problems with this so far.

simple one · Post by **simple one** » Thu Oct 27, 2016 2:07 pm

Gastronaut wrote:I tend to mash in the evening (standard length mash), then leave the wort in the kettle overnight on a timer switch set to start about 20 minutes before I get up the next morning. No problems with this so far.

That's an interesting way of doing it. Never crossed my mind to do it like that.

TheSumOfAllBeers · Post by **TheSumOfAllBeers** » Fri Oct 28, 2016 10:33 am

Timer plugs are awesome for doing unattended setup. So many ways of cheaply kicking things off without you being there.

For Sunday morning brew days, with my old kit I would set the BIAB kettle to start heating to strike at 6am. I would get up at 7am, make sure it's at strike, and mash in. Lid on, wrap it up and go back to bed.

Now with my bigger kettle, heat to strike takes longer, around 90 mins +.

So set it to come on at 5pm, arrive home 6:30 check strike and mash in

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