Finally Chucked My Old Thermometer

[Bribie G]

As I mentioned in another thread recently about the temperature of boiling wort, I've had a faithful digital stick thermometer for about 4 years now - bought from CB and on the packaging it says "never needs calibrating". Fair enough. (I should point out that Ross hasn't stocked that model for several years now).

Over the last year my beers have just not been coming out "to style" - quite drinkable but just not what they used to be. So I bought a new stick thermo, just a cooking model from Target for about $9 and finally got round to calibrating the two with ice water and boiling water.

New Thermo: 0.00 and 99.5
Old Thermo: 7.1 and 106

Oh dear. So in the bin it's gone.
Will be interesting to see what difference. And no, the beers weren't turning out particularly "dry" despite the Urban myths on that subject. However they have been pretty mean hangover producers :icon_cheers:

And no I haven't tried sticking it up bum to test mid range as it's too far to drive to Victoria and I don't know his address

 

[squirt in the turns]

Will be interesting to see what difference. And no, the beers weren't turning out particularly "dry" despite the Urban myths on that subject. However they have been pretty mean hangover producers :icon_cheers:

Assume that by this you mean that they were over-attenuating? Or you were mashing 6 or 7 degrees under target and didn't extract many fermentables at all, depending on what the target temperature was? Was this reflected in gravity readings? Did you compensate with your mash temperatures at all?

 

[Nick JD]

And no I haven't tried sticking it up bum to test mid range as it's too far to drive to Victoria and I don't know his address

You couldn't get a thermometer up bum's arse. His head's in the way.

 

[benno1973]

Assume that by this you mean that they were over-attenuating? Or you were mashing 6 or 7 degrees under target and didn't extract many fermentables at all, depending on what the target temperature was? Was this reflected in gravity readings? Did you compensate with your mash temperatures at all?

I think he means that when he was looking to mash something high (like 70C) for a full bodied beer, his thermo read 70 but the actual temp was more like 63C which favours beta-amylase which (so theory goes) produces a more fermentable wort.

 

[squirt in the turns]

I think he means that when he was looking to mash something high (like 70C) for a full bodied beer, his thermo read 70 but the actual temp was more like 63C which favours beta-amylase which (so theory goes) produces a more fermentable wort.

Yep, so what if the target is, say, 66 or lower? Actual temperature would be 60 tops. What would happen? If the mash was long enough maybe the beta-amylase just produces an ultra-fermentable wort, but due to enzymes working slower at lower temps, a standard 1 hour mash might just give incomplete conversion?

 

[Bribie G]

Assume that by this you mean that they were over-attenuating? Or you were mashing 6 or 7 degrees under target and didn't extract many fermentables at all, depending on what the target temperature was? Was this reflected in gravity readings? Did you compensate with your mash temperatures at all?

Yes the alarm bells really rang last week when I did a mash that should have been around 62 then a ramp to 71 then a mashout.

After the first 40 mins at "62" on the old thermometer I noticed hardly any sweetness in the wort and it still looked milky / floury. Basically what I'd done was a 40 min protein rest, I guess. So I ramped it up and did another 40 mins at hopefully mid to high 60s, following which I'd got a fair bit of conversion. Then after a slow ramp with stirring to mashout and the wort came good in the end. That's why I didn't do a mash today without calibrating the thermometer first. Six or seven degrees out was a big shock.

I used the new Target stick today and it's come out textbook.