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I have done quite a few corn and malted barley mashes in the past but on a small (6-8 gallons) scale. I tried a 20 gallon mash today and the starch didn’t convert. Not sure if I didn’t have the right barley or it was still too hot at the bottom of the barrel and it killed it. Can I add hot water to bring the temp up and try again tomorrow or is the mash lost?
Thanks in advance for any help, Jason

I'm a novice, and would probably try to convert it to see if I could. It seems hard to heat corn up again without scorching. Maybe better to re-add barley now if you have it and the mash is still hot?

At least corn is probably the cheapest ingredient if you need to start over....

I don’t have the materials to add right now. I just hate to throw away 20 gallons of mash I spent hours working on.

jasonz02 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 5:40 pm Can I add hot water to bring the temp up and try again tomorrow or is the mash lost?

Yes. Try again

Might be a good idea to invest in some liquid enzymes.

jasonz02 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 6:47 pm I don’t have the materials to add right now. I just hate to throw away 20 gallons of mash I spent hours working on.

No reason to, pull a big portion of the watery liquid to boil (reference decoction mash), add more malt once you get the temp straight. It will probably turn out really great!

8Ball wrote: ↑Mon Nov 15, 2021 6:38 am Might be a good idea to invest in some liquid enzymes.

+1

Mitigates a lot of risk. And saves money in the “end game”.
ss

Any Angel Yeast available?

thanks for all the help. I will search angel yeast, never heard of that The liquid enzymes need to be added at different temps correct? I have never had a problem before with the smaller batches, I think the lower level of corn was holding on to a higher temp

Try out these threads:

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... ilit=angel

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 39&t=72779

Read through this thread and look at the use of Sebstar HTL / Sebamyl GL and rice hulls to loosen the mash. The results from not doing those things are in the first post.
https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... 11&t=84742

Stir more; when you mash in stir until you feel like its excessive, make sure you have no dough balls remaining (dough balls never release their starches and sugars). When you are ready to add enzymes stir hard, let it settle for about 10 mins then check the temp a few inches below the surface.

You could use additional malt, making the mash again if you don't have enzymes ...

I mashed corn without liquid enzymes once and only once. Now it's a permanent thing in my fridge.