Nearly lost a whole batch to a bad temp probe in Columbus

I was running a 50 gallon batch of beer at a brewery in Columbus last spring. The thermowell probe gave me a false reading by 12 degrees, and I didn't catch it until the mash was already way too hot. I had to dump the whole thing and start over, lost about $300 in grain alone. Anyone else had a probe screw up their numbers like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

henryp4015d ago

Shake my head, I'd probably blame the ghost in the machine first.

avery_flores1715d ago

Wait, did you check if the probe was actually calibrated or if it just drifted over time? I read somewhere that thermowell probes can get gunked up with residue and throw off readings by 5-10 degrees without you knowing. This one guy on another forum said he had a probe that was reading 148 when the actual temp was 162 and he didn't catch it for like 15 minutes into the mash. Worth getting a second cheap thermometer to double check next time, just saying.

mary_west15d ago

Yeah that's a really good point. Could've been a calibration issue the whole time and nobody would've known. Definitely worth picking up a cheap backup thermometer to double check before ruining a whole batch.