AG - What am I doing wrong/right?

[boypike]

Hi all,

Second attempt at AG brewing yesterday (trying to ignore the first where I dropped my thermometer in the mash, then clogged the kettle's filter with hops and had to pour it out via a sieve).

Was attempting a recipe from the Jon Finch book which can be seen at https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/house-pale-jon-finch/

Grain bill was

Crisp Pale Ale Malt (3500 grams)
Crisp Crystal Malt (500 grams)

and I was aiming for 19l in the fermenter with an OG of 1.049.

I ended up with 18l (not sure where I'm losing that 1 litre yet) with an OG of 1.044. I'm guessing that it was my mash which didn't extract as much sugar as the recipe would expect. According to my BeerSmith calculations I ended up with an mash efficiency of 67% which from what I've read on here/other forums is a little on the low side.

I batch sparged. The first runoff (11 litres) had a gravity reading of 1.056. I then added 11.8l of water back to the mash, gave it a stir, left it a little while then the runoff from that batch had a gravity reading of 1.020.

Would you expect the second runoff to have such a small reading compared to the first? If not, I guess that's what I need to look to improve somehow next time. If so, what else should I be trying/monitoring/measuring to attempt to improve on this next time?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

 

[The Baron]

Not a massive amount of hops in that recipe so shouldn't be too much hop blockage but why did you stir the mash again as the mash bed is meant to act as a filter bed and I think you have put the fine particles back into suspension and created a lot of trub that has blocked you up and probably why you are off your volume too. I would just sparge as one and not stir

 

[MickDundee]

67% is a fairly normal efficiency.

I used to get 65% every time until I got my BrewDevil and I hit 70% on my first brew with it.

If you use brewing software you can up the grain to give you the correct OG for your efficiency. It won’t need much.

 

[The Baron]

What Mick says is true it takes a while to perfect your brewing method and lift your Efficiency. I too use a single system and get 70% as a minimum and generally slightly more now but it is a matter of improving your technique which will come with more brews.

 

[boypike]

Thanks for the replies.

I did vorlauf again after adding the second lot of water and stirring.

I'll see what happens with the next brew.

 

[foxy]

Hi all,

Second attempt at AG brewing yesterday (trying to ignore the first where I dropped my thermometer in the mash, then clogged the kettle's filter with hops and had to pour it out via a sieve).

Was attempting a recipe from the Jon Finch book which can be seen at https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/house-pale-jon-finch/

Grain bill was

Crisp Pale Ale Malt (3500 grams)
Crisp Crystal Malt (500 grams)

and I was aiming for 19l in the fermenter with an OG of 1.049.

I ended up with 18l (not sure where I'm losing that 1 litre yet) with an OG of 1.044. I'm guessing that it was my mash which didn't extract as much sugar as the recipe would expect. According to my BeerSmith calculations I ended up with an mash efficiency of 67% which from what I've read on here/other forums is a little on the low side.

I batch sparged. The first runoff (11 litres) had a gravity reading of 1.056. I then added 11.8l of water back to the mash, gave it a stir, left it a little while then the runoff from that batch had a gravity reading of 1.020.

Would you expect the second runoff to have such a small reading compared to the first? If not, I guess that's what I need to look to improve somehow next time. If so, what else should I be trying/monitoring/measuring to attempt to improve on this next time?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

That's not to bad for a second attempt, what system are you using, brew in a bag, single vessel?
If you had 11 litres in the kettle then added another 11.8 litres ending up with 22.8 litres after loosing approximately 3.6 to grain, then a boil off of approximately 10% leaves just over 20 litres, then there is the loss to trub say 2 litres leaves you not far off what you ended up with. So if your mash efficiency is 67% dial that into your next recipe and add more liquor for the loss.
Total water should have been around 27 litres. As you go along you will be able to improve on the efficiency, and instead of being disappointed at the end of the brew day you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[dwhite60]

When I started all grain I kept a diary of EVERYTHING. Takes a few brews but your data starts showing the consistecies, and inconsistencies. You'll finally develop a sure fire system for YOUR gear.

Don't expect your results to be the same as anyone else's.

All the Best,
D. White