Last check?

jon462 · September 18, 2012, 8:23pm

Here is what I plan on doing using all the information I gathered from this website you tube and a few other places. If you have any last minute suggestions I am open.

Grain bill is 91/4 or 9.25 using the suggested grain to water ratio of 1.33/lb I come up with a neede strike water of 12.3 qt or 3 gal. Scince I am using a square cooler simmilar to Denny’s (http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/ )I figured on absorbation rate of .1/gal for me it is .9 I am calling it 1gal. cause I hate math and love easy numbers.

So with this I would get about 2 gal of wort (3Gal strike minus 1 gal absorbed), so because I am trying to get a 7gal boil I want 3.5 from first running so I will add 1.5 gallons of boiling water stir water let sit for afew min than drain. After vorlaf and all is drained I will add 3.5 gallons of boiling water stirring letting sit for ten minutes and drain to kettel to start the boil. If this seems right or way off let me know. I have about 45 min before I start

nighthawk · September 18, 2012, 8:43pm

Sounds about right. You can download Mashwater 3.3 to help with the water calculations.

http://suburb.semo.net/jet1024/beer/sof ... tware.html

There will be some loss in the MT. And depending on how you siphon, in the BK. I would keep an extra gallon of water available to sparge with if you come up short on your preboil volume.

shadetree · September 18, 2012, 8:47pm

Don’t add the sparge at boiling, 180F is good, but boiling might push you up over 170F with the grain and if you’re not checking and adjusting pH you run the risk of extracting excess tannins.

jon462 · September 18, 2012, 9:02pm

Thanks a ton 180 it is. I just started crazy excited as this is my first all grain…Was going to do it Sat but well stuf happens.

jon462 · September 18, 2012, 10:12pm

Ok I got my strike water to 160is and my mash temp was 154, After an hour I took the next temp and it was at 143 is this a problem, should I invest in a new cooler. or is this normal…?

shadetree · September 18, 2012, 10:55pm

Add some insulation - blankets work well - until you can get a deal on a better cooler. Look for a “five day” type, like MaxCool.

As far as dropping the temp so low, it’s not a problem, but you might need to extend the mash time a little to ensure conversion. You could add some boiling water to boost the temp, too.

jon462 · September 19, 2012, 2:17am

Well turned out pretty bad, I mean it tasted fine off the hydro test but it only read 1.030, recipe 1.056 so I am little depressed. Would the temp loss affect it that much?

nighthawk · September 19, 2012, 3:39am

Give your full recipe. 9.25lb of grain is light for a 1.054 beer. That probably 80% efficiency. Until you have a handle on things, shoot for 70%. Where did you get the grains crushed? If from the store, their mill is probably set to keep you from getting a stuck sparge. Thus it doesn’t give a great crush. Try crushing them 2 times. Or add an extra pound or two of 2row to get the gravity reading you want.

Some DME is not a bad idea to keep on hand for last minute adjustments.

How big is your cooler? Lot’s of open space on top of the grain will make it harder to maintain the temp you want. Blankets outside may help. Or you could fashion some pink foam board to fill the dead space.

jon462 · September 19, 2012, 4:07am

My cooler is 32 qt square, it has the small door on top. I wrapped it in blankets because I have seen this done before. IT is an older cooler about 13 years or so. I will try a few things next time just a little depressed is all.

hd4mark · September 19, 2012, 12:13pm

The first 15 min or so of the mash is when most everything happens so the temp drop may not have been a problem. An iodine test will confirm conversion though. Take a tablespoon full of just the liquid from the mash, drop it onto a white saucer or something and let it cool. Drip one drop of iodine from the drug store onto it. If it turns very dark, almost black, no conversion. If it stays brown you are good to go. Any of the iodine on solids from the mash like hulls will turn dark so don’t worry. Toss the sample as iodine is poisonous. Sorry if you already know this.

I plugged 9.25 2 row for 5 gallons into ProMash and it comes up more like 1.050 so a 1.054 would be a stretch. A 1.030 will be a very light beer but as said some DME could save it. If not why not go on and call it a session beer just for the practice of making some beer?

I also have to question who and how was the grain crushed. If you are never hitting your expected OG it is cheap just to add more grain. You will know after using your system more how to tweak it.

jon462 · September 19, 2012, 12:25pm

I crushed at the HB store, I knew about some HB stores having cheaper grain mills so I asked and he asured me he never had a probablem and he uses it. After I saw the low OG I boiled up a bit of brown sugar cooled and added it so that should help a bit. Never thought about the iodine test so thanks for that.

This was my first all grain, I wanted to get a new cooler but I am quite cheap. I have two beers in carboys now so I have time before my next batch so I should be able to make the investment.

Thanks all for the help.