Missed my OG big time! Help!

I see brewers talking about Denny’s braid? Would you know anything about that? Can you send me in the right direction to check it out?[/quote]

This is the exact set up I use. It explains the stainless braid.

http://brewing.lustreking.com/gear/mashtun.html

[quote=“Bier brauer”]
I would love to get a brewing software program. I’m just not sure what to get. My wife bought me an Ipad last May, if Beersmith2 had a regular program for that I would buy that. I hear there is a program for the Ipad but don’t know much about it,Ibrewmaster I think? What do you recommend?[/quote]

Don’t get me wrong, you don’t “need” a program. But it does help you dial in many factors that come into play. I would love to recommend one but I’ve been using promash on windows for so long, I’m not familiar w/ the newer programs or those for your OS.
Just make sure it’s not just something geared toward your brew day and just keeps track of hop additions, etc. You want something that lets you build recipes and allows tailoring for your system and method of mashing.

I see Beer Tools has Apple OS but I’ve never used it. Maybe someone will comment on it.
Possibly BeerSmith also.

Maybe I should buy beersmith2 for the PC and Ibrewmaster for the Ipad, although I did hear a long time ago that beersmith was to come out with a new program for the Ipad but not sure when. I can see I need to change a few things with my mash process and equipment. I just learned that one big reason for my low OG may be due to the fact that I batch sparged too fast. I was done within 15 minutes. I probably didn’t give it enough time to do its thing.

[quote=“Bier brauer”]I just learned that one big reason for my low OG may be due to the fact that I batch sparged too fast. I was done within 15 minutes. I probably didn’t give it enough time to do its thing.[/quote]Not sure where you “learned” that, but it’s not true - I’m guessing that someone who fly-sparges said it and they don’t understand batch-sparging. When batch-sparging, all the wort in the mashtun is the same gravity and you can drain it as fast or as slow as you like, it won’t change the results.

[quote=“Bier brauer”]

I see brewers talking about Denny’s braid? Would you know anything about that? Can you send me in the right direction to check it out?[/quote]

Denny’s site is posted on the 1st page.

A variation is the Lustreking site listing on this page.

If you are brewing kits, you don’t need to purchase any software. Mashwater3.3 is a free program one of the members built. It will give you the water volumes needed.

http://gnipsel.com/beer/software/beer-software.html

You can use a free recipe software (Qbrew) if you start to make your own recipes.

There are a number of Excel based spreadsheets that people have put together and are available for download.

Also, if you’re in a financial pinch and haven’t read it before, John Palmer’s book is available entirely, for free, online. Section 3 should be of some use:

http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/index.html

I want to thank everyone for your replies. They are most helpful! I’m going to add a screen or pick up tube to the mash kettle, next I will have to refine my process somewhat. Thanks again! :cheers:

Just thought I would report how this mess of a beer turned out. After force carb. At 35 psi for 3 days, I dumped the pressure off, placed the cornie in the beer machine then pressurized to 11 psi. The beer is very thin, no body to it. But if you are a hop head, this stuff is over the top. I Can only guess why. I followed the directions to the letter, except for me adding water during the boil. (2 gallons worth) The hop flavor knocked my socks off. I like IPA’s once in a while, but I never had anything with this much hop flavor before. It is not too bitter. I guess due to the fact I thinned the beer, the hops are the dominant flavor.