[quote=“JohnnyB”]Ok, that makes sense with my calculations too.
So since the grains are already mixed I would just use all of them and adjust the finished wort volume up a little bit.
If we assume you get 70% efficiency, adjusting the final wort volume to 1.4 gallons gives you just about 1.053 starting gravity.
Maybe then split the wort into two 1 gallon fermentors so you don’t waste any?[/quote]
i could do that.
my wife is supposed to pick up a 2 or 3 gallon bucket from the bakery dept from one of the local grocery stores. that way i will only have to use 1 fermentor.
Are you using any calculators to help you develop this?
I understand that your LHBS has been helping you, but it’s always a good idea to double check yourself.
There are free calculators online, or you can use the trial version of Beersmith to build a recipe. Makes it very easy to add/subtract grains or hops or whatever for the right target OG and right IBU depending on your style. You can also put your estimated efficiency in and go from there.
I agree with everything else posted, if you’re not using any sort of extract then you’re doing all-grain. For one gallon batches it’s best and easiest to BIAB. Even 5 gallon batches can be done BIAB. Most people switch to a mash tun if they go to 10+ gallon batches. All-grain isn’t difficult but there are certain things that you need to know that are more important. Temperature is big. Like was posted, in an PA you want more fermentable sugar so mash a little on the lower end. For a one gallon batch, 60 min is fine. I mashed my PA at about 150 and a little longer than 60 (about 75) but it was a five gallon batch. It fermented very nicely, the yeast seemed happy.
If you plan on going bigger one day, get a hydrometer. For now, a refractometer will work for your gravity readings since it only requires a small sample. Remember to convert when using a refractometer on a finished beer (alcohol alters the reading).
I do plan on doing 3 or 5 gallon batches later in the year. Just want to get my feet wet with 1 gallon batches and gain experience. I will get a hydrometer later as I dont have the volume to use it now with such a small batch.
The LHBS has helped but they are an hour away. With that said, I went there Saturday to pick up the grains etc I ordered for the SNPA recipe they formulated from a recipe I provided.
Once I posted and received replies, I did download the trial version of beersmith and checked the recipe and it was different than what the LHBS provided.
I ordered a bag today and it should arrive by Friday and I can get this brewed Saturday. Now I am trying to figure out the pre-boil volume etc using biabcalculator.com.
I entered the following into biabcalculator.com.
Grain bill: 2.7 lb (weighed at the LBHS)
Temp: 70 degrees
batch size: 1.4 gallons (provided by Johnny B)
Mash temp: 153
boil time: 60 min
kettle size: 5 gallon
trub: .25
boil off rate: 1 gallon per hour
grain absorbtion: .045 gallons per lb of grain
Results:
total water needed: 2.81 gallons ( I assume this is the amount of water going into the kettle)
strike temp water: 157 degrees
total mash volume: 3.03 gallons
pre boil wort: 2.69 gallons
post boil wort: 1.69 gallons
into fermentor: 1.4 gallons
I then took the recipe and entered it into brewers friend calculator and here’s the results:
OG: 1.074
FG: 1.014
ABV: 7.89%
IBU: 80.55
The IBU’s are way too high for me. I would need to cut back on the Cascade and the times to get it close to 40.
I entered the same info into brewgr and the results differ:
OG: 1.053
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 37.5
Efficiency: 70%
So now I am a bit confused.
You are either entering something different in the two calculators, or some default settings are drastically different between the calculators.
For the OG problem verify:
- The grains are entered the same
- The efficiency is the same
- The final wort volume is the same
For the IBU problem
- The hops are entered the same
- The preboil AND postboil volumes are the same (And some calculators ask you to enter average wort volume)
- The hop AA units are entered the same (Some calculators provide an estimate for each hop type but you should override that with the actual AA that you find on the package)
A difference of 80 IBU versus 40 seems like it’s almost certainly a problem with wort volumes imo.
Anyway my estimate of 1.053 OG assumes 70% efficiency and a final volume of 1.4 gallons after cooling. You may then end up leaving trub behind going into the fermentor. If you only boil down to something like 1.8 gallons, and transfer 1.4 gallons, then the OG is going to be lower than 1.053.
I’ll re-check the entries. It’s very possible I entered something wrong.
I re-checked my entries in Brewgr and Brewers Friend and I must have made an error somewhere.
Here’s the results:
Brewers Friend:
OG: 1.053 / FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.65%
IBU: 50.23
I changed the AA for cascade hops to 5.8 in both calculators.
Brewegr
OG: 1.053
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.6%
IBU: 39.5
Everything was entered exactly in each calculator however the IBU’s are still off.
I’m going to roll with it and see what happens. I may adjust the hop schedule a little to reduce the IBU’s some.
I’m not too surprised about the IBUs being off a little bit.
The calculated IBUs depend on a hop utilization calculation which depends on the length of the boil and the gravity of the wort. Of course, the gravity of the wort changes as it is boiled down and its volume changes.
Some calculators feed different values to the utilization calculation for the volume (and hence the gravity) of the wort. Different ways of doing it can be:
- Ask you for the average wort volume
- Sum the starting and ending volume and divide by 2
- Just use the starting or ending volume
Just find a calculator or spreadsheet that you like and stick with it for consistency.
Thanks to everyone who responded. I appreciate the help.
Planning on giving this a try on Friday or Saturday. Will update when complete.
