Santa's Helper 1.060...wtf

Brewed D.Conn’s Santas Helper. Beersmith says 1.082 but I got 1.060

malt bill was for a 5 gallon batch:
15 #munich malt
1# caramunich (ooops. shoulds been 8oz)
1oz carafa 1

mashed @ 150F for 60 min
5.5 gallons into fermentor.

Did not take pre-boil gravity readings.

I have changed nothing in my system and have been consistently within 2-3 points of Beersmith on previous brews.

Should I expect lower efficiency with an all munich beer? Should I have mashed for 90 minutes instead of 60?

I use a Crankandstein at factory settings and have averaged 75-78% efficiency. Do I need to crank that baby down a bit? I’ve been happy with results so far.

Water? I’m in Chicago suburbs and use city water…treat with campden only. Have yet to get a water report but plan to soon.

Just looking for a bit of input as to what to expect flavor wise or what I did wrong. I know there are many factors at play here, but I’m curious as everything has been fairly predictable up until this brew.

T

I’ll have to check my notes when I’m home, but 1.080 is WAY high, no matter what Beersmith says.

Beersmith (2) appears to regularly undershoot my efficiency AND overshoot my estimated OG. I get the OGs predicted by the Norther Brewer AG brewsheets, for example, where Beersmith predicts a value 0.005 to 0.008 higher. Beersmith calculated my efficiency as 72-73%, but Kai’s efficiency spreadsheet calculated it at 78%.

I like Beersmith, but I think additional work needs to be done to tighten up the calculations. I haven’t seen any updates on the software in a while; I think he’s been working solely on the mobile apps.

Can’t you input your efficiency? I think I did that and I have been really close on all my numbers

BS indicated 57.8%. I have been consistently 75-78% and that is what caught my attention. BS may be off a little but I have been consistent, and that is more important to me than absolute numbers…at least for now.

At some point today while the boss-man was chewin my fanny about something that wasn’t even in my realm of responsibility it dawned on me that the braid in my mash tun was suspended halfway through the grainbed (noticed when I cleaned out the tun). Oh, yeah. It was a batch sparge with nearly equal runnings.

I gotta think that may have had something to do with a drop in efficiency.

I suppose I may have just answered my own question. The only differnce between this brew nd previous brews has been the position of the braid in the mash, and the grain bill of course.

I will weight the braid and rebrew. Does this sound plausible?

I cannot imagine how the braid position would affect efficiency. It still leads back to the valve. Sugar extracted is sugar extracted.

FWIW, I got poor efficiency when I brewed this recipe, too. I put it down to the Munich not having enough diastatic power to fully convert itself, but that was just a theory after the fact, and I don’t know which maltster I used. You could look to see if you can find info for the malt you used, as it seems to vary quite a bit. The beer still tasted great, though.

I’m not sure how braid position would effect efficiency either, Just bouncing ideas around. It was one of the variables that were changed in this brew, though, so it caught my attention.

The other variable was the grain and never having used a mostly munich grainbill I wasn’t sure what to expect. Still don’t.

I’m gonna get a water report in the near future so I will have that much more info at my disposal.

On the plus side the fermentation was substantial after 10 hours. Used Denny’s Favorite ( 'cuz I had a slurry from a previous batch) and it’s cooking right along @63F. It smells outstanding.

[quote=“A National Acrobat”]BS indicated 57.8%. I have been consistently 75-78% and that is what caught my attention. BS may be off a little but I have been consistent, and that is more important to me than absolute numbers…at least for now.

At some point today while the boss-man was chewin my fanny about something that wasn’t even in my realm of responsibility it dawned on me that the braid in my mash tun was suspended halfway through the grainbed (noticed when I cleaned out the tun). Oh, yeah. It was a batch sparge with nearly equal runnings.

I gotta think that may have had something to do with a drop in efficiency.

I suppose I may have just answered my own question. The only differnce between this brew nd previous brews has been the position of the braid in the mash, and the grain bill of course.

I will weight the braid and rebrew. Does this sound plausible?[/quote]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I REALLY doubt that has anything to do with it. Why wuld the braid position matter? Mine regularly floats and I avaerage 83-85% efficiency.

[quote=“A National Acrobat”]I’m not sure how braid position would effect efficiency either, Just bouncing ideas around. It was one of the variables that were changed in this brew, though, so it caught my attention.

The other variable was the grain and never having used a mostly munich grainbill I wasn’t sure what to expect. Still don’t.

I’m gonna get a water report in the near future so I will have that much more info at my disposal.

On the plus side the fermentation was substantial after 10 hours. Used Denny’s Favorite ( 'cuz I had a slurry from a previous batch) and it’s cooking right along @63F. It smells outstanding.[/quote]

Next time you brew it, try to get some 1007. You’ll end up with a much crisper beer.

Munich does have low diastatic power, but does have enough to self convert (barely). You may need a longer mash rest (90 min) or a mashout to realize the full conversion. On grain bills like this, it is a good idea to take a mash gravity reading and compare to the theoretical yield to see if you are ‘done’ before running off.

Not really much of a bubble to burst, just looking for someone else’s experience.

Denny, if your braid floats and you are getting great efficiency then I trust that is not the issue. I’m not really all that sure that mine has not in previous brews…never noticed or even looked.

Next time I will mash for 90 minutes and take readings. I will also try the 1007.

Thanx guys.

:cheers:

[quote=“A National Acrobat”]Not really much of a bubble to burst, just looking for someone else’s experience.

Denny, if your braid floats and you are getting great efficiency then I trust that is not the issue. I’m not really all that sure that mine has not in previous brews…never noticed or even looked.

Next time I will mash for 90 minutes and take readings. I will also try the 1007.

Thanx guys.

:cheers: [/quote]

Think of it this way…all the draining happens at the outlet. The tube is porous…wort doesn’t enter at one end and flow down it. I have gotten equal results with. 2 in. and a 2 ft. braid.