I mashed for 75 minutes, sparged for 75, and boiled for 75,
the recipe was…
9 # 2row
.75 # carahell
.5 # caramunich
.25 # choco rye
I was aiming at 1.054 and hit 1.042
I would have made corrections but my pre boil gravity read 1.090.
This whole brew was a mess from the start.
I’m not sure where I’m going wrong that my numbers are off by so much.
If you have any thoughts, I’m desperate!
Thanks in advance!
that doesn’t make sense to me. how is your pre-boil gravity higher than post boil? maybe your thermometer and/or hydrometer aren’t giving accurate readings.
Im assuming you fly sparged…what was your mash volume and sparge volume?
I collected 7 gallons and boiled down to about 6.5.
i have no idea how the starting gravity was so crazy high. it was really weird.
[quote=“Gr8abe”]I collected 7 gallons and boiled down to about 6.5.
i have no idea how the starting gravity was so crazy high. it was really weird.[/quote]
Yeah IDK…i think your hydrometer is faulty cause it impossible for your preboil gravity to be higher then your post boil…Get some plain water and check your hydrometer it should read 1.000 if it does not get a new hydrometer.
I looked at beersmith and realized that I had the recipe in as a 5 gallon, but collected 6, would an extra gallon account for that much of a difference?
Yes an extra gallon is about 20% additional volume and that is in the same ballpark as how far your gravity is off.
How in the world do you sparge for 75 minutes?
How do you boil for 75 minutes and only lose .5 gallons? I lose 2 gallons in a 60 minute boil.
+1 to all comments.
The sparge was a slow and a total pain in the A$$.
As for the boil I’ve found that the 1 gallon (approx) per hour boil off has (for some reason) never been the case for me, I lose about a .5 gallon. My pot that I cook in has a domed lip, so steam doesn’t escape straight out of the top, but rather anything the might ride up the side of the keg wall might condense and roll back into the wort. That’s my best guess anyways.
Either way it seems that over collecting was the downfall of this brew, it’ll still be a decent session beer (4.5%) but not as strong as I hoped for.
[quote=“Gr8abe”]The sparge was a slow and a total pain in the A$$.
As for the boil I’ve found that the 1 gallon (approx) per hour boil off has (for some reason) never been the case for me, I lose about a .5 gallon. My pot that I cook in has a domed lip, so steam doesn’t escape straight out of the top, but rather anything the might ride up the side of the keg wall might condense and roll back into the wort. That’s my best guess anyways.
Either way it seems that over collecting was the downfall of this brew, it’ll still be a decent session beer (4.5%) but not as strong as I hoped for.[/quote]
My first All Grain batch was NB’s Petite Saison, came in at 1.042 OG and is absolutely delicious. Roll with it, double check your measuring equipment before next use.
I would look into batch sparging. It got me back into brewing after a long hiatus.
I find my trusty wooden brewing spoon with measurement notches very helpful in keeping a tab on boiloff rate so I don’t have any surprises.
you cant have a higher preboil.
Temps of the sample will have an effect to, you need to correct for temps but it is not going to be that much. SOmething is very very off
when I first took the PB gravity reading, the temp was very hot, and the grav. read 1.100 right on the money. so I let it cool down to the mid 70’s and read it again, did the temp corrections and it read 1.090. I’ve never seen this before, ever. It was a brand new, fresh out of the box thermometer, so maybe that had something to do with it? I dunno.
I took another sample using tap water took the temp and cross checked it with an older hydromemter, and they were about .002 off from each other, but that doesn’t explain why my PB was so crazily high.
[quote=“Gr8abe”]when I first took the PB gravity reading, the temp was very hot, and the grav. read 1.100 right on the money. so I let it cool down to the mid 70’s and read it again, did the temp corrections and it read 1.090. I’ve never seen this before, ever. It was a brand new, fresh out of the box thermometer, so maybe that had something to do with it? I dunno.
I took another sample using tap water took the temp and cross checked it with an older hydromemter, and they were about .002 off from each other, but that doesn’t explain why my PB was so crazily high.[/quote]
it wasn’t that high, there was a really messed up reading somehow. If you hit 1.042 for OG you preboil was probably around 1.034 or so.
Reading 1.100 is very high in sugar…water should be 1.000.
Most are calibrated to 62 degrees, some I think 67 or so
