Yesterday I had a bunch of friends over to have a good time, grill out, and observe the brewing process. Everything was going fine until people showed up and it starting thunderstorming. With all the guests I could not give my beer to be the attention that it needed. The boil was hardly a boil and I only managed to boil off a half gallon of wort over a 60 minute boil. Maybe it was the rain constantly trying to get in it or just the humidity. The wind didn't help things out either and I was constantly worrying about my flame going out. That in combination with trying to prepare food and chat it up made for an exhausting night. Apparently the homebrew is pretty good though because my friends pounded it and almost cleaned me out. Thank goodness for secret stashes!
After most of the crowd had left I checked my gravity and it appears that I only got a measly 57% efficiency. (I normally run right at 70%) I have been having problems with keeping my temperature up on the mash but luckily that didn't give me too much trouble this time. I still can't get my sparge temperature high enough even when I am sparging with 180 degree water....it is max 160. (fly sparging)
The recipe I found on here was
Bavarian Weizenbier
7lb wheat malt
4lb pilsner malt
1.5 oz hallertau - 60 min
.5 oz hallertau - 20 min
did single infusion with 3.5 gallons of water
My main question is though...since this is my first time using wheat....are wheat recipes prone to having lower efficiencies or did my distractions and mother natures fiery prevent me from getting everything I could out of this wort? My SG was 1.040...still within the range but on the opposite side from where I wanted it.
After most of the crowd had left I checked my gravity and it appears that I only got a measly 57% efficiency. (I normally run right at 70%) I have been having problems with keeping my temperature up on the mash but luckily that didn't give me too much trouble this time. I still can't get my sparge temperature high enough even when I am sparging with 180 degree water....it is max 160. (fly sparging)
The recipe I found on here was
Bavarian Weizenbier
7lb wheat malt
4lb pilsner malt
1.5 oz hallertau - 60 min
.5 oz hallertau - 20 min
did single infusion with 3.5 gallons of water
My main question is though...since this is my first time using wheat....are wheat recipes prone to having lower efficiencies or did my distractions and mother natures fiery prevent me from getting everything I could out of this wort? My SG was 1.040...still within the range but on the opposite side from where I wanted it.