Extremely Low OG - need help

I am new to AG brewing/brewing in general. I built a three teir Keg system. all of my batches have had low og reading 1.0125 to 1.020. and I can't figure out where things go wrong.

Last attempt: Irish Red Ale (AG kit from Midwest brew)
9lbs - 2 row
12oz - carmel 40
4oz - Special Malt
4oz- roasted barley

Mash in: 152 - 3.31gallons (+2gallon for dead space under bulkhead)
Mash out: fly sparge 170 - 5 gallons

pre boil volume 7 gallons, (1.5 boil off and .5 deadspace under bulkhead)
post boil volume 5.25 gallons

took OG after boil cool at 80 degrees. even with the add-back the OG is way low.

Mash tun was tipped to get the bottom wert (appox 2 gallons of beautiful amber color wert)

I have a bazooka screen attached to the bulkhead, but I don't think the design matters as I tip the mash tun.

iodine test confirmed that I had no starches.

I don't have bubles in the airlock of fermenter.

Hydrometer reads 1.000 in water.

Any suggestions would be helpful

Hi Steve:

If you're sure you're getting all of the wort out of the tun I would suggest making sure you mash in well. No dough balls, even distribution of your hot water..... 9#'s of 2-row out to get you plenty of fermentables at 152. I would check your thermometer against a few others and make sure it's not off.

Also check your crush. That's a biggie that could throw your efficiency WAY off.

I know you said you did a starch test - but how long are you mashing? Perhaps a longer mash time will help improve extract efficiency.

I'm sure others will add - but those are just my initial thoughts.

When you say "mash in at 152" you're saying you had stable 152 temp before you "put it away" for mashing? What was the temp of strike water? Do you insulate mash and leave it alone or maintain temp with burner-firing?

This may sound like a condescending question but it's not meant to be so please don't take offense!

Are the grains crushed? I've heard stories of people with similar problems who found out later that they had forgotten to crush the grains! Unlikely, I know, but just in case!

No offense taken. I need the help. I have a cousin who brews a state away and he is perplexed also.

I received crush grains in the kit. I had no dough balls and the grain bed looked fine as I was mashing out.

My strike water was 160, and I mashed in at 152 (per kit directions) and held it for an hour. then fly sparged keeping 1 to 2 inches of water above the grain bed for about another hour. As soon as I got to about 6 gallons in the boil kettle, I tip the mash tun to get the wert from the bottom of the mash tun. I figure there is some good sugars there

So:

1) Grains are crushed
2) No dough balls
3) Good temperature control
4) Nice sparge technique
5) Full conversion in mash
6) ??????
7) PROFIT!!

The next step I'd take is testing your water. Too high/low of a pH.... Then check your crush on your grains... Then report back! I'm curious what this could be.

Weird...and all your vessels are properly calibrated? Thinking maybe you have more volume than you think you do...but it would take a lot more water to account for a 30pt difference at the end...although really crappy efficiency (I'm talking REALLY crappy like 40% or less) combined with even and extra gallon of water would get you close to the 1.020's...

I guess I'm still stumped, I suppose...

I'm kinda new to the forums but i'd like to take a crack at it.

Ingredient expiration and water quality come to mind. Did you pH test?

Taylor

Edit: Bah! Ryan ya beat me to it. Tells me i'm thinking in the right direction though.

TaylorInOK said:

I'm kinda new to the forums but i'd like to take a crack at it.

Ingredient expiration and water quality come to mind. Did you pH test?

Taylor

Edit: Bah! Ryan ya beat me to it. Tells me i'm thinking in the right direction though.

Click to expand...

Hah! Glad someone else is thinking the same thing as me. If Steve is getting well water I'd expect some crazy pH levels - but in my experience a municipal supply is usually decent. Not always the best - but decent.

I'm thinking more volume might be the thing, too. I get 1.055 using your grain bill for 5.3g. Are you using sightglass or what to measure your volumes?

I get my water from Newark NJ, we have a Bud brewery here so the water content is amicable. I have not gotten to adjustments yet, but believe it is decent enough to get going. voulmes are measured by a wooden measuring stick I made, by filling up Keg (sanke) one gallon at a time. I know the deadspace can affect efficiency, so that is why I choose to tip out the last of the wert into the boil kettle.

Cousin Denis is coming up on the 19th with his grain crusher and I just bought some uncrushed grains for an american ale we plan to brew.

I will let the forum know the results.

Thanks

Could you give more details about your mashing setup? It's a bazooka screen with 2 gallons worth of space underneath it, and you're fly sparging, is that correct? If that's the case, then what's probably happening is all the grain that's below the level of the bulkhead is not getting rinsed as you're fly sparging. Try batch sparging instead - after your 1 hour mash, completely drain the tun by tipping it. Then dump in all your sparge water, mix, and completely drain it again.

If you batch sparge, don't forget to let it sit for about 10 minutes before draining

Yeah. Mash tun is set up how your thinking. I have a hand held thermometer. It is spot on. I check multiple sites while mashing. Once I dumped the grains into the strike water, temperature went to 152. I wraped the keg with a thermo blanket and the temp held for an hour. I fly sparge and when draining into the boil, water level of the mash geta down to the grains I start the sparge. Also, I am putting an extra two gallons of water to make up for the dead space (prior to mashing in so I am mashing in 5.3G). Same concept if you have a false bottom. then when the boil pot is at 5 gallons, I am tippin the mash tun to get the bottom wert.

Ok, so part of the grain bed is sitting below the bulkhead, right? There's the problem. That grain never sees your sparge water; it's just flowing straight out. You want to set it up such that the water has to travel through the entire grain bed before it exits. You can either relocate the bulkhead (lower), install a false bottom, or batch sparge. Bazooka screens don't work well for fly sparging because the water flow is uneven, but they are awesome for batch sparging.

Newark NJ area water pH level was 7.70 - 8.01 in 2010 testing. Test strips are 5 bucks if not cheaper at wally world or elsewhere. It wouldnt hurt to double check. I really hope you find the prob... seems that you're doing everything so carefully i hate to see ya having problems.

Thanks for all the replies. I thought the bazooka screen might be the culprit. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and get a false bottom.

I will let the thread know how the next brew goes...looking at 2/19. Also I still plan on bottling the red ale, maybe not the most potent stuff, but if sure looked pretty in the bucket.