First AG - Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde

Well, I just finished my first AG. I ended up with 63% efficiency, which is pretty disappointing I must say. The recipe is supposed to have an OG of 1.040 and mine came in at 1.036.

I hit all my temperatures... I was running 74% going into the boil, but somehow I lost a ton of gravity between the mash and pitching stage.

So what kind of damage can I expect from this?

The volumes and everything were perfect. Beersmith's calculations were dead on with respect to temperatures. I just don't see how I missed the OG by that much.

You came in at 1.036 instread of 1.040? RDWHAHB. It's fine. Crush is the #1 reason for mediocre efficiency, pH probably #2. Do a few more batches, get the hang of it, maybe get some pH 5.2 buffer, and relax. Consistency in the # is the most important thing.

Yeah the first couple of tries can be dissapointing as it was in my case. Are you sure you measured the gavity right because as you likely know you should not lose points after boiling. At what temps did you take your gravity readings?

I guess you could add some brown sugar to the femrenter to boost the gravity a bit and dry it out some more if that is important.

The hydrometer sample tasted delicious. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it turns out. I really thought I'd get at least 70% with my current setup though. I got another sample and it was 1.036-1.037. Somewhere in there. So, 63-65%.

I guess it could be worse.

Brew Dude said:

The hydrometer sample tasted delicious. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it turns out. I really thought I'd get at least 70% with my current setup though. I got another sample and it was 1.036-1.037. Somewhere in there. So, 63-65%.

I guess it could be worse.

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Like The Bird said RDWHAHB. Hell 50% would be worse.... RIGHT???
next time get some 5.2 buffer and double crush your grain. I am an advocate of fly sparging as well, But I think I am the minority on that one here.
Congrates on yout first AG on the books :rockin:
JJ

Around 65% actually is about par for the course when it comes to first time AG batches, so you are off to a fine start. I remember mine was somewhere right in there. The next time, when I did not think I did anything different, I hit 75% and have bee in the 75-80% range ever since. Once you get a little more comfortable with the process, you may find that you improve just for that reason. Then, you can start working on crush, pH, different sparge techniques, and all that other fun stuff.


TL

I have fermentation activity already. It must have just started because the krausen layer is thin on top and I'm getting 1-2 bubbles per every 5 seconds.

I think I'm going to have to cover the fermenter with a wet towel because the temp is around 78. I should get that lower, especially considering how hot it is going to be within the next couple of weeks.

Four things to consider for next time:
- Sparge water may not have been hot enough or you may need a mashout (don't know if you did one). This was a problem with my first AG. The temp was in the low 150s at start of runoff and in the 140s at the end which is low. I sparge with 180 water now and the temp stays safely in the 160s without sweating over it.
- Crush the snot out of the grain.
- Use 5.2 stabilizer or add some calcium if your water is hard. I have never measured my mash pH I just use a tablespoon of 5.2 and open a beer instead of fussing.
- Be sure to drink plenty of beer during the mash.

If you do all of those things your efficiency should be consistent which is more important than being high. An extra half pound of grain is no big deal if you know you can count on hitting your OG each time. RDWHAHB.

Brew Dude said:

The hydrometer sample tasted delicious. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it turns out. I really thought I'd get at least 70% with my current setup though. I got another sample and it was 1.036-1.037. Somewhere in there. So, 63-65%.

I guess it could be worse.

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It's really really hard to tell between 1.035 and 1.040 in the finished beer. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. My first AG batch I was off by >10 points and it was still the best beer I had done up to that point. It was a hefe that came out at 1.038 instead of 1.052, but the FG was close to what it would have been so it lacks some alcohol but certainly not body.

The recipe called for a mash of 150 for 60 minutes. I thought this was a little low. I was impressed by how well my MLT held the temp. I don't think I lost 1 degree for the entire hour. I opened it up once halfway to stir, and added a *tiny* bit of hot water just to keep the surface area at the same temperature, and then it held 150 for the remainder of the hour.

I think I screwed something up in the sparging process. My runnings would NOT clear even after a couple gallons of vorlouf. I would get tons of grain at first, but even after a couple gallons of vorlouf, I would have grain (though not nearly as much) Is this normal? When I was boiling my wort I noticed there was some grain floating towards the top of the wort. To compensate I did additional straining when I poured the wort into my carboy. I wrapped the strainer I usually use in a grain bag, and it captured way more of the hop sludge than normal. Should I have done this? It might have gotten me a bit more gravity if I would have left some of it in.

The sparge was 168 degrees, which was a little low too. I was going by beersmith's calculations which were VERY dead on throughout the entire process.

After reading a lot of "Low efficiency" posts here on HBT, I have a decent idea on what I will do differently next time.

1) Crush. There wasn't a lot of powder in my crush, so next time I will ask the guy at the LHBS to crush the grains twice. I just hope I don't get a stuck sparge with my false bottom.

2) PH - I will buy some 5.2 to use next time, although I use bottled water and I don't think the ph will go THAT low to cause a problem.

3) Vorlouf - I think "pouring the batch sparge" water right in was a mistake. I disturbed the grain bed quite a bit. That's probably why I couldn't get clear runnings. Should I just put a coffee lid in there and pour on top of it? If not, what can I do to get the runnings to go clear?

4) Sparge water temperature - Beersmith called for a temperature of 168 for the batch sparge. I've been reading that 180 is what I should shoot for. Is 168 too low?

Brew Dude said:

...I wrapped the strainer I usually use in a grain bag, and it captured way more of the hop sludge than normal. Should I have done this? It might have gotten me a bit more gravity if I would have left some of it in.

The sparge was 168 degrees, which was a little low too. I was going by beersmith's calculations which were VERY dead on throughout the entire process.

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The straining would not affect your gravity. I sparge with 180 degree water.

What I would say is this: Your first AG at 63% is pretty darn good. I would dial in your Beersmith and future recipes at that efficiency going forward. Then as you tweak our process, any improvements will be a bonus in a higher OG.

At some point you need to accept your brewshops efficiency and build your grain bill accordingly.

Sounds like a good brew day...I hope it turns out well.

Thanks Biermucher. Does Beersmith have a feature that will account for a low efficiency and then up the amount of grains accordingly? That would help the next time I brew this beer, and I most likely will. I've never had a hydrometer sample taste so good.

I REALLY hope the low OG doesn't leave me with watery beer. It's already a pretty light grain bill and low IBU's. I hope it has a good body on it when everything is all said and done with.

I used this same beer as my first AG about 5 or 6 weeks ago. The brew day went well but most importanly I bottled last week and tried the first one today. I know I know..A bit early but it was RESEARCH! The beer was amazing. I loved it..My neigbor and I were very impressed. Still a bit hoppy but it is still green. What a great beer!! Thanks Biermuncher!! :rockin:

cwhill said:

I used this same beer as my first AG about 5 or 6 weeks ago. The brew day went well but most importanly I bottled last week and tried the first one today. I know I know..A bit early but it was RESEARCH! The beer was amazing. I loved it..My neigbor and I were very impressed. Still a bit hoppy but it is still green. What a great beer!! Thanks Biermuncher!! :rockin:

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Wow, you had that aging for a while. Biermuncher says you can bottle it about 2 weeks after you brew it.

What kind of efficiency did you get?

My efficiency was 65% for the first year or two of AG brewing. After using 5.2 Buffer it lept up to close ~73%. Very good product, and it works out cheaper than the other sundries like steriliser, whirlfloc etc.

Brew Dude said:

Wow, you had that aging for a while. Biermuncher says you can bottle it about 2 weeks after you brew it.

What kind of efficiency did you get?

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I didn't add up the exact efficiency as I didn't want to get caught up in that yet. I figured if I'd better get my brew procedures down first and see if I could even make a decent beer. My guess is it was pretty high for a first go round but I don't know for sure.My next brew I'll probably pay more attention to it. I like to leave the beer in primary for a few weeks. I figure it never hurts and cleans up nicely.

Brew Dude said:

Thanks Biermucher. Does Beersmith have a feature that will account for a low efficiency and then up the amount of grains accordingly? That would help the next time I brew this beer, and I most likely will. I've never had a hydrometer sample taste so good.

I REALLY hope the low OG doesn't leave me with watery beer. It's already a pretty light grain bill and low IBU's. I hope it has a good body on it when everything is all said and done with.

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It's a manual thing you have to do:

1) Simply type in your assumed efficiency.
2) Adjust your grain bill until the predicted OG gets to where you want it.