Original Gravity Low for Double IPA

So I just finished brewing what was supposed to be a Double IPA and I hit a wall when i saw my original gravity atr 1.056 and i was aiming for 1.108.

I have a had some issues in the past with other beers but not nearly this bad. I am fairly new to all grain brewing but i have had 2 successfull batches before this one where i hit my numbers.

Im not sure if this is an issue with the amount of grain I had, which was 19 lbs.

Any input would be awesome.

that is way far off, any chance the grain hadn't been crushed?

you're leaving a ton of info out. That said, I'd look at the crush for sure. that's the number 1 culprit. how did you come to the target of 1.108?

Also, what was your target efficiency? Typically, brewing a beer that big will reduce your efficiency by about 10%.

The crush should be ok. Ive been using the same mill at the supply store for a while and ive not had a problem, Unless over crushing causes a big issue with loss of sugars.
The numbers i have came from pro-mash. Ive been using that program for a long time and the SG numbers I have used have been all good for the time i have been brewing. It assumes a efficiency of 75% all the time. ( You can change it), but like i said i have always hit the numbers right on or slightly lower.
Even if I lower my efficiency 10% im still WAY off on my gravity. To get the epic fail I have my efficiency would be close to 40%, which i have NEVER had before.

let me know what else you need to know, Im new to the forums, so im not sure all the stuff you guys look at.

I am batch sparging and on this particular time i put a bit to much water in and had extra rinse water in the mash tun. Would that cause a massive efficiency drop.

lundy said:

I am batch sparging and on this particular time i put a bit to much water in and had extra rinse water in the mash tun. Would that cause a massive efficiency drop.

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Not sure how it would relate to efficiency, but too much water will reduce your gravity quite a bit.

I dont think it was all that but that might have played a hand. I would have needed 3 extra gallons to go as low as i did.

What do you mash in?
Mash water to grain ratio?
How much water did you sparge with?
Did you remove ALL the clumps in the mash at the start? I've seen this bugger your efficiency before.

We need to have more information about the batch process in order to narrow it down. It's pretty obvious that you didn't mash well. The reason could be any of several, or a combination of them.

Mash tun is a 52 qt rectangular cooler. I am fairly certain that I removed all the clumps of grain, as i didnt find any dry spots in my mash. water to grain ratio was about 1.2 , 6 gallons to 19 lbs of grain. Mashed for an hour. I did get a stuck mash as i am draining with a pvc manifold. I fixed it by blowing through my drain tube to clear the manifold. Probably not good for oxidation and such but I didnt have much choice. after it unclogged it drained smooth. I dumped in roughly 4 gallons of water to sparge with and then drained. That turned out to be a bit to much drain water becasue i only had that one rinse. I immidiatly went to boil and the rest of the process.

I seriously suspect you didn't get the clumps out of the mash. Either that, or the crush was really poor, or the grain was not even close to being good. The only time I've ever been even close to that much of a difference was when I made a batch where I wasn't able to get the clumps out.

To help eliminate stuck sparges in the future, look at adding a few ounces of rice hulls to the mash. I typically add 4oz to my more moderate grain bills (under 18#) and 6oz to my larger grain bills. You simply add them when you're dumping in the grains (I don't run them through the mill). A few ounces takes up more space than you might think.

If you're 100% sure the mash was completely lump free, then it's time to question the crush. For all anyone knows, the grain mill at the store it was crushed at, is either out of alignment, or the gap is off. IMO, a good enough reason to get your own mill, and then start getting grain in bulk (or as soon as possible).

It's got to be the crush.

Well if its between those two things then thats it. I just examined my grains again and it doesnt look like the crush but i could be wrong. In one hand full of grain i found one grain that was only cracked but it was still split even though it was whole. I do know i didnt have any clumps. I always spin my mixing paddle in a pattern all over the mash so it covers every area top to bottom. Ill have to do another identical batch and see what i can improve. As long as the rinsing was not an issue, then i can get my hands on a mill and do it myself. Either way ill have to do this batch over because the BU to GU is going to be WAY off.

Oh and i did have rice hulls in my grain bill, about a half pound, but I dont think I mixed them well into the other grains so it didnt filter properly.

weird

What was the recipe (or at least the grain bill)?

I'd add taking SG of the first runnings to your process. First runnings should have an SG higher than your OG. Do you stir your mash after adding the batch sparge water? Do you let it rest for a for a few minutes before running off?

This was your first huge grain bill for AG. Since you're saying you think the crush was good and you had a good grist mix and non-lumpy dough-in, what about your temp for the mash, or your water and/or pH?

I'd also recheck your ingredient amount entered in pro-mash, and if possible, your grain bill receipt. It's entirely possible your amounts were off, especially if you did not measure your amounts.

What was your post boil volume? I adjust my boil off for summer as I lose about 1/2 gal less. Figure your efficiency at the Boil Kettle volume & see if that makes any difference. Large grain bills knock a few points off for me as well, but nowhere near 30%