Slight hiccup on first AG

Tackled my first AG this last weekend and overall it went pretty successful except for collecting to much water.

I had set brewsmith up for a 16% evap rate since it was around 40*, i figured it would work out fine. Well I was bit wrong..lol I ended up only boiling off about 1.25 gallons rather than than the 2gallons i figured.

My question is, is will this effect the flavor to much? At the 10 minute mark, i decided to yank the hop bag out and boil down to 5.75 gallons, which ended up needing an additional 45 minutes of boil time. Once i got it down, i put the hop bag back in, added the last hop addition, irish moss and finished it.

My OG was 1.060 compared to the 1.051 i had calculated, so i guess my effeciency was higher than planned.

This is for a porter, so i'm thinking if anything, by boiling longer it will taste slightly more carmelized, wihch may not be a bad thing...?

Adding 45 min to the boil isn't that much of a problem. Maybe more melanoidin production. It won't be noticed in a porter though.

This has happened to me before and everything turned out fine. I followed almost the exact steps that you did and it tasted great. As for the kettle carmelzation I think that will taste good. Congrats on the high O.G I love it when I get better efficiency than I planned. Welcome to the AG club do enjoy.

Ok, thanks.

Doing my 2nd one this weekend and i'll be starting with less water this time around.

Just Curious, I am pretty familiar with Colorado but where is Parker?

fixie said:

This has happened to me before and everything turned out fine. I followed almost the exact steps that you did and it tasted great. As for the kettle carmelzation I think that will taste good. Congrats on the high O.G I love it when I get better efficiency than I planned. Welcome to the AG club do enjoy.

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Yea, i was happy about that as well.

When I had my additional 1.25 gallons I was actually dead-on with my estimated OG.

My mash temps worked out perfectly, so I guess with that, and the 5.2 buffer I used, it worked out good for me.

Regarding effeciency though, I took pre-boil readings, but since I had to much wort, will that effect the effeciency readings that I can plug into brewsmith?

fixie said:

Just Curious, I am pretty familiar with Colorado but where is Parker?

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About 30 minutes south of denver. Right next to castle rock, on your way to Colorado Springs.

Pretty close to aurora as well.

Regarding effeciency though, I took pre-boil readings, but since I had to much wort, will that effect the effeciency readings that I can plug into brewsmith?[/QUOTE]

I am not to sure about this, but I think it will be ok if you just plug it in, maybe someone with more experience can chim in. Any way enjoy the beer!

I always shoot to be a little low. You can always add a half-gallon or whatever to the fermenter.

I kept track of boil off rates and they were pretty inconsistent; too many variables I guess.

I just want to nip the caramelization issue in the bud so there isn't misinformation.

USUALLY, in a wort boil, especially a full AG boil, only Miallard reactions are happening.

Caramelization only happens above 300*F. It is 230*F for fuctose, but there is little or no fructose in wort.

Both reactions are similar. They are both forms of non-enzymatic browning. The Maillard reaction is a reaction between an amino acid and sugar molecule. Caramelization is an oxidative reaction between two sugar molecules.

Sorry for the aside.

Edcculus said:

I just want to nip the caramelization issue in the bud so there isn't misinformation.

USUALLY, in a wort boil, especially a full AG boil, only Miallard reactions are happening.

Caramelization only happens above 300*F. It is 230*F for fuctose, but there is little or no fructose in wort.

Both reactions are similar. They are both forms of non-enzymatic browning. The Maillard reaction is a reaction between an amino acid and sugar molecule. Caramelization is an oxidative reaction between two sugar molecules.

Sorry for the aside.

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Thank you. I honestly couldnt remember the term used but knew that they were similar and that it did cause a browning (and assumed flavor difference with it). Glad you clarified that for me


It was actually a really good porter in the PM version, so i'm just hoping it turns out just as good.

ghack said:

I always shoot to be a little low. You can always add a half-gallon or whatever to the fermenter.

I kept track of boil off rates and they were pretty inconsistent; too many variables I guess.

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I've usually gone for 14%-ish and have been pretty close, but since it was colder out i tried and for 16% and it just didnt work out this time.

oh well.. brew and learn