I completed my first AG batch today. To be honest with you, I wasn't sure of all of the readings/calculations that would be needed, so I took multiple. I was hoping someone could help me sort it all out. I have sliced and diced everything multiple ways and fear that my efficiency wasn't that great, but I am not really sure.
I brewed a recipe I found on the internet and loaded into Brewsmith:
Joes Irish Red Ale
12 oz barely, flaked
1.9 oz Chocolate (Crisp)
3.0 oz Crystal Dark
9 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp)
I mashed in a 10 gallon igloo cooler with 3.25 gallons of water at 152 degrees for 60 minutes and then took a gravity reading of 1.068.
I then batch sparged with 4.75 gallons of water at 165 degrees (probably should have split it into 2 sparges) and then took a gravity reading of 1.040. (I have since read that I should have been closer to 1.020 after collecting the final runnings).
I finally ended up with just under 7 gallons of wort to boil (slightly more than I would have liked). After boiling for 90 minutes to get it down to 5 gallons, I ended up with a gravity reading of 1.048.
1) Would splitting my sparges into 2 halves improved efficiency (lowering my readings closer to 1.020)?
2) Am I correct in calculating that my gravity reading pre-boil is [(68*3.25)+(40*4.75)/8=51 (1.051)? I have no idea if you can calculate it that way.
3) For my post-boil gravity I measured 1.048. Is this the number I use as original gravity? How do I calculate my efficiency? The recipe estimated a pre-boil gravity of 1.048 and a post-boil gravity of 1.055.
Any help that could be provided sorting all this out would be greatly appreciated. I am not even sure where to start on improving my processes before my next batch. Hopefully these numbers will tell me if I did a terrible job.
Thanks in Advance,
Acropolis
I brewed a recipe I found on the internet and loaded into Brewsmith:
Joes Irish Red Ale
12 oz barely, flaked
1.9 oz Chocolate (Crisp)
3.0 oz Crystal Dark
9 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp)
I mashed in a 10 gallon igloo cooler with 3.25 gallons of water at 152 degrees for 60 minutes and then took a gravity reading of 1.068.
I then batch sparged with 4.75 gallons of water at 165 degrees (probably should have split it into 2 sparges) and then took a gravity reading of 1.040. (I have since read that I should have been closer to 1.020 after collecting the final runnings).
I finally ended up with just under 7 gallons of wort to boil (slightly more than I would have liked). After boiling for 90 minutes to get it down to 5 gallons, I ended up with a gravity reading of 1.048.
1) Would splitting my sparges into 2 halves improved efficiency (lowering my readings closer to 1.020)?
2) Am I correct in calculating that my gravity reading pre-boil is [(68*3.25)+(40*4.75)/8=51 (1.051)? I have no idea if you can calculate it that way.
3) For my post-boil gravity I measured 1.048. Is this the number I use as original gravity? How do I calculate my efficiency? The recipe estimated a pre-boil gravity of 1.048 and a post-boil gravity of 1.055.
Any help that could be provided sorting all this out would be greatly appreciated. I am not even sure where to start on improving my processes before my next batch. Hopefully these numbers will tell me if I did a terrible job.
Thanks in Advance,
Acropolis