Still having gravity issues

My last two batches (BIAB) have exceeded the final gravity.
Here's the info
Denny Conn's Rye IPA-2.5 gallon batch- Bottled after three weeks in primary. Used Denny's fav yeast with a starter. Volume obtained from Mr Malty and Home Brew Dads site.
Brewers Friend Info
OG: 1.078 / FG 1.019
My Info:
OG: 1.082 / FG: 1.031

Sweetwater 420 3.5 gallon batch- 13 days in Primary (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=48353)- Rehydrated US 05 used.
Brewers Friend Info
OG: 1.062 / FG: 1.011
My Info:
OG 1.075 / FG: ? Just checked the gravity and it's1.022

I followed each recipe to a T. My thermometer is accurate to .5+. If I mashed at a higher temp it would not have been by more than 1 degree. During the mash, if my temps drop by more than 2 degrees, I kick the heat on to get back to within .5 degree of mash temp. During this period I constantly stir.

When I take my pre-boil and post boil samples, I stir then take the sample.
I ferment in a ferm chamber and follow the schedule outlined in the recipe.
After 5-10 days I normally raise temps to 70 for 5 days before bottling.

My hydrometer is accurate.

This is really getting frustrating. What is causing the high gravity and what can i do to prevent?

Refractometer ?

No. Hydrometer

It appears that you have two issues. Overshooting the Starting Gravity. Easy to fix by dropping the grain bill by .5#. Higher Final Gravity can usually be a sign of mashing too high or for too short of a period. Try dropping your mash temp 2*F and/or mashing for a little longer. This will give you more fermentable wort and lower your Final Gravity. On the other side of the coin, if your Starting Gravity is 2 points high and your Final Gravity is 2 points high, that is a wash on the ABV, but the higher Final Gravity will leave your finished beer a little sweeter.

Assuming healthy yeast since large starter and what not.

First thing I'd try is mashing lower. Your thermometer might not be calibrated, even though you think so. Try mashing 5F lower than what you have been after and see what happens.

On Denny's Rye IPA the orig Gravity was 1.091. I cut back about 1.5 lbs in grain to drop it to 1.078.
I mash for 60 min.
Going to do the iodine test on my next brew and will increase mash time to 75 min.
If my pre boil Gravity is high could I add water before the book to drop the gravity?
I really don't think I mash too high. I guess I can reduce my mash temps by 2 degrees and see if that helps.
I'm on my 12th brew and I feel my process is consistent so it's throwing me for a loss.

iijakii said:

Assuming healthy yeast since large starter and what not.

First thing I'd try is mashing lower. Your thermometer might not be calibrated, even though you think so. Try mashing 5F lower than what you have been after and see what happens.

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I have two thermometers. Boil test was spot on at 212 for the thermapen and .5 high for the other. The ice water test was spot on for my thermapen and less than one degree off on the high side for my other thermometer.

The yeast appeared healthy for Denny's. I used dry for the sweet water batch.

I guess I'll mash lower and 15 min longer and see what happens.

When you cut the grain back, do you keep the grain bill the same percentages? Curious if you are only decreasing the base grain and therefore increasing unfermentables in your wort. Could this make the FG finish that high?

oujens said:

When you cut the grain back, do you keep the grain bill the same percentages? Curious if you are only decreasing the base grain and therefore increasing unfermentables in your wort. Could this make the FG finish that high?

Click to expand...

Yes, when I cut back the grain bill I try and keep the percentages the same.

I have the opposite problem with my BIAB, I was ending up with FG's that were lower than expected. For my system I ended up mashing 2F higher than the recipe called for to compensate. Easy fix and my FG's are now ending up where they should be. I'd try mashing a couple degrees lower and see if that does the trick.

I think some of the tried and true brewing rules go out the window when you BIAB. Some things you just need to adjust so they work on your system.

You started 13 points high at 1.075. Not a huge surprise that you finished 11 points high at 1.022. The yeast still got you down 53 points for the predicted ABV. As soon as there is enough alcohol, the yeast shut down.

The question is how to get your process right so you hit your OG. Most recipes assume something like 70% efficiency. Your process appears to be higher than that. If you use a tool like Beersmith or Brewgr, you can input a recipe assuming 70% efficiency and then adjust it for your own efficiency (say 80%). As CA-Mouse says, it will give you them same recipe scaled to use less grain because your efficiency is higher than the original recipe assumes.

Try doing an efficiency calculator to try to get the efficiency of your current process. This will also give you an idea of how much more efficient your process is over the standard 70%.
http://www.homebrewing.com/calculators/?page=tools&section=efficiency

Alternatively, you can follow your recipe but add water at the end of the boil until you hit your OG.