When do you take your OG reading?

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GroosBrewz

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Hey guys-

Just wondering when you all take your OG reading? I have been taking off after the boil and before pitching yeast, at about 75 degrees.... I am not supposed to take it before the boil am I?? Just wondering because I am only hitting 62 efficiency and I am trying to rule out any mistakes in hydrometer readings...

Thanks
Chris
 
Hey guys-

Just wondering when you all take your OG reading? I have been taking off after the boil and before pitching yeast, at about 75 degrees.... I am not supposed to take it before the boil am I?? Just wondering because I am only hitting 62 efficiency and I am trying to rule out any mistakes in hydrometer readings...

Thanks
Chris

I take mine right before pitching the yeast.
 
I take a an OG reading right before I dump into the fermenter.

However, prior to boil I take a gravity reading to project what my OG will be at 5 gallons--to see if I hit my efficiency--I figure if I ever did need to add DME, that's the best time. I also take the reading mid boil (dipping a cup in to sample then allowing to cool for reading) to ensure I was right.
 
Sounds like it's your process, then, not when you're checking your gravity. Why don't you post your recent recipe/process and see what you're doing wrong.

62% isn't terrible. Jamil creates his recipes based on 70%, and I don't think anybody will argue that he doesn't know what he's doing, so...sure, an eff. of 80% will save a bit of grain (and I usually go for 80, full disclosure), but it isn't the end of the world to only get up to the 70s.
 
Thanks for the info guys... Of course I am still bummed with my 62% efficiency, but my first two brews (at least the first two that I used beermsith) only came out at 51% efficiency.. I figured this was the result of some mistakes I made during the sparge.. (namely, only collecting about hald the first runnings before sparging with the full 4 gallons, or whatever it was). So this time, I vorlaufed and collected first runnings, leaving about 1/2 inch of mash water above the top of the grain bed, then I slowly trickled the sparge over the grain bed as I drained... Even though I got 64% which was better than the 51%, I am still convinved the probelm lays in my sparging methods.. Next time, I think I will drain the first runnings completely, then add all the sparge at once, stir, and collect 2nd runnings slower than normal (I will close my drain valve half-way) and try to give even more time for the sparge to do it's thing... Sound better?
 
Yes, go ahead and try batch sparging. It's what many of us do, and it works great. But break that sparge water into half, and do two separate sparge runnings. That is, drain the MLT. Then add half of the sparge water, probably close to 178 or so, to get your grain bed to 168. Stir well, vorlauf, drain. Do it again, but this time with 170 degree water (since the grainbed is probably at 168 or so). Stir well, vorlauf drain.

70% is what I normally get when I buy crushed grain. If I crush my own (I have a new barley crusher, so I'm now crushing my own), my efficiency is higher.

Don't worry about higher/lower efficiency. Your goal should be consistency. If you get 65% every time, that's great! You can then buy the right amount of grain to get you to your desired OG. It's when you're 51% one time, 85% the next where you have some issues.

So, relax, work on improving your process, and you'll be fine.
 
Yes, go ahead and try batch sparging. It's what many of us do, and it works great. But break that sparge water into half, and do two separate sparge runnings. That is, drain the MLT. Then add half of the sparge water, probably close to 178 or so, to get your grain bed to 168. Stir well, vorlauf, drain. Do it again, but this time with 170 degree water (since the grainbed is probably at 168 or so). Stir well, vorlauf drain.

70% is what I normally get when I buy crushed grain. If I crush my own (I have a new barley crusher, so I'm now crushing my own), my efficiency is higher.

Don't worry about higher/lower efficiency. Your goal should be consistency. If you get 65% every time, that's great! You can then buy the right amount of grain to get you to your desired OG. It's when you're 51% one time, 85% the next where you have some issues.

So, relax, work on improving your process, and you'll be fine.

Hey Yooper- Ok, here comes another dumb question..... I see this all the time.. If you cant get your efficiency constant, then you know how much grain to use to get you to your desired OG.. For whatever reason, I am not seeing this.. Lets say I was looking for an OG of 1.047 and I get 1.035, and I do this over and over and keep getting the same OG... so I am consistent at 65%, at least, but how does this help me to know how much grain I should buy to get the ACTUAL OG I want? I think I am missing a major part of the bigger picture.. Hell, I dont even know if my question makes sense...
 
It makes perfect sense. Let's see if I can explain it with some sense (I drink, you know!)

Say, you consistently get 65%. Each time. You then formulate each recipe for 65% efficiency. It's super easy if you have some brewing software (I use Beersmith). Simply scale your recipe to get your desired OG and plug in your brewhouse efficiency.
 
Thanks Yooper-

As usual, prompt and courteous...

Awww shucks. I'm blushing.

But.........did I answer the question? ;)

We all talk about efficiency. That's important, of course. But, to my mind it's much more relaxing to improve your technique to make the best beer you can and then accept what you have. If it means buying another 2 pounds of malt to get to the desired OG, then so be it. It does NOT mean that you are a better brewer if your efficiency is 89% and mine is 70%. It is simply the number that your equipment can give you. Not a reflection of ability or quality!
 
Awww shucks. I'm blushing.

But.........did I answer the question? ;)

We all talk about efficiency. That's important, of course. But, to my mind it's much more relaxing to improve your technique to make the best beer you can and then accept what you have. If it means buying another 2 pounds of malt to get to the desired OG, then so be it. It does NOT mean that you are a better brewer if your efficiency is 89% and mine is 70%. It is simply the number that your equipment can give you. Not a reflection of ability or quality!


Yoop-

Yeah, you answered the question.. At least enough for me to do what you recommended.. Do the best you can and accept what you got.. Of course, I am going to keep trying to tweak things and see if I cant squeeze out a higher efficiency.. At least till I have made enough all grain batches to have exhausted all possible avenues.. Heck, that's half the fun! At the point where I have tried everything, I will accept my system for what it is and stop reading so many posts about efficiency! Thanks again...
 
Bullrider4:

teh Yoop is right on here. Whether your efficiency is 60%, 75%, or 90%, the key is in getting your process down to the point where you're consistent, so you can hit the OG target for your recipe.

Bobby_M put together a very nice primer for AG brewing and batch sparging. HEre's the location: http://www.suebob.com/brew/Bobby_M all grain primer.pdf

If you read this carefully, it should cover your questions about batch sparging and give you some techniques that might just help.
 
I'm new to all grain brewing and just transferred my wort to the kettle from the mash tun. My recipe's OG is 1.070. I just took a refractometer reading of the wort and it's at 1.045. We added 1 gallon of extra sparge water at the end to get the right pre-boil volume, so now I'm worried that I added too much water.

I am making a clone of Ommegang Hennepin Saison. Thanks!

:confused:
 
Don't confuse mash efficiency with brewhouse efficiency.
I get pretty good mash efficiency, but horrible brewhouse efficiency because I have some dead space and choose to leave a lot of gunk behind after the boil.
To me, the number to watch is the mash efficiency.
 
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