Did my first mini mash with an AHS clone of New Belgium's Sunshine wheat. The SG is coming out to 1.040, it's supposed to be about 1.047. Will this make any difference in anything more than alcohol content? Not sure where I went wrong.
SG not very close!
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It might be hoppier than expected. Extraction from hops increases as the wort concentration decreases and you may be able to perceive the IBUs more in a beer with lower gravity (same IBUs in two beers, lower gravity beer tastes more bitter)
2 Questions:
1) What was the temp of your wort?
B) Did you mix your wort thoroughly before taking a reading?
4) How many gallons did you end up with in the fermenter?
1) What was the temp of your wort?
B) Did you mix your wort thoroughly before taking a reading?
4) How many gallons did you end up with in the fermenter?
OP
OP
The wort was cooled down to 85, the hydrometer read 1.037, corrected to 1.040. Last batch I did, after the boil, I added cool water till I got to the correct SG. This time I just topped off to a little over 5 gallons. I then mixed it very well.
My boil was about 3 gallons including the water used to sparge the grains. Should I have just added water till I got the right gravity, and not worried about the directions, like I did last time?
My boil was about 3 gallons including the water used to sparge the grains. Should I have just added water till I got the right gravity, and not worried about the directions, like I did last time?
Once you move from pure Extract brewing to mini mash, partial mash or all grain....you are now part of the "what's wrong with my efficiency" crowd.
Dialing in your optimal brew techniques will be a never ending quest. Don't dispair about falling short of your SG. YOu're not alone.
Dialing in your optimal brew techniques will be a never ending quest. Don't dispair about falling short of your SG. YOu're not alone.
StallionMang
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Wait. I'm a n00b, so correct me if I'm wrong.
But wouldn't adding water reduce the gravity? I could see that being useful if you had a gravity that was higher than expected and you needed to reduce it.
But it seems from your post that you had a gravity that was lower than expected and you wanted to raise it.
But wouldn't adding water reduce the gravity? I could see that being useful if you had a gravity that was higher than expected and you needed to reduce it.
But it seems from your post that you had a gravity that was lower than expected and you wanted to raise it.
He's doing partial boils and means that he added water to get up to the proper volume of wort.StallionMang said:
The first time he added water until he hit is gravity target. (yes, he was lowering the gravity because he was adding water to a highly concentrated batch.) Whether or not he was at five gallons didn't matter. As long as he hit the target.
The next time, he simply added enough to get to 5 gallons and that is when he took the reading.
OP
OP
Exactly. Since I was using a clone kit, and the instructions were for a partial boil, and all the ingredients were provided in amounts for that volume. I was unsure how much of the fermentables were coming from the grain.
The instructions were to leave the bag in the water for 45 minutes @ 145, then pull the bag out, run 1qt of 175 water for every 2lbs. I know I could have gotten a buch more out just by steeping my (small) bag more. I guess I should next time? So, with a mini mash you are getting a good bit of your fermentables from your grain, not just flavor? I don't have the instructions here with me, but it was slightly over 4 lbs of grain and 4 1/2 of wheat extract.
The instructions were to leave the bag in the water for 45 minutes @ 145, then pull the bag out, run 1qt of 175 water for every 2lbs. I know I could have gotten a buch more out just by steeping my (small) bag more. I guess I should next time? So, with a mini mash you are getting a good bit of your fermentables from your grain, not just flavor? I don't have the instructions here with me, but it was slightly over 4 lbs of grain and 4 1/2 of wheat extract.
yes, when mashing you are indeed extracting fermentables from the grain.
when simply steeping the grains, you're just pulling flavors and color.
mini-mashing is exactly like all grain brewing, except we don't 'finish off' the gravity by using extract. everything else is the same process of mashing, vorlaufing, and draining/sparging.
when simply steeping the grains, you're just pulling flavors and color.
mini-mashing is exactly like all grain brewing, except we don't 'finish off' the gravity by using extract. everything else is the same process of mashing, vorlaufing, and draining/sparging.
145F seems a bit low to get decent conversion. Could that be a typo? I would have mashed at 154F. I don't think length of mash time was the issue.quickerNu said:
One more question - how much water did you mash it in before rinsing? Mash thickness will affect conversion.
On a side note, I have missed my SG a few times - it is no big deal. After the first time, I learned my lesson and now I keep some DME in the house. I test my gravity at the beginning of the boil to see if I am at my pre-boil target and add DME if I am low.
OP
OP
Cool. The AHS instructions did said 155 in 2 1/2 gallons. I guess at the time I didn't really know what end result I was trying to get, mash or just flavors. I didnt think about adding DME either. I am doing a Porter mini-mash this weekend, so I get another try to do everything right, now knowing what the heck I'm actually trying to get!
This kit has :
1 3/4 lb 2-row
1/2 lb Crystal 60l
1/2 Vienna malt
1/4 Chocolate
Then 5 1/2 lbs pale. Is there a way I can calculate my target gravity of the mash? If I miss my target at a final volume of 5 gallons, can I just add more extract till I hit my target?
This kit has :
1 3/4 lb 2-row
1/2 lb Crystal 60l
1/2 Vienna malt
1/4 Chocolate
Then 5 1/2 lbs pale. Is there a way I can calculate my target gravity of the mash? If I miss my target at a final volume of 5 gallons, can I just add more extract till I hit my target?
Evan!
Well-Known Member
Yes, definitely a higher temp for conversion.
I always get the best efficiency with a stepped mash. 30 mins at 133f, 45 mins at 150-155f, 20 mins at 158f or until a starch test comes back negative. This might be confusing, so let me explain a little more:
First off, when you mash, you're activating enzymes in the grains, which then convert the unfermentable starches in the grains into fermentable sugars. In order to complete this conversion, you need to be in the 149-155 range. The lower in the 149-154 range you mash, the more fermentable sugars you'll get, which makes for a lower final gravity after fermentation is done (dryer beer). The higher in that range you mash, the higher your final gravity will be, making for a sweeter, fuller beer.
One last thing: I increased my efficiency by at least 5 points by adding this to my strike and sparge water. I highly recommend it.
I always get the best efficiency with a stepped mash. 30 mins at 133f, 45 mins at 150-155f, 20 mins at 158f or until a starch test comes back negative. This might be confusing, so let me explain a little more:
First off, when you mash, you're activating enzymes in the grains, which then convert the unfermentable starches in the grains into fermentable sugars. In order to complete this conversion, you need to be in the 149-155 range. The lower in the 149-154 range you mash, the more fermentable sugars you'll get, which makes for a lower final gravity after fermentation is done (dryer beer). The higher in that range you mash, the higher your final gravity will be, making for a sweeter, fuller beer.
One last thing: I increased my efficiency by at least 5 points by adding this to my strike and sparge water. I highly recommend it.
Evan!
Well-Known Member
quickerNu said:
You really need ProMash. It completely changed how I brew. Seriously, worth every penny. Some people use brewsmith and like it, but either way.
I just plugged your #'s into ProMash for you (assuming DRY malt extract).
You need more dark grains, first off, if this is a porter (unless it's a brown porter, but I assumed robust). Most porters have black patent. So add 6 oz of black patent grains. This shouldn't affect your gravity too much.
As it stands, assuming 75% efficiency, you'll see an OG of 1.068, which is higher than the BJCP range for a robust porter. But I'd assume a lower efficiency, around 70%. Then, just add 4.5lbs of extract rather than 5.5. When you're 5 minutes from the end of the boil, take a sample, cool it down quickly, and take a hydrometer sample. Assuming your volume is 5.0 gallons at that point, your gravity should be 1.058 if you hit 70% efficiency. If you need to add more extract at that point, just remember: every half pound of DME will raise your gravity by 4 points.
Good luck!
OP
OP
Awesome! Thanks for the help. I was planning on doing only a couple more kits as practice(like this one was!), then getting promash. I am learning so much, Iwant to be able to change boil volumes and methods, but right now I don't have a tool to refigure ingredients needed. Kits are cool, but very limiting.
This is an AHS"evil" brown porter, with lme by the way. Target OG is 1.053. I like the idea of the three step mash. If I were to do that instead of the 155 degree 45 minute soak, would I have any tannin worries, or effect the recipe in any way other than possible better efficiency and higher OG? Would I still sparge with 170 water (1 qt per 2 lbs grain)?
This is an AHS"evil" brown porter, with lme by the way. Target OG is 1.053. I like the idea of the three step mash. If I were to do that instead of the 155 degree 45 minute soak, would I have any tannin worries, or effect the recipe in any way other than possible better efficiency and higher OG? Would I still sparge with 170 water (1 qt per 2 lbs grain)?
Evan!
Well-Known Member
Okay...good to know.
ProMash says that, at 75% assumed efficiency, you should end up at 1.054 OG. The upper limit (according to BJCP guidelines, which I routinely ignore) for brown porter is 1.052.
Your SRM still concerns me, though. At 16 lovi, you're looking at a brown ale, not a brown porter. If I were you, I'd still add 4oz of black patent into that MF'er, which'll put you around 25 lovi, right in the middle of the style range. Plus it'll give you some more of that porter character.
ProMash says that, at 75% assumed efficiency, you should end up at 1.054 OG. The upper limit (according to BJCP guidelines, which I routinely ignore) for brown porter is 1.052.
Your SRM still concerns me, though. At 16 lovi, you're looking at a brown ale, not a brown porter. If I were you, I'd still add 4oz of black patent into that MF'er, which'll put you around 25 lovi, right in the middle of the style range. Plus it'll give you some more of that porter character.
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