I know, another 1st all grain post, but I'm a little confused. I don't have brewing software so if someone could help me out that would be great. I did a modified version of BierMuncher's centennial blonde. http://hopville.com/recipe/102240/blonde-ale-recipes/eastside-blonde
I used a 10g rubbermaid cooler as my MLT and started the mash at 153.5 and it ended at 151.5. I used 1.25qt/g(11.56 qts). Then sparged with 180 deg water in 2 batches, 2.5g the first time, then 2.5g the next for a total of about 7 gallons in my kettle. Quick note, I started my wort boiling after my first sparge and it actually started boiling and almost boiled over before my final sgarge water was added---is this an issue?
Gravity reading pre-boil was 1.045. Here's the thing, I lost more water than normal due to evaporation and I used whole hops for the first time and didn't realize how much wort they absorb. I ended with 4 gallons in my fermentor. I know this isn't what most people would do, but I topped off with 1.25g of cold water. After mixing well, my OG was 1.040.
Any idea what my efficiency was? I didn't take a gravity of my 4 gallons before top off, so I think that is what I would need. Any help would be great. It was a lot of fun making the jump to all grain, even if it didn't go perfect. I was able to finish in about 6 hours and didn't even have an IC. Next attempt should be smoother and hopefully won't have to top off. The only reason I did was because it is already a lower ABV beer and I didn't think it would ruin this beer. Is that the right thinking, or should I have stuck with 4 gallons? Anyway, sorry for the insane post. Thanks for any help/suggestions.
Ryan
I used a 10g rubbermaid cooler as my MLT and started the mash at 153.5 and it ended at 151.5. I used 1.25qt/g(11.56 qts). Then sparged with 180 deg water in 2 batches, 2.5g the first time, then 2.5g the next for a total of about 7 gallons in my kettle. Quick note, I started my wort boiling after my first sparge and it actually started boiling and almost boiled over before my final sgarge water was added---is this an issue?
Gravity reading pre-boil was 1.045. Here's the thing, I lost more water than normal due to evaporation and I used whole hops for the first time and didn't realize how much wort they absorb. I ended with 4 gallons in my fermentor. I know this isn't what most people would do, but I topped off with 1.25g of cold water. After mixing well, my OG was 1.040.
Any idea what my efficiency was? I didn't take a gravity of my 4 gallons before top off, so I think that is what I would need. Any help would be great. It was a lot of fun making the jump to all grain, even if it didn't go perfect. I was able to finish in about 6 hours and didn't even have an IC. Next attempt should be smoother and hopefully won't have to top off. The only reason I did was because it is already a lower ABV beer and I didn't think it would ruin this beer. Is that the right thinking, or should I have stuck with 4 gallons? Anyway, sorry for the insane post. Thanks for any help/suggestions.
Ryan