Extraction Efficiency for first all grain batch

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organicrust

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So I brewed my first all grain batch yesterday (2nd batch overall) and I have a question about my extraction efficiency.

I was expecting an efficiency around 0.65-0.7 for this batch, but I seem to have gotten 0.87! I was batch sparging in a 5 gal Igloo MLT and collected 6.3 gal of wort with a gravity of 1.054. That gives me 340.2 GU and my theoretical yield was about 390 GU.

I was shooting for a 5.5 gal batch at anywhere from 1.050-1.058 OG and expecting a much lower efficiency, so my intended APA is now more of an IPA. I boiled it a little longer to get more out of my bittering hops, so I hope that it'll balance in the end.

My grain bill for anyone interested:
9 lbs 2-row (324 GU)
10 oz Vienna (22.2 GU)
10 oz Caramel 40L (21.3 GU)
10 oz Flaked Wheat (22.5 GU)

Yes, the grain bill is a little stacked for an APA, but I was expecting a more modest efficiency. So what gives? Does my math pass muster?

I should add that I calculated the grain bill and expected GU's by hand, using the numbers from "Designing Great Beers." I think that I'll try Brewsmith next time.

I measured the wort with a calibrated dip stick and the hygrometer readings are of cooled wort (with minor temp corrections). The wort was stirred vigorously to homogenize any density gradients prior to sample collection.

One other funny thing. After boiling, I was left with ~2.8 gal of wort! I chalk it up to this being my first time using my newly acquired propane burner and mega-pot plus the long boil. I just topped it off with bottles of distilled water, gave it a good stirring and pitched my yeast. Any idea how this will affect my final product?

Thanks for your consideration.
 
One other funny thing. After boiling, I was left with ~2.8 gal of wort! I chalk it up to this being my first time using my newly acquired propane burner and mega-pot plus the long boil. I just topped it off with bottles of distilled water, gave it a good stirring and pitched my yeast. Any idea how this will affect my final product?

Thanks for your consideration.

You had only 2.8 gallons of wort, and then added 2.5 gallons of water, and still got 1.087? I didn't think that was possible. Something is very off here.
 
Haha, it's wild right? I read about how important a rolling boil is, so I kept the gas flowing. Ended up burning about 1.4 gal of propane for the 90 min boil, plus heating the mash/sparge water. The kettle I'm using has a very wide mouth and it was windy to boot.

My best guess is that this beer is going have strong caramel character due to increased Maillard products. It is quite red as well, definitely not the pale I was looking for.

I should clarify that I got 87% extraction efficiency, but I ended up with a wort that was 1.060 OG after dilution with distilled water.
 
Haha, it's wild right? I read about how important a rolling boil is, so I kept the gas flowing. Ended up burning about 1.4 gal of propane for the 90 min boil, plus heating the mash/sparge water. The kettle I'm using has a very wide mouth and it was windy to boot.

My best guess is that this beer is going have strong caramel character due to increased Maillard products. It is quite red as well, definitely not the pale I was looking for.

I should clarify that I got 87% extraction efficiency, but I ended up with a wort that was 1.060 OG after dilution with distilled water.

Well, that seems about right- as you were shooting for 1.060 anyway in a 5.5 gallon batch right? So, it's just about what you planned.

You may have some caramel character, but it should still be a tasty beer.

I typically start with 7 gallons of wort for a 5.25 gallon batch, due to boil off and trub losses. You could start with more next time, too, and that will help with your volume.
 
I was expecting a little lower and set my IBU accordingly, but yeah, it's not a disaster.

I am just curious why I got so much extraction and if I can expect the same efficiency in the future for this system. It would be lousy to undershoot a gravity on the basis of a fluke result.
 
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