Ok, did my first AG batch yesterday, following a recipe as close as possible. Expected the OG to be 1.060, but two different readings said 1.030. I've read up on the mashing process, and I'm thinking I made a bunch of different mistakes that might have caused it. Would you expect these to have caused a .030 drop in OG?
- 12 pounds of grain
- 6 gallons 165F in mash tun -> ice -> 155F
- after 60 min -> 154F
- collect 5 gallons wort
- add 2 gallons to mash tun 185F
- 6.5 gallons in brew kettle
Mistakes:
- Too much water in the initial mash for 12 pounds of grain?
- Didn't stir it at all after adding the grains
- Drained the wort out as fast as the valve would let it, let it drain until it stopped, then added 2 more gallons at 185F and immediately drained that out just as fast, again until all the liquid was out.
Should I have stirred the mash occasionally during the hour of mashing? Was 185 too hot for the sparge water? Should the sparge water sit in the mash tun for a while before you collect the second runnings?
And would all of this have caused such a huge drop in the OG?
Thanks!
- 12 pounds of grain
- 6 gallons 165F in mash tun -> ice -> 155F
- after 60 min -> 154F
- collect 5 gallons wort
- add 2 gallons to mash tun 185F
- 6.5 gallons in brew kettle
Mistakes:
- Too much water in the initial mash for 12 pounds of grain?
- Didn't stir it at all after adding the grains
- Drained the wort out as fast as the valve would let it, let it drain until it stopped, then added 2 more gallons at 185F and immediately drained that out just as fast, again until all the liquid was out.
Should I have stirred the mash occasionally during the hour of mashing? Was 185 too hot for the sparge water? Should the sparge water sit in the mash tun for a while before you collect the second runnings?
And would all of this have caused such a huge drop in the OG?
Thanks!