Low OG on Usually Consistent IPA

We brewed our IPA recipe last night and ended up with an OG of 1.0429, instead of the OG we usually get of 1.055. We hit our mash temp and time, we hit our expected efficiency, we did the full 60 min boil. Any ideas of what went wrong?

Thanks!

If you hit your expected efficiency then you should have had the gravity you normally get at the beginning of the boil, is that true. If it is, than the only reason the end of the boil gravity is so much less is because there was an increase in the volume from beginning to end. Do you use and immersion chiller that may have a leak? What was the gravity of the wort when you check for the efficiency?
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Brew School Home Pg1

+1 on the above. Maybe you mis-spoke, but I don't understand your claim of hitting your efficiency?

I might suggest the crush is to blame though - if all else was equal.

Crush and making sure your thermometer(s) are correct are the likely candidates for missed OG (and yes, I agree with others about how low OG means much less efficiency).

What I meant about hitting our efficiency was that we got similar liquid amounts out of the mash and sparge as we typically do. Don't think our chiller has a leak, we usually check before and after. I've never checked gravity while testing efficiency, I should probably start doing that. Maybe the crush was the difference, although that is quite the difference!

Chicalorado said:

What I meant about hitting our efficiency was that we got similar liquid amounts out of the mash and sparge as we typically do.

Click to expand...

OK, if you're sure you got the volumes right...it must be something else. If you're using the same water source, crush or bad temperature readings are one of the main factors. FWIW, efficiency refers to how much sugars you got from a batch of grain: you calculate it by comparing your collected OG vs an estimated OG (of theoritical maximum of each grain you used).

Then it's probably the grain crush or a faulty temp reading.

water..... maybe you added a little more water. 2 quarts will nock off close to .010 on your hydro.

"I've never checked gravity while testing efficiency, I should probably start doing that."
How do you check (test) your efficiency?
mark
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Brew School Home Pg1

Chicalorado said:

What I meant about hitting our efficiency was that we got similar liquid amounts out of the mash and sparge as we typically do. Don't think our chiller has a leak, we usually check before and after. I've never checked gravity while testing efficiency, I should probably start doing that. Maybe the crush was the difference, although that is quite the difference!

Click to expand...

I think you need to review what you can on the determination of mash efficiency. It's pretty simple, but you're doing it wrong.