First AG - California Common

I have been brewing extract batches for several years. Took the leap into AG this past weekend with a Calif Common from NB, and I have a couple of questions.

Equipment (pics below):
2 keggles - 1 HL and 1 BK
converted rectangular cooler with slotted PVC manifold



Ingredients:
8# 2-row, milled at NB
1.5# caramel, milled at NB
1oz NB 60 min
0.5oz NB 15min
0.5oz NB 5min
1oz NB 0min
Wyeast 2112

Mash:
4gal @ 170F (1.68 qt/# - too much/little?)
first stir, 160F
20min stir, 155F (I suspect the mash was 155 in a few mins, but I didn't check)
60min stir 150F
First runnings: 2.5gal, 5.4 pH, SG 1.052
Second runnings: 3gal, 5.4 pH, SG 1.030 - after gently stirring for a few mins
Third runnings: 2gal, 5.2 pH, SG 1.010 - after gently stirring for a few mins
Measured OG was 1.049 after chilling

So, first couple questions... I just drained the first runnings without spiking temp. Would it be better to add boiling water to raise temp to ~170 first? How critical is this? For the 2nd and 3rd runnings, I added 170F water, but it was not hot enough to raise temp to 168F (obviously - was not thinking), so those were ~155F. Same question - what would happen with this lower temp?

Preboil volume 7.5 gal, SG ~ 1.032 (weighted ave, since I didn't take the direct reading correctly). Boiled and added hops per schedule above. Chilled through a Dudadiesel plate chiller - worked awesome! I was planning to lose 0.5 gal to the trub, but ended up with ~4.5gal in the carboy. I didn't think about density change when chilling - according to some online tables this can be ~5% or ~0.25gal for a 5gal batch. So, I think I lost 0.75gal in the bottom of the keggle and 0.25gal to density change. (does this sound about right?)

Pics below of inside BK showing drain tube (did a nice job of leaving trub behind, but I lost a little volume in the process), and pic of carboy at brew+1d -- black line is ~5gal, and look at the activity.



Now... when I enter these #s in Beersmith, I am a little confused on how to calculate efficiency and batch size. I probably got 5-5.25gal of chilled wort, but left ~0.75gal in the bottom of the keggle. If I enter 5.5gal (post-boil vol), I get 78% efficiency, but if I enter 4.5gal (volume in carboy), I get 64.5%. What is the right #?

Okay - I may have questions later, but I will stop for now. Thanks to all the board members for posting their Q/A - I learned a ton from reading the threads. Feel free to poke holes in my methods, since I know I made some mistakes - would like to learn for the next batch (planning an Altbier)

Thanks!

Edit: p.s. hmm, the pics are upright on my computer, but rotated in the post, will have to figure that out...

I'll answer as I see fit, but you may want to get other opinions also.

tcbailey said:

Mash:
4gal @ 170F (1.68 qt/# - too much/little?)

Click to expand...

I don't think it makes a huge difference. I've used many different ratios, including no-sparge, and ended up gravitating back to 1.25 Q/lb, just to keep my methods repeatable.

first stir, 160F
20min stir, 155F (I suspect the mash was 155 in a few mins, but I didn't check)
60min stir 150F

Click to expand...

It helps to pre-heat the cooler. I get very little temperature drop over the course of the mash (it drops at the start, of course). I use the TastyBrew infusion calculator, it's very close.

So, first couple questions... I just drained the first runnings without spiking temp. Would it be better to add boiling water to raise temp to ~170 first? How critical is this? For the 2nd and 3rd runnings, I added 170F water, but it was not hot enough to raise temp to 168F (obviously - was not thinking), so those were ~155F. Same question - what would happen with this lower temp?

Click to expand...

That matches my methods. If it is critical to raise the temp higher - it hasn't seemed to detriment my beer. Maybe we'll hear differently from someone else.

So, I think I lost 0.75gal in the bottom of the keggle and 0.25gal to density change. (does this sound about right?)

Click to expand...

That sounds like a lot. That's eight beers, man. Eight! Just poured out on the ground...

Now... when I enter these #s in Beersmith, I am a little confused on how to calculate efficiency and batch size. I probably got 5-5.25gal of chilled wort, but left ~0.75gal in the bottom of the keggle. If I enter 5.5gal (post-boil vol), I get 78% efficiency, but if I enter 4.5gal (volume in carboy), I get 64.5%. What is the right #?

Click to expand...

If you are trying to get the effiency of your system start to finish, take the 4.5 gallon figure. Clearly, you have an opportunity to improve efficiency by minimizing transfer losses.

Cheers!

Frazier - thanks for the feedback. I will look at other ppls dip tubes to see if I can improve my config. I agree that 3/4 gallon is a lot of wort down the drain. Another thought after reading more is that the 2nd and 3rd runnings may have been a little stronger with hotter water - better sugar extraction. I will try those 2 things on my next batch - an alt bier recipe I made (with lots of guidance from other ppls recipes).

Thanks

Well, the haze is still settling in the keg, but this batch tastes great!! Feeling very confident in my AG brewing at this point. Let's see if my first alt bier comes out as good - done fermenting and ready for keg.