1st all grain...How did I do?

[The Mad Hatter]

Today was my first all grain. I think everything went OK. I did a batch sparge from a 5 gallon cooler. Here is the grain bill.... I neamed thei "retriever Blond Ale" Its an inside joke with my brother...

11# American 2 Row
1# Crystal Malt
10z Williamette - 60 min.
Wyeast - 1056

I doughed in @ 1.25 qt per pound. I calculated the water to be 166* (After pre heating the MLT) and with a roughly 80* grain temp I got 154* grist and target was 152. I ended up running two batch sparges to get my target of 7 gallons. I actually ended up with almost eight, so I boiled down to 5.5ish. My pre boil gravity was 1.050 @ 60*. (I had it in the fridge to cool, and forgot about it heh) My post boil gravity was 1.054 @ 80*.

As you can imagine, I have questions....

Is this normal for the gravity to be a bit higher when the temperature is higher in on sample than the other? Also, I am wondering about efficiency, or more curious I guess. I know that I need to inprove on the process so that the day goes smoother, but how do you calculate efficiency?

Does it sound like my gravity numbers are coming out like they should? Does anyone see any problems with the grain bill? Thanks everyone, I appreciate it!

 

[WBC]

If you ar using Beersmith you enter the actual readings (volume and OG) after the boil and cooling into Beersmith and it will tell you the efficiency.

Otherwise look up efficiency calculators online or calculate using your readings the hard way.

 

[Stratotankard]

Looks like you got about 67% brewhouse efficiency if I entered everything right. A little low, but not bad for a first AG.

You can use a brewing calculator, or if you're a glutton for punishment, the long hand equation is:
((Pounds of grain) x (Potential sugars in points per pound)) / gallons = Potential gravity
Then:
Actual gravity / Potential gravity = efficiency

Actual calculations
11 x 37 = 407
1 x 34 = 34

407 + 34 = 441
441/5.5 gallons= 1.080

54/80= .675 or 67.5

I got my potential sugars numbers off of a brewing software (Q-Brew) but I know you can find them online with a bit of searching.

You could do mash efficiency by using pre-boil gravity and volume but I don't bother since I boil down to what fits in my fermenter anyways so how much I start with doesn't matter to me. I boiled 8 gallons of my 9-9-9 barley wine for just over 3 hours and used most of a tank of gas to get 5 gallons in my fermenter. My overall efficiency was close to 95%. My mash efficiency was definitely crap but I can deal with that.

I hope this helps some.

 

[GIusedtoBe]

Colder worts are more dense therefore the SG will be higher. I believe the hydrometers are calibrated at 68 F or is that 60 F? Either way, your 80 reading would be a little higher at the correct temp but not drastically.

Tasty Brew has a good calculater that you can plug in your ingredients and use the default efficiency number and see how far off you are. By a little trial and error, you can figure out your efficiency. Be warned thought that if it is like mine, you won't be happy.

Regards,
Al

 

[Stratotankard]

Just read GI's post and he's right, your efficiency will be closer to 70-72% depending on your hydrometer's calibration temp. Not bad at all for a first AG, not bad at all!

 

[ajf]

Your 80F reading of 1.054 would be about 1.0565 corrected for temperature.
The only way to calculate efficiency accurately is to have accurate gravity and volume.
If your 5.5ish g is really 5.5g, I calculate your efficiency at 69%, but if it is really 5.25g, it would drop to 65%
I guess it is somewhere between the two, which is not too shabby for a 1st AG attempt.

Congrats.

-a.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Thank you for the efficiency help. I would im agine that is about time to get some software. Sould be a tasty batch I think. I also like the smack packs, I had airlock activity about 3 hours after pitching. Pretty cool I thought. Now I believe I will have to get some mason jars and see if I can wash some of that yeast.

 

[JoMarky]

Colder worts are more dense therefore the SG will be higher.

I forget the density vs temperature curve for water... is it only the last 5 or so degrees before freezing that density starts to decrease (cuz we all know ice floats in water)? I do think you are right though, for our purposes colder wort is denser than warmer wort.