1st BIAB went well 2nd attempt I fell short

[Mx750ktm]

Here was the recipe for this attempt.
6.25lbs Pale Malt (2 Row)
4lbs White Wheat Malt
1lb Vienna Malt
****Mash 158 for 45 minutes****
0.25 Motueka Hops at 60 Minutes
0.25 Sorachi Ace 20 minutes
0.25 Motueka Hops 20 minutes
0.25 Sorachi Ace 7 Minutes
0.50 Lime Zest 5 Minutes
White Labs Hefeweizen IV Ale Yeast
****Start Vigorous Fermentation****
After Vigorous Fermentation subsides, add 1.75L Simply Limeade
****Ferment for a minimum of 3 weeks****
I had my LHBS mill my grains. They didn't run it through twice but did say the tightened the mill gap for me.
I mashed at roughly 156 for the 45 mins.
And then pulled the bag out and poured 170 degree water over the grains with enough water to bring me to 6.5 gallons. I then proceded with the boils and everything here went smooth.

When all was said and done and cooled down my gravity reading was 1.043 so about 9pts short which had me alarmed because off all my brews I've always hit my numbers right on or one off or so.

I've done some reading and seen maybe next time I should double mill Atleast the wheat? Anyone else believe this to be true? From what I've read seems like the grain is harder to mill especially for hitting target effeciency with biab.

Also last but not least I didn't have any dme on hand I know dumb me but I pitched my yeast it was active for 3 days and it's at it's final gravity. It's at 1.009. Is this normal for it to be done in 3 days I plan to still leave it alone for 10-14 days to let the yeast clean up some. I also know that this will now be lower in alcohol but could the beer still have potential to be a good drinker? I've never been so far off, so I wasn't sure if it actually changed the beer more than just the alcohol %.

Any insight would be great thanks Jake

 

[bobeer]

I biab'ed for almost 2 years before I just built a mash tun. My efficiency was always an issue. I'd usually get pretty good efficiency but there were a few that were shorter than others. I rarely hit my target dead on but my beer always tasted good.
I found with big malt bills it was harder to hit my target gravity. How much water did you mash with for 11.25 lbs of grain? Did you try to reposition the bag when you were sparging to rinse as much sugar out as you could? Did you stir the grains often during the mash?
The crush could have been part of the issue but I'd have to see what it looked like to really tell. I've brewed a few wheat beers and I've never milled twice, for any beer, and never have had any issues really.
Fermentation usually finishes in 3-5 days after it starts, and since your beer is a lower gravity, 3 days sounds about right. I'd leave it on the yeast for another 7-12 days so it can clean itself up. Your beer will be fine. It will probably be lighter in body than you had planned but it will still be beer. Sounds like a nice summertime brew!

 

[RM-MN]

Because of the size of the kernels, the lack of husk, and the hardness, wheat is difficult to mill fine enough for good efficiency. Double milling would help but if you intend to brew with wheat or rye very often you need your own mill. I use a Corona style and set it very tight and I can get as good efficiency from wheat as I can from barley. Not so with rye. Even milling it twice my efficiency suffers a bit with rye.

 

[Mx750ktm]

Thank you both for your responses. I doubt I do to many wheat style beers I just wanted one easy drinking summer brew for all to enjoy out at our pool. Will be investing in a mill soon I believe though. Do you recommend stirring during the mash? I feel like I may have got lazy this time because I bought a new thermometer with a probe that I was able to let it mash while monitoring the temps without opening it up. In my previous batches I would open pull the top of my kettle to check temps every 10 minutes and typically stir it around that cools also be a key difference so thanks for bringing that up. I used 1.75 quarts per lb of grain. I didn't want to use quite that much but I have a 15 gallon keggle and I needed enough water to cover the grains all the way. And yes while rinsing I pull the bag out a slide a little microwave rack over the keggle and set the bag onto that then pour my water through it and reposition it multiple times and use the lid of the keggle to push on the drain it well.

 

[RM-MN]

You might do better with more water for the mash. If you have plenty of water every grain particle will be surrounded by water. So long as you stir well at dough in you don't need to stir again during the mash, that just loses you temperature.