Brew day in progress

[bulldogxray]

So brewing my first 10 gallon allgrain batch. Mac and Jacks clone. I am using my new stand from pinupbrewery with chugger pumps.

ok so i hit my mash temp at 155 everything good to go. Then The problems start. I have use an almost full tank of propane trying to heat 10 gallons of sparge water from the outside tap ( I am guessing 49 degrees) to 180 to sparge at 168 it has taken almost an hour. I am about to pump in the sparge now I will post more in a minute. I mashed in 6.5 gallons on a 21 grain bill and I got 3 gallons of wort from the mash and another9.5 from the sparge for a total of 12.5

 

[bulldogxray]

ok so besides having to get another lp tank I think things are good.

I tried to calculate eff based on an online calculater (i can figure out how to do it with beersmith)
Grain bill
18 maris otter
2 munic lite
1 crystal 80

my volume into the kettle was 12.5 into the boiler with an og of 1.050

og was suppose to be 1.060

using the caluclater I go 79% effeciency which I think is way to high.

 

[bulldogxray]

Well it has been a long day with the new system. I finished with a post boil og of 1.037. I did have a problem, I ended up with to much wort at the end. It shoudl have been a 10 g batch but I ended up with 11 and some change. I only boiled off about 1 and some change over an hour an a half. I am not sure if it is because it is cold as hell or if it is becuse my boil was weak.

Oh well I pitched the yeast and with any luck I will have beer in about a month.

Critiques and advice????

 

[rockytoptim]

Well it has been a long day with the new system. I finished with a post boil og of 1.037. I did have a problem, I ended up with to much wort at the end. It shoudl have been a 10 g batch but I ended up with 11 and some change. I only boiled off about 1 and some change over an hour an a half. I am not sure if it is because it is cold as hell or if it is becuse my boil was weak.

Oh well I pitched the yeast and with any luck I will have beer in about a month.

Critiques and advice????

Was your post boil OG really 1.037. This must be a typo as you had 1.050 going into the BK.

Boil off sounds fine to me. I usually boil off 1 - 1.25 over a 60min boil. Strength of boil will effect evaporation rate. When I first started AG brewing I was boiling off 2+ gal per 60 min boil. I have backed it down and am now at what I stated above.

For my 10gal batches I actually want post boil of 11g that way with trub and samplings I end up with about 10 gal by the time its kegged in 2 different cornies.

 

[bulldogxray]

Was your post boil OG really 1.037. This must be a typo as you had 1.050 going into the BK.

Boil off sounds fine to me. I usually boil off 1 - 1.25 over a 60min boil. Strength of boil will effect evaporation rate. When I first started AG brewing I was boiling off 2+ gal per 60 min boil. I have backed it down and am now at what I stated above.

For my 10gal batches I actually want post boil of 11g that way with trub and samplings I end up with about 10 gal by the time its kegged in 2 different cornies.

No That is not a typo. I used my refractometer and I made sure it was calibrated with distilled water before and it has Automatic tem adjust.


What is wrong with my post boil og?

 

[chapa]

If you started at 1.050 pre-boil, your post-boil would only increase. What was the temp when you took those samples? If you took your post boil gravity while it was still hot, that may be it. Sure there wasn't some sanitizer left in your hydrometer jar?(I did that recently-boy this looks light, and tastes watery...) Haha

 

[bulldogxray]

If you started at 1.050 pre-boil, your post-boil would only increase. What was the temp when you took those samples? If you took your post boil gravity while it was still hot, that may be it. Sure there wasn't some sanitizer left in your hydrometer jar?(I did that recently-boy this looks light, and tastes watery...) Haha

I was thinking of this backwards. Is there anyway possible that I could have screwed this up so much and ended up with a 1.037 post boil?

I used a refractometer with automatic temp corection so I dont think it was that.

 

[rockytoptim]

Something is up with readings it's impossible to have a lower gravity after boiling than you had before boiling. I have messed up my reading before. Its easy to do. Did you stir your pre boil sort. You can get false readings if you don't still your 1st 2nd and tensing runnings together before taking preboil reading.

 

[jagg]

I was thinking of this backwards. Is there anyway possible that I could have screwed this up so much and ended up with a 1.037 post boil?

I used a refractometer with automatic temp corection so I dont think it was that.

Hey Bulldog, there is no way you can have a lower gravity after you boil the wort down, if you had an OG of 1.050 before you started the boil, the gravity of the post boil would HAVE to be higher, so somewhere you didnt get an accurate measurement of the sugars, boiloff decreases the amount of water in solution, the sugars will not change, therefore the gravity MUST increase as you boil the water off, I would check your refractometer and I would also use a hydrometer. Hydrometers that are calibrated cant mess up, hope this helps, good luck.

 

[bulldogxray]

Hey Bulldog, there is no way you can have a lower gravity after you boil the wort down, if you had an OG of 1.050 before you started the boil, the gravity of the post boil would HAVE to be higher, so somewhere you didnt get an accurate measurement of the sugars, boiloff decreases the amount of water in solution, the sugars will not change, therefore the gravity MUST increase as you boil the water off, I would check your refractometer and I would also use a hydrometer. Hydrometers that are calibrated cant mess up, hope this helps, good luck.

Ok well I guess I did screw something up with my readings. I am concerned now with a 1.037 post boil if that was the actual post boil sg then I effed something up bigtime considering I was suppose to hit a 1.050.

 

[jagg]

Ok well I guess I did screw something up with my readings. I am concerned now with a 1.037 post boil if that was the actual post boil sg then I effed something up bigtime considering I was suppose to hit a 1.050.

Also, make sure you are mixing everything really well before you grab a sample, I mean really mix it, if you add any topup water you will need to mix that in really well also, good luck.