Difference between first wort/first runnings

[mummasan]

First wort is the wort collected before the sparge.

First runnings are the first few quarts collected after opening the valve to drain the mash.

Do I have this correct? I was on Kaiser's website and I am trying to get a handle on my conversion efficiency.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I've only seen first wort used when referring to first wort hopping. Which would be your first runnings.
First runnings and first wort should be the same thing.

 

[JesseRC]

well unless you are vorleufing then first runnings are the first runnings that get emptied back into the mastun

 

[ajf]

First runnings are the first few quarts drained after the mash and vorlauf, but before adding any sparge water. This can be used to calculate your conversion efficiency.
First wort is usually the only wort. If you are doing a parti-gyle brew, it would refer to the first batch of wort collected to make a heavy beer, and the second wort would be the second batch of wort collected to make the lighter beer. The wort would be collected after the sparge, and could be used to calculate the sparge efficiency.

-a.

 

[flyfishnc]

First runnings are the first few quarts drained after the mash and vorlauf, but before adding any sparge water. This can be used to calculate your conversion efficiency.
First wort is usually the only wort. If you are doing a parti-gyle brew, it would refer to the first batch of wort collected to make a heavy beer, and the second wort would be the second batch of wort collected to make the lighter beer. The wort would be collected after the sparge, and could be used to calculate the sparge efficiency.

-a.

sorry to hijack, but which efficiency is BeerSmith's 'Brewhouse Efficiency' referring to? i've been taking a gravity reading after i sparged and collected my boil volume to determine my efficency %.

 

[Julohan]

I have used firs wort runnings to caramelizing for a scottish ale

 

[mummasan]

I have boiled down the first runnings for a two batches as well. Both beers turned out great.

I don't use beersmith so I don't know for sure - I've read on other threads that mash efficiency is eff in the kettle, and brewhouse eff is eff in the fermenter.

For my last brew I measured the gravity of the first gallon of run off to see what my conversion eff was. But I think I may have done it incorrectly. I think I should have waited untill all three gallons of my first wort were drained, then taken a sample of that to measure for the conversion eff. It probably doesn't even matter.

 

[OLDBREW]

In Days of Old they made the Kings brew out of the first runnings. This means just to drain the mashtun without lautering. They would fill the tun again, stir, do a second rest, then drain. This second runnings would be the common beer.

First wort would be as soon as you had starch to sugar conversion, which with some malts can be as little as 10 minutes. It could still be in the mashtun and considered wort. The term first wort as far as I know came from the hopping procedure "first wort hopping" where the hops are in with the first runnings.