Dumped the wort

[vrodbrad]

Good day all. Well yesterday I did up a beer that I have done twice before with know problems. Yesterday after I did the mash and got it into the pot I had checked to see what my pre-boil gravity was and yep it was reading only 1.016 (It should of been at 1.043). This tells me that I really had no conversion. I double checked the readings and both my refractometer and hydrometer were calibrated I always make sure they both read the same before I brew so they are calibrated. Volumes and Temps were spot on.

The only thing I can think of is the Homebrew shop where I got them from crushed them really. The girl that did the crushing I saw her having to play with mill so I think that is what caused the issue.

I ended up just pouring it out on the ground for I knew that if I did a boil it would take for ever to get the gravity reading where I needed it and I was just pissed off at what happened.

I guess it is time to just buy my own mill and never go back to that store.

 

[Pappers_]

Sorry to hear that, always disappointing when a batch doesn't turn out the way you want.

Did you measure the gravity with both the refractometer and the hydrometer? I wasn't clear if that was what you were saying or not. There are enough instances shared here of problems with refractometer readings that I would do that if I was concerned.

You left out a word in your post - what are you concerned about with the crush? Too much or too little?

 

[vrodbrad]

Yeah I took the reading with the refractometer first and saw it was low so checked with my hydrometer and both readings were low.

I think not enough crush was the problem.

 

[Braufessor]

That sucks.. Make sure to really check the crush in the future and don't be afraid to tell them to run it through again. A crush that is bad enough to give you conversion as poor as that would be pretty obvious in the bag. It would contain whole kernels and little to no "flour", kernels just broke in half, etc.

Other possibility is that you did not mix the grain well in the mash water and ended up with dry spots/dough balls in your mash. If mash temperature was drastically off, that could be a problem. Channeling during sparge, not mixing the grain during sparge run off. Perhaps your volume was off (too high) or maybe the store actually gave you too little grain.... those might be some possible explanations beyond crush??

One thing that I think is always a good idea is to keep some extra light DME on hand. I always keep 5-6 one pound bags on hand. I use them for starters, but it is always good to have them on hand if something goes wrong and I miss intended gravity and need to throw a pound in. Yours was quite low, but even throwing in 2-3 pounds you could have salvaged a session beer of some sort out of your day.

 

[Schlenkerla]

To help you we need more info about your brewing experience.

What's your level of AG experience?

- Random Thoughts -
The cracked grain should look like; grains without husk, grains cracked in half, loose husks and powdery dust. If you have several grains or more than 30-40% that look undisturbed by the crush they need to re-process the grains through the mill.

Are you sure your thermometers are reading the right temp? Check the temp of ice water and boiling water 32F vs 210F. If you doughed in at 1-1.25 Quarts to 1 pound grain your mash strike water temp should have been about 11'F over your target of 152 or about 163'F.

Are you sure you doughed in properly, that everything got wet in the mash. It would help to know your mash ratio grain to water. How often do you stir during the mash?

Do an Iodine starch test before lautering, if it doesn't convert, mash longer. If the temp is low below 142'F, you can add a quart or more of boiling water according to step infusion mash calculator. Brewzor is on Android

Keep some DME on hand in the event need to salvage the next batch rather than dumping the batch.

What was your grain bill? - You can use 6-Row to increase the enzyme content. This is an important consideration when brewing with adjuncts.

Tell us more...

 

[vrodbrad]

I have been doing AG for over a year and never had a problem like this before.

My temps were spot on my thermometer is spot on so I know that was not the problem.

Yeah should have some dme around I agree.

When I dough in I pour in slowly and stir like crazy. (The grains looked like they really did not get crushed I would say.)

I don't stir the mash during the mash cycle. (never had an issue before)

I do do the 1.125 qt to grain ratio

Volumes were spot on

grain bill was 4 lb 4.6 oz 2row, 2lb 13.7oz of white wheat malt, 2lb 2.3oz of Vienna malt, 11.4 oz of caramel/crystal malt 40l

 

[2trout]

I guess it is time to just buy my own mill and never go back to that store./QUOTE]

Your own mill? Yes. Never go back in to that store? Based on just this event? No.

Mistakes get made, and they need to know that your experience could have been better and that there may be a problem with their mill.

Let them know your issue and then form your opinion.

 

[Braufessor]

If you brew a fair amount, and if you are fairly certain you want to continue brewing, and have the room..... buying your own mill, and purchasing base malt in bulk is absolutely the way to go. You can pay for your mill in increased efficiency and bulk grain that is less than $1 per pound.

I had a Barley Crusher to start with (it wore out, and that is a problem lots of people have with it.) A few years ago I bought a Monster Mill and it is great.

 

[vrodbrad]

The store issue has been a problem for awhile. I have buddies that have had problems and not happy with them. They are the only one that close an hour drive away. They are really not knowledgeable and have the brewing side as part of another business.

Wife said for me to go ahead and by a grain mill and start buying bulk so will do that.

I did call store and all i got was sorry to hear that. They said they need to get a new mill. They told my buddy the same thing six months ago

 

[MrBJones]

The store issue has been a problem for awhile.

1...They are really not knowledgeable and have the brewing side as part of another business.

2...I did call store and all i got was sorry to hear that.

3...They said they need to get a new mill. They told my buddy the same thing six months ago

Three strikes and they're out

 

[Schlenkerla]

I second that.

 

[oceanic_brew]

Makes me appreciate my LHBS so much. I actually have two to go to and they in competition to see who can have the best, freshest, and most diverse all-grain focused selection.

 

[xCSx]

Buy your own mill

 

[Stillraining]

Makes me appreciate my LHBS so much. I actually have two to go to and they in competition to see who can have the best, freshest, and most diverse all-grain focused selection.

+1 we have a great one too....I can't relate to any HBS bashing.

 

[vrodbrad]

Yeah, that store only being an hour away and other stores being 3 to 4 hours away time to get my own mil and by the grains online and.

The place bought out the store I used to go to because he retired and he was really good at what he did (knowledge, inventory, and such). I have seen him a couple times around where I live and talked about the people that bought him out and he told me has heard a lot of complaints about them from other people that he knows.

 

[Murphys_Law]

For what it's worth, I got a Cereal Killer mill about a year ago and really like it. I think I paid around $100. I heard it's similar to the barley crusher but the rollers are made of harder steal (can't verify that, just something I read on the 'net so it has to be true! )

I also got a zip lock storage container from WalMart that holds darn near a 55# bag. The lid rim is sealed and has snap downs. Can't remember how much I paid but it was cheap. If you have access to a Costco they have Vittle Vaults that hold 60# and are $28.

 

[ed007]

Buy your own mill

+1

It only takes a minute to run through 10 lb of grain with a power drill. Plus, you can adjust the roller spacing as desired.

 

[GPP33]

I always double weigh my grains when I get home. Had a guy filling in at the LHBS who shorted me 2 lbs one time. I picked up the crushed bag of grain on brew day and thought to myself "this seems like a small bag for a 10 gallon batch". It probably seems smaller than it was because it was the lightest beer I had brewed to date but when I weighed it I found out why. Back to the LHBS I went for a new batch of grains. Had I not done that I would have been loosing my mind trying to figure out where my efficiency went.

 

[Stillraining]

The place bought out the store I used to go to because he retired and he was really good at what he did (knowledge, inventory, and such). I have seen him a couple times around where I live and talked about the people that bought him out and he told me has heard a lot of complaints about them from other people that he knows.

Sorry to hear that. Just remember that as your knowledge grows your need for theirs lessens....So if you can get your information here but still benefit from what services they can provide, its still a win for you.
Hopefully they will change there ways.
We get to grind our own grains at our store..If you want to run it through 3 times there's nobody stopping you. So maybe ask if you can grind your own next time?

FWIW I pre-grind there and store my grains at home...I have not noticed a loss in flavor's doing that over fresh ground....I'm quite happy to keep the mess at my HBS and never own a mill.

 

[vrodbrad]

Wife went ahead and bought me the cereal killer this morning. I told her I would get it next month and she decided and went and ordered this morning for me. Love my wife

 

[Murphys_Law]

Wife went ahead and bought me the cereal killer this morning. I told her I would get it next month and she decided and went and ordered this morning for me. Love my wife

You have a real keeper!

 

[vrodbrad]

Well, got the cereal killer mill in yesterday and the grains. Set the gap of the mill at .035 and will mill the grains this morning and redo the beer. I put the handle on the mill and will mill that way first time.

 

[madscientist451]

Get a plug in, variable speed drill to power the mill if you don't already have one.
A battery drill will work as well, but the plug in drills seem to have more power.
You need the variable speed to crush the grain properly, it takes a little experimentation to figure the best speed.
The drill will come in handy for other projects around the house.
I'm a little skeptical that crush problems alone would have cause such a low pre-boil reading. If the grain wasn't really crushed at all, wouldn't you have noticed that?

 

[vrodbrad]

Got a good crush did by hand diffently jook up my drill next time. Crush from did not look like my crush

View attachment 1489681562621.jpg

 

[VagueSkunk]

Dang that's some blurry grain!

 

[vrodbrad]

My camera lens is cracked on phone

 

[bleme]

My only LHBS is an hour away also but my homebrew club has a deal with a local brewpub allowing members to buy bags of grain from him at cost. You should check around to see if something like that is available in your area.

 

[BrewSomeMore]

Got me a Cereal Killer. Never looked back. Efficiency went up 4% over the LHBS grind and I am getting sacks of grain for a nice price. Yeah, get a good plug in power drill. No need to charge a battery, tons of powers and it will last a lifetime.

 

[vrodbrad]

Numbers came out all good this time. Diffently love the mill and will hook up my corded drill next time.

 

[vrodbrad]

Will check with the two prepubs i have here