First AG Brew, Need help with calculations and Questions

[southside2234]

Okay so here's the recipe I did (BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde):


****5 Gallon Batch****

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.57 gal
Estimated OG: 1.040 SG
Estimated Color: 3.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount
7.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
0.75 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (55 min)
0.25 oz Centennial [9.50%] (35 min)
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (20 min)
0.25 oz Cascade [7.80%] (5 min)
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) (Hydrated)


Mash at 150 degrees for 60 minutes.



I put the recipe in Beersmith, and it told me to add 10.94 quarts of 162 degree water to the grains (1.25 qt per lb) then mash at 150 for 60 min.

First question: when I took the temp of the water with grain in it in the tun, I go readings anywhere between 150-158 depending on where I took the measurement...I left the lid on my cooler open until I got a 150 reading in the middle of the cooler (thermometer stuck about halfway down). Did I do that right?

I then double batch sparged with 2.25 gal each time (beersmith said to do 1.15 gal and then 3.35).

I don't know how to measure how much wort I gained from mashing--how would I do go about doing that?

BS also said my pre-boil est. gravity should be 1.035--I hit basically dead on at 1.036.

Boiled the wort and followed the schedule, then transferred to fermenter. I only yielded about 3.75 gallons? The OG was quite high though--1.052. I was shooting for 1.040...I added a gallon of water to bring it to 4.75 gallon and the OG from 1.042 so I left it at that.


How can I calculate my efficiency? Boil off % (mine seems to be astronomically high)?

 

[SilverZero]

I don't really care for BeerSmith to calculate temps and volumes. I use the Green Bay Rackers and the Brew365 calculators, and I've hit temps perfectly every time.

Mash and Sparge Water Calculator ::: Brew365 - Homebrewing Recipes and Articles
Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators

If you stir your mash really well, you should have a uniform temperature . . . not sure what that's all about, unless your mash tun has poor insulation. Measuring volumes is just a matter of finding the depth of the wort in your kettle and running it through a kettle volume calculator. I'm sure you can find one online, or maybe there's one in BeerSmith? I also use Brewzor on my Android devices to help with that stuff.

 

[coypoo]

8.75 lbs* ~36 pppg= 315/4.75 gallons= 66 points. You got 52, so 52/66= 78%....Very rough calculations.

Keep in mind this is efficiency into the fermenter, which is different from extract and lauteting efficiency

 

[coypoo]

+1 to brewcalcs

I do my water calcs by hand too. That way I can manipulate it of I need to instead of conforming

 

[SocalNat]

I don't know how to measure how much wort I gained from mashing--how would I do go about doing that?

Do you mean measuring your first runnings in your brew pot? If so then I just notched a 36 in CPVC pipe with gallon increments that I measured from volumes in my brew pot. I subtract that from my target preboil volume and there's my batch volume.