First AG, need feedback

[UrbanBrew]

Hey guys and gals looking for a few answers and suggestions. Yesterday I attempted my first real all grain brew. It has a very large grain bill. For 3 gal I had almost 9lbs of grains. I don't have a mash ton so my LHBS owner told me to put a spigot on a 5 gal bucket and mash in that. He gave me a brief instructions on how to recirculate and sparge.
The process went as follows:
Started 3 gallons of water warming, while waiting for that I put a XL mesh net in a 5 gal bucket and put in the grain. When the water hit 171 I poured it in over the grain. I then put the bucket inside of a large insulated bag for the required 75 min.. At that point I put the bucket on the counter attached a hose to the spigot and started to drain the wort into 2 one gal carboys. It would run out at about a quart per minute. I would then switch carboys and slowly pour the filled one back over the grain. After doing this for about 20 mins I lifted the bag and slowly poured 1.25 gals of 168 degree sparge water over it. I started my 75 min. boil with about 3.25 gal of wort. After the boil I ice bath cooled it in about 12-15 minutes.
Here's my outcome:
When I took the temp of my wort at the end of the mash it was at 139 (thought that was an important fact)
Total finished volume 2.5 gal, Target 3 gal
OG 1.065, Target 1.083
I still think it's going to be a good product just not what I was aiming for. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
:fro:

 

[bottlebomber]

I would use more water for both mashing (if you can, given the 1-2 qt per lb rule) and definitely more for sparging. This will raise your efficiency and give you a better post boil volume. You say you got 2.5 gallons of wort, but when the trub settles ill bet there's even less. You could also try pouring a few quarts of boiling water in to "mash out". This will thin your sugars and make them more soluble for your sparge.

 

[Bensiff]

Temp control is about the single most important factor when it comes to brewing good beer. If you cannot control your mash temp reasonably well I would hold off until you can get the equipment to do so. You may want to see if you can find a good sale on a 10 gallon/40qt cooler while out Christmas shopping as these are probably the number one mashtun used by homebrewers as they will hold temp to within a degree or two over the course of an hour. A proper mashtun will help your efficiency as well.

You may also want to check what type of plastic that bucket is made out of, it may not be rated for mashing temps.

 

[Bheher]

At that point I put the bucket on the counter attached a hose to the spigot and started to drain the wort into 2 one gal carboys. It would run out at about a quart per minute. I would then switch carboys and slowly pour the filled one back over the grain.

This is where you lost your temperature and saw the drop down to 135. How big is your boil kettle?
If your kettle is large enough I would heat water, add grains and mash for 75 minutes. Rise temperature to 168-170. Then pour this into your plastic bucket with mesh net.

You also dont need to do the 20 minute recirculation just pour the first half gallon back into the bucket and move the rest straight to the boil kettle.

Search for threads under the title "brew in a bag"

 

[UrbanBrew]

"This is where you lost your temperature and saw the drop down to 135."
No, it was down before I started the recirculation. Thought the insulation bag would keep it warm enough.

"How big is your boil kettle?" Only 14 qt. It was too big of a grain bill for that size pot but I had already committed.

Search for threads under the title "brew in a bag" Will do

Thanks for all the replies.