I just completed my 1st AG batch (4th homebrew batch) and I completely missed my OG. I started with Northern Brewer's Surly Bender recipe with my new 10 gallon Igloo MLT with Northern Brewer false bottom. The recipe suggests an OG of 1.060 and I ended with 1.046. According to Beer Tools Pro this would suggests a efficiency of 70% given my grain bill.
I planned to batch sparge and used Beer Tools Pro to give me an idea of strike water and infusion temps (mash in and mash out). I missed my mash in temp (153) and ended up adding more water to mash in, 4.5 - 5 gallons instead of 4. I stirred every 15 minutes for 60 minutes and finished with a temp ranging from 148 - 150. My mash out required me to add way more water than planned, 2.5 - 3 gal versus the 2 planned. First running came out at 13 Brix (1.053) instead of the 1.060 with 4 gallons collected. I sparged once and collected 6.5 gallons reading 11.6 Brix. I boiled it down to around 5 gallons and ended with an OG of 1.046. What happened? I've been told my system should easily hit the 70% efficiency mark.
Thanks for your input.
I planned to batch sparge and used Beer Tools Pro to give me an idea of strike water and infusion temps (mash in and mash out). I missed my mash in temp (153) and ended up adding more water to mash in, 4.5 - 5 gallons instead of 4. I stirred every 15 minutes for 60 minutes and finished with a temp ranging from 148 - 150. My mash out required me to add way more water than planned, 2.5 - 3 gal versus the 2 planned. First running came out at 13 Brix (1.053) instead of the 1.060 with 4 gallons collected. I sparged once and collected 6.5 gallons reading 11.6 Brix. I boiled it down to around 5 gallons and ended with an OG of 1.046. What happened? I've been told my system should easily hit the 70% efficiency mark.
Thanks for your input.