First All Grain Bew, low OG....what gives

[themartinezmafia]

Last night was my first attempt at All Grain brewing. The recipe I was using was Waynes Blue Moon clone. I was hitting my target temps throughout the mash and pre-boil gravity reading. We when I went to take a postboil reading before pitching the yeast my hydrometer read 1.045. My est post boil reading should have been 1.060 according to Beersmith. I followed the recipe to a T so I'm not sure where it went wrong.

Here is the recipe:
6 lbs 2 Row
1 lbs Rice Hull
4 lbs 12.8 oz White Wheat Malt
1 lbs 6.4 oz Oats, Flaked
2.00 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh - Boil 60
1.25 tsp Coriander Seed - Boil 10 min
.33 tsp Valensia Orange Peel - Boil 5 min
1 pack Safale US - 05

Mash In - 4.15 gallons @ 154 F for 75 min ***I added a little over half a gallon of 190 degrees water to hit my target temp of 154***

2nd Mash - 1.5 gallons @168 F for 10 mins. ***Actual mash temp was 160 F***

Fly Sparge with 4 gallons of water at 168 F.

My estimated pre-boil gravity reading 1.053. Actual was 1.055

 

[themartinezmafia]

With regards to the yeast, I heated 1 1/2 cups of water for approx 30 seconds and stirred in the yeast and then pitched it into the wort.

 

[kombat]

How did your gravity go from 1.055 to 1.045 during boiling? Gravity increases during boiling, not decreases. Did you add top up water after the boil or something? Otherwise one (or both) of your readings was incorrect.

 

[kombat]

With regards to the yeast, I heated 1 1/2 cups of water for approx 30 seconds and stirred in the yeast and then pitched it into the wort.

What was the temperature of the water when you added the yeast? How long did you wait for the yeast to rehydrate before pitching into the wort?

 

[themartinezmafia]

No I didn't add top up water after the boil. It was 3:00 in the morning when I took the reading so it might have been me misreading it... although I did take three different readings, weird. So what your saying is if my pre-boil reading was 1.055 then it most likely went up from there?

I didn't check the temp of the water before mixing in the yeast. It was lukewarm. I let it sit for one minute before pitching it.

 

[LovesIPA]

Did you correct your gravity readings for temperature?

Did you stir the pre-boil wort before taking the sample? If not, as the kettle fills it can stratify, leaving heavier, denser wort (with more sugar dissolved in it) at the bottom of the kettle. If you take gravity samples through a ball valve that can happen.

 

[LovesIPA]

No I didn't add top up water after the boil. It was 3:00 in the morning when I took the reading so it might have been me misreading it... although I did take three different readings, weird. So what your saying is if my pre-boil reading was 1.055 then it most likely went up from there?

Not "most likely". If your pre-boil gravity really was 1.055, then according to the laws of the universe the gravity increases as more water is boiled off.

I didn't check the temp of the water before mixing in the yeast. It was lukewarm. I let it sit for one minute before pitching it.

Not a big deal, but you should let it sit for longer than that. I usually boil the water, let it cool to 90-100, pitch the yeast, and let it cool down to 65 or 70 before pitching into wort that's below 65.

 

[themartinezmafia]

No I didn't stir the pre-boiled wort prior to taking the temp. I have a wine thief so I just pulled from the top.

 

[LovesIPA]

That's probably it then. Make sure you stir the kettle thoroughly before taking a sample. If you're sure about your OG reading, and you corrected all the readings for temperature, that's the most likely explanation.

 

[seckert]

get a refractometer...not to be mean, but it appears you have issues using a hydrometer. plus you will not have to compensate for temperature and wont lose that beer.
oh and always stir your wort before taking a reading...this does not apply once it has gone into your fermenter and are taking a reading to see if fermentation is complete.

 

[themartinezmafia]

I'm ordering a refractometer now. So lets say the OG of 145 is correct. Do you see any reason why I was so far off from the est OG of 1.060? My brewhouse efficiency was on 56% when it should have been 72. Will the beer still taste good with such a low efficiency?

 

[augiedoggy]

I'm ordering a refractometer now. So lets say the OG of 145 is correct. Do you see any reason why I was so far off from the est OG of 1.060? My brewhouse efficiency was on 56% when it should have been 72. Will the beer still taste good with such a low efficiency?

if your reading of 1.045 was correct than your reading of 1.055 was somehow completely misread. without knowing the og of your wort post boil we really are just guessing on things but if it was somehow 1.045 your beer will be low alcohol beer.... a session beer for sure.
refractometer is one of the best investment I have (it was actually a gift from the GF ) I broke like three hydrometers and they waste so much.

 

[LovesIPA]

It will be perfectly drinkable, just low in alcohol and probably won't taste very balanced. You might pick up more bitterness, but some of that might be masked by the hefe yeast flavor.

Most people's low efficiency is caused by the grain crush, but there are lots of other factors as well. You might try searching the forums for "low efficiency" and following up on suggestions.

 

[themartinezmafia]

Alright, thanks for everyone's help.