Low O.G help

[trapanesed]

What's up guys. First off I want to say beersmith is the sh$t. Nevertheless, I still managed to screw something up. Sunday was my first all grain batch. I was shooting for an og of 1.068, but ended up around 1.052. Don't know what to contribute it to. Used igloo cooler with copper manifold. It was pretty cold outside, about 45, so maybe low temp? After 75 min switched to fly sparging, definitely didn't take me the recommended 60 to 90 min. Fly sparged with water at about 170. Was I supposed to raise the temp of tun water to 170 before sparging? Could really use some help. Thanks


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[Blitzkrieg]

What was your efficiency set to in brewsmith? And what is the efficiency you obtained? I did almost exactly the same process as you this weekend and my OG came out 4 points higher than I had planned. Apparently a lot of your efficiency comes from your crush, so if your grains weren't crushed fine enough that could be the problem right there. Did you get the post boil volume you wanted? If less water boiled off than you had planned then that could also cause a low OG even if you got the efficiency you wanted.

 

[trapanesed]

O.K I set my efficiency to 72% in Beersmith (first time using equipment so didnt know what to put). Also, two big problems: didnt measure post boil water volume but I am pretty sure that I got over a gallon more wort than anticipated and I am still a little unclear on how to go about measuring efficiency. Any recommendations? Thanks

 

[Croyzen]

Check out the free copy of "how to brew" online. There is a section on mash efficiency that should help you.

 

[BrewWNC]

If you calculated for 5 gallons but got 6 gallons the gravity will likely be lower because there is more volume. So you have to recalculate this to find your efficiency.

Mash temps, water grain ratio, grain bill etc all matter when you talk about efficiency. We need that info to help you better.

 

[trapanesed]

If you calculated for 5 gallons but got 6 gallons the gravity will likely be lower because there is more volume. So you have to recalculate this to find your efficiency.

Mash temps, water grain ratio, grain bill etc all matter when you talk about efficiency. We need that info to help you better.

O.K so I did the efficiency calculations and arrived at the following.
15lbs of Marris Otter 15*38/8.5= 67
1 lb of Cara Pils 1*33/8.5= 3.8
1.8 lbs Crystal 20 1.8*35/8.5= 7.4
.25 honey malt .25*37/8.5= 1

pre boil gravity 1.042
42/79.2= 53% mash efficiency

8.5*42=357
20 ppg

This is pretty bad huh?
Thanks so much guys

 

[BrewWNC]

I'm getting you at 40% but could be wrong. Either way, it doesn't matter.

Crappy efficiencies happen. I brewed today and got 60%. Most likely because I forgot to account for a pound of grain and messed up the water grain ratio and mashed thick. Not my fault for the record. But it happened and I'm normally around 70% so it is what it is even Though I would have preferred a higher effiency.

If you hit your temps and the crush is good you just have look at the other causes for low effiencies and make the changes.

 

[trapanesed]

Thanks for the help man


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[trapanesed]

Thanks for the help man


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