my first brew day in years... low OG, stuck mash, low volume

[Pickngrin]

Today I cleared the cobwebs off of my brewing equipment and brewed for the first time in years - a pale ale. It was my first time brewing outdoors (I picked up a turkey fryer last year and finally put it to use).
My grain bill was 8 pounds of Maris Otter, 1 pound of crystal 20L. I mashed at roughly 152 degrees in my 10 gallon Gott water cooler. 60 minute boil. I collected about 5.5 gallons. Whereas I used to use my Phil's sparge arm, this time I tried batch sparging (water was ~ 180 degrees). I tried calibrating my Taylor thermometer but could not get consistency between adjustments in ice bath and boiling water. Couldn't find my 2nd thermometer to use as a reference. I actually got a stuck mash and wound up sucking on the tubing to get the flow going -- had to do this a number of times but eventually it flowed. I recirculated in the beginning but wound up getting particles in the wort and after the hassles with the stuck mash did not want to play with it too much more.

O.G. was about 1.046 (to this day, I don't trust my eyes when reading the hydrometer) -- lower than expected. I wound up with less in the primary than I expected (it's a 6 gallon carboy, and the wort is well below the curve of the bottle. There are about 2.5 inches of trub on the bottom. After spending so many hours working on this today (I felt like there was a learning curve in starting back up after not brewing for so long), I was pretty disappointed to wind up with what seems like such a low yield and low gravity.
I'm not sure what my question is... I think I just wanted some feedback on what I feel like was a compromised brew....

thanks

 

[xamers]

Did you adjust for temperature?

The first brew after a lull ALWAYS sucks. That's a rule.

At 1.046 that will still be a fine beer.

 

[jagg]

Dont sweat it dude, it will still be a fine brew, and welcome back

 

[Pickngrin]

Thanks, guys. I do recall having this similar situation occur in the distant past, too (the low OG and yielding less than a full carboy). All that work for a less than full batch...
By the way, I just found this web site today and glad I did.

 

[Warped04]

Glad you found your way back to brewing! I agree on the first beer back is tough. Pick it apart, and try again. Don't 1 and done it. I'm sure the beer will turn out fine, drinkable at the worst.

There is a ton of knowledge on this forums, and if you want them to pick apart your brew and find the problem, post some details (down to the gap between your mill, or if you used the mill at the LHBS), and they will help you improve.

I can say from experience, that the knowledge from those that frequent these forums has improved the quality of my beers easily by 300%.

-Wally.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Can I say "I feel your pain", at first brush having just done my first AG today (I'll do a venting post on later). Trying to check PH, temp, etc, I *messed* up on volume levels, new pot and lots of changes in stuff threw me off, and the morning coffee did not really kick in on time.

Needless to say, if you need to bump up the AVB just heat up some water, add a pound or two of clover or other light honey, let it cool and add it to your brew. I love honey in small amounts, it really does not change the taste, but adds to the aroma. Many a friend think they will be drinking a dry mead by the smell, but it is really a double IPA. Oh the look on their face.....

 

[Evets]

So, what do you pick whilst grinnin?

 

[FireBrewer]

Welcome back to the fold.

 

[Pickngrin]

So, what do you pick whilst grinnin?

Rest assured, a (fretted) neck, not a nose...

 

[8string]

Rest assured, a (fretted) neck, not a nose...

I gotta say, your screen name is really what drew me to this topic! I pick therefore I grin.

 

[WBC]

Well, no one commented on your problems.

Stuck mash: Easily fixed with a manifold or false bottom. I have a 10 gallon Rubbermaid with a false bottom and it works perfect. So far no stuck mashes.

Efficiency: You did good considering the stuck mash. It will be really good beer anyway. I always top up my boiler at the end regardless of the efficiency so I get full fermentor volume. I would rather have more beer than stronger beer if I have to choose. Some brewers top up and add DME to get the OG up there where you want it. It's your choice.

Sparging: I suggest a modified batch sparge. I keep the 170 degree sparge water 2 inches above the grain while collecting a quart a minute until you collect the required volume of preboil wort. Basicly you want the sparge to last for 3/4 to 1 hour to get good efficiency.

I am sure you know all of the above but I am just reminding you. Your next brew will be perfect. I like that recipe... Simple and tasty.

 

[Pickngrin]

Well, no one commented on your problems.

Stuck mash: Easily fixed with a manifold or false bottom. I have a 10 gallon Rubbermaid with a false bottom and it works perfect. So far no stuck mashes.

Efficiency: You did good considering the stuck mash. It will be really good beer anyway. I always top up my boiler at the end regardless of the efficiency so I get full fermentor volume. I would rather have more beer than stronger beer if I have to choose. Some brewers top up and add DME to get the OG up there where you want it. It's your choice.

Sparging: I suggest a modified batch sparge. I keep the 170 degree sparge water 2 inches above the grain while collecting a quart a minute until you collect the required volume of preboil wort. Basicly you want the sparge to last for 3/4 to 1 hour to get good efficiency.

I am sure you know all of the above but I am just reminding you. Your next brew will be perfect. I like that recipe... Simple and tasty.

Thanks... actually I do use a Phil's Phalse bottom, but I suspect that it shifted a bit, allowing grain under. I like the idea of using some DME to compensate. Of course, that would require having some on hand ;-) I will have some on hand in case for the next brew...

 

[Pickngrin]

I gotta say, your screen name is really what drew me to this topic! I pick therefore I grin.

Ah, good to see another picker here... I mostly play electric guitar, or try to, anyhow...

 

[Pickngrin]

I racked my brew to a secondary on Wednesday (and dryhopped with 1 oz. of Simcoe plugs). The gravity was 1.022 then, and the same tonight when I checked. I am starting to second guess whether my original gravity really hit 1.044 (I am never confident in my hydrometer readings :-(
It's sitting in my basement at around 68-70 degrees (carboy sitting in a few inches of cold water). I'm concerned that this is going to be a nearly non-alcoholic, thin brew. Would it make sense for me to get some DME, boil, and add to the fermenter? If so, how much should I add? Or something like amylase enzyme? Or should I just stop worrying...?
BTW, the yeast I used was Wyeast 1272 (American Ale II)

 

[BierMuncher]

Regarding your origina post...WBC hit on the key points. Another thing to keep in mind is to really drain that wort slowly. The only stuck sparges I've gotten were when I drained to fast and caused the ggrains to suck-down and compress on my manifold. Slow = good.

As far as your current fermetning issue, stick your racking can in that fermenter and swirl up that yeast cake a bit. Did you aerate the wort really well? If not, you could try and introuce a miniscule amount of olive oil into the wort to provide the yeast with the "right stuff" to begin fermenting again. Take a wire wrap that you get on a loaf of bread. Peel away the plastic from the wire, sanitize by holding over a flame for a few seconds...dip about 1/2 inch of that wire into some olive oil and the swirl that wire into your wort.

Too lengthy an explanation to go into regarding olive oil...but do a search on it or vist BYO.com and you'll find examples where olive oil provides the optimal "whatever" to give your yeast what they need.

 

[Pickngrin]

Olive oil...interesting. Since I was really rusty with the whole brewing routine, it wasn't until after I had it in the fermenter that I realized that I forgot to aerate (other than whatever oxygen was introduced by using a funnel and strainer into the carboy). I will look up the olive oil thing...thanks!

 

[chachi]

That is almost like forgetting to pack a belt when traveling for a wedding. I hate that!

 

[Pickngrin]

I feel like I'm working backwards here, but I just put my hydrometer in cool tap water and realized that it measured several points below 1.00 .... so fortunately, my OG was higher than I thought, but my current gravity is also higher. The level of wort in the carboy is so low now that it's difficult to get hydrometer samples even with a turkey baster or wine thief...