Second AG batch in the Fermenter....

[brentt03]

So I finished my second all grain batch today. It was a recipe that I made, and it turned out pretty good aside from a boil off issue:

Beersmith recommended 4.33 gallons for the boil (for a 3.5gal batch). After sparging I ended up with right around 4 gallons, so this is what I had for the boil. After boiling, and cooling and adding to the fermenting bucket, I ended up with 2 gallons!!!! That means I lost 2 whole gallons due to the boil off/hop bag absorption, and just a bit from a small/quick boilover. This just seems crazy poor, and I am not sure how to combat this? The boil isn't screaming rolling, it has a nice rolling boil to it, so it seems as though the burner is set ok....any tips to battle this???

Since I ended up with such a little amount, once it was cooled to fermenting temp, I added about a gallon, which put me around just over 3 gallons.

Estimated OG was 1.064, the actual OG was 1.060

She's sittin' in the fermenter now, so hoping I can correct these issues before the next try.

 

[imperialipa]

How long did you boil for?

What I did with mine the first time I got it was put 6 gallons of water in it and got it up to a rolling boil. Then I marked off on my regulator and airflow intake with a sharpie the setting.

Let it boil for an hour then measured the water loss. Found out for an hour boil with my set up and setting im losing 1.5 gal per hour.

So now when I fly sparge I make sure to get 6.5 gal of preboil wort. LAst IPA batch I did got me 5 gallons on the nose.

 

[pkeeler]

You could partially cover the kettle, this will keep water vapor from escaping.

 

[brentt03]

How long did you boil for?

What I did with mine the first time I got it was put 6 gallons of water in it and got it up to a rolling boil. Then I marked off on my regulator and airflow intake with a sharpie the setting.

Let it boil for an hour then measured the water loss. Found out for an hour boil with my set up and setting im losing 1.5 gal per hour.

So now when I fly sparge I make sure to get 6.5 gal of preboil wort. LAst IPA batch I did got me 5 gallons on the nose.

Boiled for right at an hour. I guess now I can see I am losing about 2gal/hr...so this can give me an estimate for the next go round.

I batch sparge, so does it hurt to pour more sparge water just to get your preboil amount?? I mean if you rinse numerous times, are you possibly lowering the OG?? Might not have worded that right....

 

[brentt03]

You could partially cover the kettle, this will keep water vapor from escaping.

I thought bout doing that, if I have that high of a boil off rate, I may have to!

 

[dmercer]

I have a two-gallon boiloff, depending on relative humidity and how cold my garage is. You might find the responses in the thread I started helpful. I just did my fourth batch and hit all my numbers (including post-boil volume) right on. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something you have to account for.

I batch sparge, so does it hurt to pour more sparge water just to get your preboil amount?? I mean if you rinse numerous times, are you possibly lowering the OG?? Might not have worded that right....

Generally, you want to sparge with enough water to reach your pre-boil volume. I believe there's a limit to this, though (you don't want to start pulling tannins) but I'm not exactly sure about the specifics. Here's what I do:

Collect my first runnings. Subtract this from the desired pre-boil volume. This is how much you need to sparge with. I split that number in half, so if I'm shooting for 7.5 gallons, and my first runnings are 2 gallons, I sparge twice with 2.75 gallons. HTH

 

[brentt03]

I have a two-gallon boiloff, depending on relative humidity and how cold my garage is. You might find the responses in the thread I started helpful. I just did my fourth batch and hit all my numbers (including post-boil volume) right on. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something you have to account for.



Generally, you want to sparge with enough water to reach your pre-boil volume. I believe there's a limit to this, though (you don't want to start pulling tannins) but I'm not exactly sure about the specifics. Here's what I do:

Collect my first runnings. Subtract this from the desired pre-boil volume. This is how much you need to sparge with. I split that number in half, so if I'm shooting for 7.5 gallons, and my first runnings are 2 gallons, I sparge twice with 2.75 gallons. HTH

I will check out that thread! Thanks for the link.

I followed how beersmith had divided up for me. Initially I added 10.5q, then I sparged with .55g and a final sparged of 2.1g.....but I see what you are saying about just splitting it in half.

 

[dmercer]

I followed how beersmith had divided up for me. Initially I added 10.5q, then I sparged with .55g and a final sparged of 2.1g.....but I see what you are saying about just splitting it in half.

Sounds like you're on the right track, you just need to get the overall volume right for your equipment. Beersmith is great for a lot of things, but the boiloff calcs (there's mention of this in that thread I linked) aren't so awesome (ymmv). I'd much rather sparge with a bit more water than partially cover the kettle and have to mess with that for 60 minutes.

Don't fret the boiloff, just sparge a bit more next time to account for it. A few more brew sessions with your equipment and you'll have it down.

 

[brentt03]

I sure hope so! Thing is I am brewing with a 5gal kettle, prob be stepping up to a 10gal, then I will have to reconfigure all over again!

 

[brentt03]

So as I am impatiently waiting,

Right now my fermentation temp is at 70-72 and things are looking good, but I am pretty sure I need to be around 65-68, is this really a major issue??

 

[brentt03]

One more quick thought as I ramble.....

Target OG was 1.064 but it ended up at 1.060.....the range for IPA is 1.056-1.075; is there a way to guess average drop in gravity during fermentation, or do you just check it with the hydrometer??

Really hoping it ends up in the right range....

 

[brentt03]

Gonna give a quick bump......