Frenchy
Well-Known Member
I just got done with my 1st all grain brew day. According to the recipe I got from "Radical Brew" and my brew software, I should have got an OG of 1.066. Unfortunately, my actual OG was 1.054. According to the brew software I only got about 54% efficiency rather than the 70% that it uses for standard. It's possible that my sample wasn't entirely accurate, as I didn't stir the wort just prior to taking my sample for test.
But asside from that, my frustration isn't so much that my brew won't be as strong as it should be (alcohol % that is), but rather that if I'm taking that efficiency into account, I'd be buying way more grain that I should be to get the amount of fermentables that I want. Having said all that, I do realize that 1)it was my first attempt at all grain 2) not 100% confident in the quality of the mash, as when I took my last temp reading at the end of mash it seemed way too low, even though the previous reads were right were they should be.
I'm doing another all grain this coming Sunday, so I'll wait till them to do some major figuring into why my efficiency is so low. Hopefully my OG read was off, and the next batch will come out as I expect it too.
I know someone will ask.
8.5# Maris Otter
4.0# Special Roast
0.5# Brown Malt
Mash at 157 F for 45 min (i did closer to an hour)
I collected 6 gal of wort at end of sparg to allow for a 1 hr boil.
But asside from that, my frustration isn't so much that my brew won't be as strong as it should be (alcohol % that is), but rather that if I'm taking that efficiency into account, I'd be buying way more grain that I should be to get the amount of fermentables that I want. Having said all that, I do realize that 1)it was my first attempt at all grain 2) not 100% confident in the quality of the mash, as when I took my last temp reading at the end of mash it seemed way too low, even though the previous reads were right were they should be.
I'm doing another all grain this coming Sunday, so I'll wait till them to do some major figuring into why my efficiency is so low. Hopefully my OG read was off, and the next batch will come out as I expect it too.
I know someone will ask.
8.5# Maris Otter
4.0# Special Roast
0.5# Brown Malt
Mash at 157 F for 45 min (i did closer to an hour)
I collected 6 gal of wort at end of sparg to allow for a 1 hr boil.