stupid question about evaporation

[slicksmix]

I've been wondering about how evaporation works with sugar ever since i put my last batch on. Does some sugar escape along with evaporation during the boil or does it stay behind like salt. Im wondering because my og was a little low. i did a partial boil, an ipa, with specialty grains, 5 gal batch. Here's what i did...

steeped 8oz of carapils and 8oz of crystal 40L in 3 gal of water @ 165 for 20 mins. The recipe calls for using 2.5 gal of water, but i use 3 because i know some will boil off. Is this ok? or should i use 2.5 gal

Next i brought it to a boil and added 6.6# of golden light LME, when it returned to a boil, i added 2oz of citra hops for 15 min, then 1/2oz citra for 30 min, then 1/2oz citra and 1# of light DME for 15 min, then flame out.

I cooled pretty quickly, added to primary, and proceeded to top up with water. I usually add up to the 4 gallon mark then test the gravity. this time i topped to 4 3/4 gallon mark then stirred and tested. The recipe calls for an og of 1055-1060, but at 4&3/4 gallon my og is 1054. I am wondering why...

I know its not too far off, and i know rdwhahb, i am just curious as to what happened so i can learn from this experience.

any help would be awesome. Thanks... oh, and what does swmbo mean

 

[mrk305]

This actually gets asked a lot. No, the sugar does not evaporate. The top off water probably was not mixed all the way and the heavier sugars were in the bottom. If you put the right amount of extract in you will hit your gravity.

 

[pkeeler]

I'm not sure what the question is. If you added more water, the OG will be lower than the recipe. If you had made 4 gal., your OG would have been 1.064.

 

[VTBrewer]

That gravity is really really close, and, as stated, it's very hard to miss with extract brewing and steeping just one pound. but you could have gotten poor conversion out of the steeping.

On the hops...was that a typo that you put some in for 15 minutes, then more for 30, etc? ie: You're not taking them out are you?

swmbo? sane without my beer obsession.

 

[dpittard]

This actually gets asked a lot. No, the sugar does not evaporate. The top off water probably was not mixed all the way and the heavier sugars were in the bottom. If you put the right amount of extract in you will hit your gravity.

Hit the nail on the head here. When topping off, gravities are almost always off. And honestly, 1.054 when you expect 1.055-56 isn't really "off" anyway.

 

[slicksmix]

I'm not sure what the question is. If you added more water, the OG will be lower than the recipe. If you had made 4 gal., your OG would have been 1.064.

what im saying is that i didnt even add a full 5 gallon to my fermenter and my gravity was still off the mark (i know its just a little and nothing to worry about) on the low side.

I made a conscience effort to stir very well just so everything was mixed well. Are you still thinking the sugars were at the bottom. If so, do you usually add a couple points to your og when doing partial boils?

 

[VTBrewer]

what temp were you at btw? 1054 at 75 degrees is 1056

 

[slicksmix]

what temp were you at btw? 1054 at 75 degrees is 1056

you know what, you're right, it was about 76 degrees. Still i didnt want to add any more water, that way i wouldn't fall out of my specs.

 

[slicksmix]

That gravity is really really close, and, as stated, it's very hard to miss with extract brewing and steeping just one pound. but you could have gotten poor conversion out of the steeping.

On the hops...was that a typo that you put some in for 15 minutes, then more for 30, etc? ie: You're not taking them out are you?

swmbo? sane without my beer obsession.

No i didnt take any hops out. My recipe called for 2 oz of citra bittering hops for 15 min, then 1/2oz of citra flavoring hops (i know, same hops) for 30 min, then some more flavoring hops (1/2oz citra) and light DME for 15 min. All equalling an hour. I plan to dry hop with 2oz cascade when i move the brew to a secondary

 

[VTBrewer]

No i didnt take any hops out. My recipe called for 2 oz of citra bittering hops for 15 min, then 1/2oz of citra flavoring hops (i know, same hops) for 30 min, then some more flavoring hops (1/2oz citra) and light DME for 15 min. All equalling an hour. I plan to dry hop with 2oz cascade when i move the brew to a secondary

*editing times* Ah. It's just a little confusing as typically it's expressed as 1/2 oz at 60, 1/2 oz at 45, 1/2 oz at 15. But i got ya now.

So temp correction and possible not a full mix could explain it away as not missed/hardly missed. I THINK that steeping the pound of carapils and crystal accounts for .005 of your OG, so maybe you missed a point or two there? But still not really missed.

 

[slicksmix]

Sorry bout that... now i know how to speak "beer" a little better. lol.

Thanks on the info though. Any tips on how to better utilize my steeping grains? I always thought that steeping between 150-165 (not over 170) is the correct way to do it. I also fool around with the bag also, meaning i dont just let it sit in there, i move it around every couple of minutes thinking that will get the goodies out. What is the thought on doing this?

 

[PanzerBanana]

The sugar isn't going to go anywhere.

Like malt extracts, they're just wort that has been cooked down into concentrated syrups, or thinly sprayed and left to dry in layers like powdered extract.

 

[VTBrewer]

I haven't steeped in years and when I did I didn't mind being off a point or two as i figured it was from that or a bad mixture. 1 pound might only be 3-4 points actually. Anyway, this thread might be helpful to you:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/steeping-grains-33868/