LowNotes
Well-Known Member
So I ordered a 50lb bag of grain from Midwest and had it crushed prior to delivery. I was all set to brew my first SMaSH beer, and realized I forgot about an inmportant piece of equipment...I had no scale.
I had read on HBT that a 50lb bag of grain will fit in exactly 2 5-gallon buckets. I wanted to use 1/4 of my bag (12.5lbs), so instead of using weight, I decided to be less precise and use a volume measurement, since it was my only option at the moment. I measured out 2.5 galllons of crushed grain in my fermentation bucket, and proceeded to brew.
My OG ended up being much lower than I expected (1.045), and I have a couple ideas on why that might be. First, I didn't have the grain double curshed, and I was using BIAB, so that probably hurt efficiency some. Also, the grain shipped in the original bag, so I am guessing most of the finer particles settled to the bottom. I scooped my 2.5gallons from the top, so I probably had less rich grains, with more husks.
Has anyone ever compared the volume of crushed vs uncrushed grain before? I am wondering if I also had significantly less than 12.5lbs of grain, in addition to having less rich grain.
I had read on HBT that a 50lb bag of grain will fit in exactly 2 5-gallon buckets. I wanted to use 1/4 of my bag (12.5lbs), so instead of using weight, I decided to be less precise and use a volume measurement, since it was my only option at the moment. I measured out 2.5 galllons of crushed grain in my fermentation bucket, and proceeded to brew.
My OG ended up being much lower than I expected (1.045), and I have a couple ideas on why that might be. First, I didn't have the grain double curshed, and I was using BIAB, so that probably hurt efficiency some. Also, the grain shipped in the original bag, so I am guessing most of the finer particles settled to the bottom. I scooped my 2.5gallons from the top, so I probably had less rich grains, with more husks.
Has anyone ever compared the volume of crushed vs uncrushed grain before? I am wondering if I also had significantly less than 12.5lbs of grain, in addition to having less rich grain.