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boiling to reach SG... help

Discussion in 'All Grain & Partial Mash Brewing' started by baldbrew, Jan 23, 2009.

 

  1. #1
    baldbrew

    Member

    Posted Jan 23, 2009
    i am brewing my first all grain batch, a scottish wee heavy
    i mashed at 158 with 4.5gal
    i sparged at 170 with 5gal
    before the boil i took a reading and hit 1.010 perfectly (what i was told to shoot for)

    now, almost two hours after the boil started, im just now hitting 1.020
    but my goal is 1.083!

    what the hell went wrong and what do i do?
     
  2. #2
    englishale

    Member

    Posted Jan 23, 2009
    This doesn't sound right. 1.010 is way too low for a pre boil gravity. More information is needed. what grains and how much, mash time.
     
  3. #3
    baldbrew

    Member

    Posted Jan 23, 2009
    NBs directions say: stop sparging once you have collected an adequate amount of wort, or when the runoff reaches a specific gravity of 1.008-1.012.

    i did a mash of one hour at 158F


    here are the ingredients:

    Fermentables

    14 lbs. Simpsons Golden Promise
    0.5 lbs. Simpsons Crystal
    0.375 lbs. Dingemans Biscuit
    0.125 lbs. Simpson's Roasted Barley
    Boil Additions

    1 oz. Brewer's Gold (60 min)
    If you choose dry yeast

    Danstar Nottingham Ale Yeast. Optimum temperature: 57-70° F.
    If you choose liquid yeast

    Wyeast #1728 Scottish Ale Yeast. Optimum temperature: 55-70° F.
     
  4. #4
    IrregularPulse

    Hobby Collector  

    Posted Jan 23, 2009
    It means the run off. Like take a sample jar full of run off, if that SMALL amount is 1010 then stop you've extracted all sugars you're going to get. Not until the final boil volume is 1010 . Is there a Smiley in where where the little guys smacks his forehead?
    How much pre-boil volume did you end up with? 100 Gallons?

    A recipe of 14 lbs of Pale 2-r alone would require a batch size of 30 to hit 10.13
     
  5. #5
    englishale

    Member

    Posted Jan 23, 2009
    The runoff. He means when the runoff reaches 1.010. After everything has been rinsed and you are draining very light wort.

    Stupid question but did you crush the grain?
     
  6. #6
    baldbrew

    Member

    Posted Jan 23, 2009
    no, thats the thing
    5 + 4.5 is 9.5 with the loss from grains, so i was between 6 and 7 gallons
     
  7. #7
    ifishsum

    Well-Known Member

    Posted Jan 23, 2009
    They're talking about stopping the sparge when the gravity of your sparge drops to 1.010 - not the combined wort. If the gravity of your 9.5 gallons of combined wort was only 1.010 then something is seriously wrong efficiency wise. Is your thermometer accurate?
     
  8. #8
    baldbrew

    Member

    Posted Jan 23, 2009
    yeah, grain was crushed beautifully

    bout to chill this ****ty 1.032 2 gallons and call it a day
     
  9. #9
    jvetter

    Well-Known Member

    Posted Jan 23, 2009
    6 to 7 gallons sounds about right for what you should collect in your boil. You should lose 0.75-1.5 gallons an hour boiling depending on the surface area of your kettle. You should look to finish with 5.5 gallons before chilling to account for losses.

    What did you actually collect in your boil and what did you end up with after chilling?
     
  10. #10
    CreeDakota

    Member

    Posted Jan 27, 2009
    I would love an update baldbrew! posting when things dont work out really helps others learn ALOT from your experience.

    You say "chill this ****ty 1.032 and call it a day"; what temperature was the reading taken at?
     
  11. #11
    BeerPressure

    Well-Known Member

    Posted Jan 27, 2009
    If youre taking a hydrometer reading on hot wort and not adjusting due to the high temp then thats whats up i think.
     
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