Recent content by wajohnst

I was following instructions in a book titled Brew Better Beer. It advises using a simple strainer for a one-gallon batch and here is what it advises: "Pour the mashed grains into the strainer. The wort collects in the bucket beneath. Slowly pour the warmed sparge water over the grains, rinsing...

Thanks, JaxMickey! I did wonder about my milling and whether it was adequate. Also, the tip about boosting with DME is something to keep in mind. Thanks.

reartn, thanks for following up. I had two previous batches but my first was using extract and the second, my first all grain, I did all kinds of things wrong but I did get good fermentation. Thanks to the forum I've learned a number of things to improve my brewing and my ABV calculations. I...

Thanks to all who have offered advice on sparging. I want to share the instructions from the Brew Better Beer book. "Pour the mashed grains into the strainer. The wort collects in the bucket beneath. Slowly pour the warmed sparge water over the grains, rinsing them evenly, until you have...

Thanks so much, Yooper. I think you may have hit the true source of my problem.

Thanks, jddevinn!

Thanks, Yooper. As per my message above, here is my sparging technique: After mashing I do an iodine test. Then I put my bucket in the sink with a strainer over it. I pour from the kettle into the strainer to catch the grains. The wort is then in my bucket. I pour my sparge water over the...

jddevinn, can you please clarify? I'll be a bit more specific about what I'm doing. After mashing I do an iodine test. Then I put my bucket in the sink with a strainer over it. I pour from the kettle into the strainer to catch the grains. The wort is then in my bucket. I pour my sparge water...

Good point, singybrue. Given the importance of temperature I think investing in a better (and quicker) thermometer would be worthwhile.

Sorry for the confusion, Biscuits. The recipe instructions advise to sparge with one gallon and target an end result of 1.5 gallons. That's what I do. It was an error to say that I sparged with 1.5 gallons. Sorry.

Biscuits, Thanks. To confirm: two pounds of pale maris otter plus a few specialty grains specialty grains: 63g of caramel/crystal 10 Breiss 14g of Munich dark 30L Gambrinus 63g of Munich 10L Gambrinus A bit more about sparging and boil. I sparge with 1.5 gallons of water at 170 F. I sparge...

I have a simple hand-held digital thermometer. To hold around 150% I put the kettle in the oven set at the lowest temperature. I test the temperature every 15 minutes and adjust accordingly. I stir well each time. I do test with iodine to ensure 100% conversion. I don't leave anything in the...

So my last batch was as follows: two pounds of pale maris otter plus a few specialty grains started with one gallon of water at 150 F sparged with a gallon and a half of water at 170 F ended up with one gallon of beer specialty grains: 63g of caramel/crystal 10 Breiss 14g of Munich dark 30L...

Chickypad, I'm sorry but it looks increasingly like my problems relate to mis-use of the refractometer. What I thought was 1.080/1.060 when I enter in the brewersfriend Brix calculator comes out as 1.037/1.011... so another case of inadequate OG.

Thanks, Yooper. This problem persists across a number of recipes. I've used recipes from Brew Better Beer by Emma Christensen and also the open access recipes from Brew Dog. In general, is the best strategy to use more grain? Would you consider adding sugar and/or DME?