All Grain Help

[rfidd]

Hi guys, I have tried my second all grain and I can see there is a lot I don't know. The first attempt was a brew in a bag, still in the primary, but no probems noted, other that it was pretty messy to do in the kitchen.

My attempt last night was with a converted round gott 5 gallon cooler. The set up seemed to work ok, but I think I overthought it, and ended up with low gravity.

So what I did:
recipe: Bell's Two Hearted Ale Clone (from the recipes for IPA on this site).
10# 2 row
2# Vienna Malt
8oz Cara Pils
8oz Crystal 20L
1 oz Centennial 60 min
1 oz Centennial 15 mins
1 oz Centennial 5 mins
1 oz Centenial 1 min

Mash at 150 F
OG should be 1.055
FG should be 1.014

So I heat 14 quarts water to 160F
preheat my cooler a bit, and pour the water out
I used a grain bag in the cooler
add all of my grains
Add all of my water, water temp 152, cover for 1 hour
drain wort got about 2 gallons back
add 8 quarts of sparge water at 180F
I placed a bowl on top of the grain bed and poured the water into the cooler
cover (no stir) for 15 mins
drain sparge water
got about two gallons
boil and go through hops additions, remove and cool
pour in primary, add 1 gallon of filtered water to bring to 5 gallons

collected sample for gravity 1.030. figured it would be low but probably did not get a good sample. Drink some racer 5 clone, extract recipe and decent brew.

Add yeast pack direct to primary. Nottingham Danisk.

Get up this morning, shake the primary well, get another sample 1.040. better but low.

1st question? home much DME should I add to bring my gravity up to 1.055 or so.
2nd question? Do you have suggestions on my technique? I poured the sparge water onto a bowl to try and minimize channeling. In retrospect I think while this might have been ok, I think I should have stirred the grains after adding the sparge water.

Rick

 

[McKBrew]

A few things that will improve your efficiency.

1) Yes, you should have stirred after adding the sparge water.
2) You should have formulated your recipe to have 6-7 gallons pre-boil, vice 5 post boil. You diluted your wort after the boil and that is a big factor in why your OG is low. Take a look at this, it will help you with AG brewing. All Grain

 

[rfidd]

Any idea how much dme to add?

 

[Yooper]

Three pounds should get you to 1.058. If you dilute the DME in some boiling water, say, a quart, that should get you to 1.055ish.

 

[rfidd]

Three pounds should get you to 1.058. If you dilute the DME in some boiling water, say, a quart, that should get you to 1.055ish.

Thanks so much, I am trying to salvage my efforts and I appreciate your help.

rick

 

[rocketman768]

I think you need less than 3 lbs.

DME gives about 40 ppg. You need 15 points to go from 1.040 to 1.055. So, 15 points / 40 ppg = 0.375 lbs/gal. Since you have 5 gallons, you need 0.375 lbs/gal * 5 gal = 1.875 lbs.

 

[Nanobru]

Look into getting (or making) a false bottom for your tun. The grains get to float around in the water instead of being constricted in a bag.

 

[Yooper]

I think you need less than 3 lbs.

DME gives about 40 ppg. You need 15 points to go from 1.040 to 1.055. So, 15 points / 40 ppg = 0.375 lbs/gal. Since you have 5 gallons, you need 0.375 lbs/gal * 5 gal = 1.875 lbs.

True. I thought the OP said the OG was 1.030, though. If it's 1.040, you should use about 2 pounds in some water.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

You definitely need to stir the mash well after you add your sparge water. I would also suggest mashing a bit thinner, about 1.5qts water per lb of grain. Looks like you used about a qt per pound. After you get your first runnings, calculate how much sparge water you will need to get to your 6.5-7 gallon pre boil mark. You'll have to do a couple of brews this way to figure out what your boil off rate is, then you can really dial it in.

 

[rfidd]

Well, three pounds it is, (already done it), so i guess it will be ok. Yes i am understanding I should better match my sparge volumes to the volumes I want to end up with. It seems so obvious after the fact, but live and learn.

I had trouble finding an appropriate straining device, but wanted to brew so used the bag. I thought I had a stainless braid to work with, but it turned out to be nylon after I cut it, who knew, but lesson learned.

Thanks so much for your help. The Homebrew store is having a class next month on brewing, so I think I will have some intelligent questions.

Rick