Constantly have low gravity

[SRJHops]

Grain bill weight, grain potential, strike volume, and end of mash SG can be used to calculate your conversion efficiency.

Grain bill weight, grain potential, pre-boil volume, and pre-boil SG can be used to calculate your mash efficiency.

Grain bill weight, grain potential, post-boil volume, and post-boil SG can also be used to calculate your mash efficiency.

Calculating pre- and post-boil mash efficiency is a good way to check the accuracy of your measurements. If the two don't match, it means that you have excessive measurement errors.

Volume changes ~4% between room temp and boiling. Not knowing the temp at which you measured volume can mean you start out with up to 4% error in your calculations, even before you take other measurement inaccuracies into account.

Once you know your conversion efficiency and your mash efficiency, you can calculate your lauter efficiency (lauter eff = mash eff / conversion eff.) If you have low mash efficiency, you need to know if it's because of low conversion or poor lauter technique, as the fixes are different for the two cases.

If you don't care how your process is performing, then you don't have to worry about collecting data. But, HBT is full of threads about "why is my efficiency low?", "why is my OG low?", etc. These questions cannot be accurately answered without the necessary data.

Brew on

Fair enough. Most of those numbers are calculated by the software I use, so I really just focus on measuring volumes, gravities, and ph. But if my numbers were way off, I agree conversion and efficiency are where I'd look.

 

[Deadalus]

Yes, a correctly done fly sparge has higher lauter efficiency (and thus higher mash efficiency) than a batch sparge. However, it is much simpler for a beginner to get good and consistent results with a batch sparge, since channeling is not a possibility. All that is required is aggressive mixing prior to each run-off. With where the OP is in their learning, batch sparging is probably a good option until they can get consistent mash efficiency.

No sparge is even simpler than batch sparge, but takes a 8% - 9% hit on lauter efficiency (and mash efficiency) compared to single batch sparge (all else being equal.)

For a beginner, maximizing efficiency should not be the goal. Learning the process should be.

Brew on

Strictly speaking, probably better to batch sparge over fly sparging first while learning the hobby. It will help to isolate problems elsewhere. But some hobbyists are in it because they enjoy complex problem solving or they like a challenge. I think if people understand the purpose of sparging is to extract the extra sugars available they get the beginning concept and can move on to mastering that part of the process. I think most will master batch sparging rather quickly such that if they want to fly sparge they will have a good base for reference. Like suddenly seeing a drop in efficiency when adopting or increased variability in efficiency.

Anyway you can't see the water's path through the grain. Clues that you may have channeling are depressions and water flow in specific spots at the top of the grain bed. Another is a seemingly abrupt lightening of the wort color exiting the MT. The color should gradually lighten but if abrupt then you aren't picking up sugars.

 

[bracconiere]

numbers were good but it tasted grainy

one man's off-flavor is another's holy grain i guess... i love it when i 'accidentally' get a beer that tastes like whole wheat bread, wish i could do it on purpose!

(i'm waiting for @Fogey890 , who says he's really new to brewing answer my question. the grain is milled? because 1.020 would be about what i'd expect with whole kernels...and 2 lbs of honey in 5 gallon would be 1.014, so it is 'malt' right? i once tried brewing a 100% batch with rye berries, when i was realy new to brewing, didn't know they had to be malted!)

 

[doug293cz]

one man's off-flavor is another's holy grain i guess... i love it when i 'accidentally' get a beer that tastes like whole wheat bread, wish i could do it on purpose!

(i'm waiting for @Fogey890 , who says he's really new to brewing answer my question. the grain is milled? because 1.020 would be about what i'd expect with whole kernels...and 2 lbs of honey in 5 gallon would be 1.014, so it is 'malt' right? i once tried brewing a 100% batch with rye berries, when i was realy new to brewing, didn't know they had to be malted!)

I get my grain from morebeer and have them crush it. I was reading other forums and could that be the issue?

OP said it was crushed.

Brew on

 

[bracconiere]

OP said it was crushed.

Brew on

damn, long thread. didn't see that.... (sorry)

edit: and i forgot it was honey 'malt'...another apology would be in order.....

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

How are you measuring your gravity. Refractometer or hydrometer. A hydrometer at a high temperature would give a shockingly low OG.

 

[youngson616]

one man's off-flavor is another's holy grain i guess... i love it when i 'accidentally' get a beer that tastes like whole wheat bread, wish i could do it on purpose!

The grainy flavor cold crashed out and it turned out really good actually if you read the rest of the thread.... I rushed the bottling time


Cheers

 

[Bobby_M]

Read through the whole thread and curious how the OP did on that subsequent batch. Some notes on the previous conversation. Morebeer has a notoriously coase crush. It looks like a .045 gap and leaves a portion of uncrushed kernels. Also agree low OG reading was also due to not mixing the stratified wort. If the filter in the mash tun is a narrow screen, better to batch sparge. If it is a perforated false bottom, fly can work. You need a little calcium in the mash and also a couple ml of lactic acid for beers that light.

 

[youngson616]

didn't see that....

edit: and i forgot

 

[Gilbert Spinning Horse]

Having read through the thread I recon you're measuring your SG wrong. Your SG is measured from what's in the fermenter, not before.