Efficiency Issues

[BigBadBeerBaron]

My first two all grain brews were almost perfect, hit all my target temps And gravity readings but the volume of wort and beer were off a bit because I was more or less guessing.
Fast forward to new brew pot. Just finished a batch of APA.
9lbs Pale malt
1lbs carafoam
1lbs crystal 40
Mashed @ 154 for 60 min (lost maybe 2 degrees)
Fly sparged with 20 litres @ 165F (sorry for the jump between gallons and litres)
Lauter took about 45 min.
Collected 7 gallons of wort
Boiled for 60 min (took about 30 min to get to boil cuz out of propane and had to use stove)
Preboil gravity was 1.04
1oz Northern brewer FWH
1oz Cascade @ 6min, 5min, and flame out. 3oz in total
Post boil wort was 4.75 gal. Was shooting for 6
O.G. was only 1.042, should have been 1.051
Target F.G. was supposed to be 1.012, if I hit it, I'll be under 4% ABV. Punched the numbers into calculator and says I got 48.15% Efficiency which seems really poor.
All readings were taken at 60°F. Grain crushed at home with grain mill. Rectangle cooler mash tun. I have no idea what went wrong. Any ideas?

 

[Kent88]

you sparged with 20 liters? And you collected 7 gallons of wort? Was your mash ratio of pounds grain to quarts water 1:0.75?

 

[Sir-Hops-A-Lot]

If your newer to all grain the milling is often the villain. But you probably used the same mill for the other batches.
I think that floaty thingy measures correctly at 55 degrees. Your wort may have been at a different temp.
I would say just enjoy the lighter beer. If you want to raise the gravity, boil some DME/LME and add it.
I have to admit that I am very lazy about doing any measurements. I have no idea what my efficiency is like.

 

[BigBadBeerBaron]

Water to grain ratio was calculated at 1.25. Mashed with 12.5 qt@170°F (12litres) Read rule of thumb was 1.5 x strike water for sparge which would be 18 litres. Used 20 just in case and drained the tun dry.

 

[BigBadBeerBaron]

If your newer to all grain the milling is often the villain. But you probably used the same mill for the other batches.
I think that floaty thingy measures correctly at 55 degrees. Your wort may have been at a different temp.
I would say just enjoy the lighter beer. If you want to raise the gravity, boil some DME/LME and add it.
I have to admit that I am very lazy about doing any measurements. I have no idea what my efficiency is like.

My hydrometer is calibrated to 60°F which is what I brought my samples to. Hydrometer is brand new and undamaged. First few batches were milled at the store, so the new mill may be part of the problem. I made a red ale last week with similar problems but I thought I corrected what was wrong (not properly measuring water volume/wort volume) But this batch turned out worse than that one

 

[RM-MN]

My hydrometer is calibrated to 60°F which is what I brought my samples to. Hydrometer is brand new and undamaged. First few batches were milled at the store, so the new mill may be part of the problem. I made a red ale last week with similar problems but I thought I corrected what was wrong (not properly measuring water volume/wort volume) But this batch turned out worse than that one

Tighten that mill until it scares you and then tighten it just a little more. Efficiency problems are most often caused by mills that are set too wide. if you get to where you have trouble with the sparge, then you can back it off a little.

 

[McKnuckle]

Probably the milling, but there's a problem with your numbers. You got pre-boil of 1.040 and OG of 1.042. You boiled 7 gallons down to 4.75. An evaporative loss of 2.25 gallons and a gravity increase of only 2 points is impossible. That much concentration should have resulted in a 19 point gravity increase.

Did you stir really well and do temperature corrections for both of those readings, especially the pre-boil one? And 2.25 gallons evaporated is about twice normal.

Second, don't measure brew house efficiency. Make sure you're calculating mash efficiency. Work only with the pre-boil numbers and focus on your extraction and wort recovery techniques.

 

[BigBadBeerBaron]

@McKnuckle. I was shocked at the amount of evaporation loss, all my calcutions were based on going from 7 to 6 gal. And my biggest issue here is the 2 point gravity increase. My preboil sample was taken from the boil pot, after it was full, and the sample was cooled to 63°F and corrected for 60°F.
Post boil sample was taken after the wort was chilled to again about 63°F and corrected again to 60.
I tell you when I saw 1.042 I almost started crying haha. I jiggled the flask, spund the hydrometer. Let it sit for wahile. I don't know. I'm going to tighten up that mill and grab some DME and iodine on my way home. I have 5lbs of pale barley left and will try a small batch tonight

 

[BigBadBeerBaron]

Here's a screenshot

 

[Sir-Hops-A-Lot]

Let's just say it was the grain mill.
Your evaporation seems like a lot. 20% per hour is the norm but you had some propane issues.
Keep in mind that thinner beers are great on a hot day.
Now swear a solemn oath not to worry too much about the beer you have. Pick up a # or 2 of DME. When you transfer your batch after a week, taste it. If you think it tastes too thin and hoppy, boil up a gallon with the DME, cool it in an ice bath, mix some yeast from the primary and ferment it in a gallon jug to combine with the beer at bottling.

 

[BigBadBeerBaron]

Haha, hard not to worry about my babies but I'll try!
Thanks guys

 

[BigBadBeerBaron]

Ok, even though I pitched the yeast it hasn't taken off yet so i stole a sample and added 2 drops of iodine. No real change in color, maybe a slight reddish hue, but thats it. Hopefully thats a good sign. Don't know if it's too late to do this test.
Anyway I'll try to not worry about. Got some DME just in case. Thanks everyone!!!

 

[BigBadBeerBaron]

Just an update...
I had just shy of 6lbs of pale 2 row left (1 lb I dry roasted for an hour and 1 lb wet roasted for an hour)
I tightened up the rollers so that almost touching and crushed it all. Long story short, I was hurried and not all my temps were spot on, but heres some numbers :
Est. Pre boil gravity :1.04 actual:1.046
Est. OG: 1.053 actual: 1.062
It was a 4 gal batch boiled down to probably just under 3
Used .5oz hallertau tradition @60min
So it looks like the grain was the culprit.
Definitely need to dial it back tho as I had way to much grain in my pot. Had to transfer to several vessels to try to strain as much of it as I could. Smells amazing tho, deep reddish brown color.