First AG batch successful - some questions though

[mmonacel]

Hey guys - did my first AG batch this past weekend and it's successfully bubbling away. Woo-hoo! Many thanks to this board for all the insight and help.

Got some questions:

1. I got 70% mash efficiency. From what's below, any tips to improve that? I had to add in some DME to hit my pre-boil gravity.
2. Was my batch sparging technique correct / appropriate? I'm worried about the grain bed temp and how fast I drained.
3. There were still some tiny bits in the wort after vorlaufing - is that fine?
4. Any other tips?

My equipment:
- 10 gal boil kettle
- 10 gal cooler with dip tube and false bottom (.22 gal dead space)

Mash Process Notes:

• Grain was crushed using a corona-style mill. Pic below. How's it look?
• Mashed with 1.25 qt/lb
• Wanted to mash at 152. When adjusted for my equipment, BeerSmith called for 171 strike water. After adding strike water, the tun sucked it down to 163 which was going to be too low. I reheated the water to 191. After adding grains, the mash was at 160. I stirred down to 152 and let it rest for 60 min. I only lost a degree or so over the hour.
• I double batch sparged with 2.5 gal. each. BeerSmith called for 168 degree water. I added 180 degree water for both sparges which brought the grains to 160 degrees each time, mixed well for 2-3 min, and let rest for 10 min. I was shooting for a 170 grain bed - is that a mistake? What grain bed temp should I shoot for in a sparge?
• I trickled out the vorlauf for a little over two quarts until it wasn't as murky and the big chunks weren't in there and put back into the tun. I then opened it up wide and let it run into the kettle. Should I have trickled drained it or was opening it up fine?

Grain crush:


Est Pre-boil Gravity: 1.053
Measured Pre-boil Gravity: 1.045 (adjusted for temp). DME added to bring to 1.053

Est Original Gravity: 1.067 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.064 SG - This (I think) was b/c I didn't boil vigorously enough and I ended up with about 1/4 more gallon than I intended for my final volume. No biggie though here.

Recipe from BeerSmith:
(Bell's Two-Hearted Clone from BYO slightly adapted)

Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.55 gal
Boil Time: 75 min

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 oz Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 3.55 %
160.00 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 71.05 %
35.20 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 15.63 %
8.00 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3.55 %
6.00 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2.66 %
4.00 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 1.78 %
4.00 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1.78 %
0.61 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (60 min) Hops 18.5 IBU
0.36 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
0.61 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (45 min) Hops 17.0 IBU
0.61 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (30 min) Hops 14.2 IBU
0.61 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (15 min) Hops 9.2 IBU
0.36 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
1 Pkgs GF All American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1272) Yeast-Ale

Many thanks in advance!,
Mike

 

[EdWort]

Crush looks good.

I take my calculated strike temp and add 10-15 degrees, then add my heated water to my MLT. This will help in two ways. First, it will pre-heat your MLT so the grist will stay at an even temp for an hour. Second, you can always stir and wait for the proper strike temp. It's much easier than trying to heat it back up if you missed it.

I stir every 15-20 minutes in the mash to get sugars in solution and to evenly distribute temps.

I stir before taking runnings.

For each running, I will wait 5 minutes after adding water (for batch sparging).

I think your biggest error was not calculating to preheat your MLT. Follow my outline and I think you will hit your numbers easily and with a grist like pictured, you can exceed 75% easy.

Not bad for a Virgin! It gets easier and better every time from now on.

 

[mmonacel]

Thanks for the good tips. I wasn't sure if I should even touch the mash during the rest, but that makes very good sense to stir into solution more and even out temps. I'll definitely be pre-heating the tun next time!

 

[EdWort]

Stirring during the mash is always helpful and using the same water for your strike to preheat works great. Just pay attention to the temps.

I use a Thermapen for taking temps. It's pricey, but I also use it for steaks & BBQ.

http://www.amazon.com/Splash-Proof-Super-Fast-Thermapen-Thermometer-Professional/dp/B003P63MEW/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1300163671&sr=1-1

The main thing about this thermometer is it gives you super fast readings. I use it to measure the temp of my milled grain and then my MLT water for my strike temps. I nail them every time. I also use it for hydrometer jar adjustments.

 

[skyebrewing]

Plenty good advice so far and 70% is pretty damn good. If you do every batch at 70 then your consistency is good and just adjust recipes for that percentage. If it really bugs you, try checking your water. I pulled 70 to 73% consistently until I got a water report, dialed in ro to tap water percentage and added some additives which jumped me to 89% with no other changes. It saves me a couple lbs of grain per batch, but is my beer any better than your 70% beer? Doubt it. Relax, enjoy and make more

 

[mmonacel]

I use a Thermapen for taking temps.

Oh yes - I've had my eye on one of these for a while now. I now have three different instant read thermometers in my drawer b/c I'm not happy with either the speed or accuracy. I could have just bought this from the start for the same cost.