First all grain batch, Pre-boil SG too high?

[StillLearning]

So I have done a couple of extract batches with great success over the last few weeks. Today I have decided to attempt my first all grain batch, American Pale Ale. Simple, eh?

I am using a 5 gal round cooler with manifold for my MLT. The recipe assumes 70% efficiency on 9.25 lbs of grain for a post boil SG of about 1.047. I hit my temps right on for the mash (152, and even added a 1.5 qt infusion and hit mash out temp at 158). At this point I am excited because everything seems to be going to plan. At sparging time things get weird.

The recipe states to "sparge at 180 for 60 mins." For some reason I thought this meant kind of an English sparge as described in "How to Brew" (drain the mash completely and then add the whole amount of sparge water and "re-mash").

So I take a pre-boil gravity reading hoping to be somewhere close to 1.036 and it comes out to a whopping 1.054 (temperature adjusted)! I actually took some wort out of the boil pot and replaced with water to get it down to around 1.040 (I think).

So the question is: a)Is my sparge method the reason for this high gravity? b)What are the chances that I extracted a ridiculous amount of tannins from the grain?

Sorry about the long question

 

[Double_D]

Zero on the tannins. It seems counterintuitive to throw away good wort in place of water because you got better efficiency than you recipe says. The batch sparge is a good simple method to go with when starting out. And it requires less specialized equipment than fly sparging.. There are an equal number of threads that laud both methods as the best so stick with what is obviously working for you.

 

[hoppymonkey]

Did you remash at 180 degrees for an hour?

 

[StillLearning]

I remashed for about 45 mins shooting for completing the wort collection at 1 hour.

I was concerned that such a high gravity with 6.5 gals was going to give me a finished wort around 1.070 after the boil. That would be way higher than the 1.047 I was shooting for. It seemed all but impossible that my first all grain batch could yield 100% efficiency.

 

[MalFet]

You don't mention your batch size and pre-boil volume, but assuming you're doing a 5 gal batch with a 6 gal pre-boil, your numbers suggest that you pulled roughly 100% efficiency. If you were using a 6.5 gallon preboil (as your numbers indicate), it's even higher.

The other, more likely explanation is that your hydrometer reading was faulty. Prime suspect on that is temperature: even though the calculators will adjust for temperatures near 180ºF, your reading will be a long ways off of accurate, by as much as 10-15 points. Can you take another sample now that the temps have presumably come down?

 

[StillLearning]

Cooled my sample down to about 80 before taking the measurement. Actually just finished the boil, will post gravity number as soon as I have it.

 

[MalFet]

Cooled my sample down to about 80 before taking the measurement. Actually just finished the boil, will post gravity number as soon as I have it.

Hmm...something is wrong with a measurement. There's simply no way you got 6.5gal of 1.054 wort from 9.25 lbs of grain.

 

[StillLearning]

That's what I thought, hence my confusion. Can I assume a hydrometer error then? It has worked fine for my extract batches. Could I have done something to damage it?

 

[StillLearning]

Just finished racking into the primary fermenter. I ended up with about 4.9 gals of finished wort measuring 1.048 (remarkably close to the 1.047 in the recipe). Tasted the wort and is is very light in color and body. If not a hydrometer error maybe the guy at my local HBS weighed out too much grain? Oh well, now the really hard part starts: waiting. Good thing my last extract batch is almost done in the secondary.

 

[MalFet]

Hydrometer is the most likely suspect, but it could be any of the other measurements, too: weight of grain (like you mentioned), volume of water, etc. Assuming your post-boil OG is correct, it sounds like you might have gotten some free grain from the LHBS.

 

[StillLearning]

Thanks for your insights. On my first all grain batch this was the last problem I was expecting to have. This morning I was freaking out a little because I didn't have any DME on hand!

 

[Double_D]

Do you have dextrose? about 3/4c. to a gallon depending on style.

 

[StillLearning]

UPDATE: I went back and looked over my receipt from purchase of my ingredients and realized that the LHBS did give me more grain than the recipe called for. It called for 8 lbs of Pale 2 row malt and he gave me 10 (I guess so he didn't have to divide a bag). I am ashamed to admit that I completely forgot the guy saying it would be a slightly higher gravity brew than listed on the recipe (though it was more than slightly higher). So the reason my reading came out so much higher than expected is I mashed 11.25 lbs of grain while thinking I was mashing 9.25 lbs.

Now that I look like a complete idiot let me ask this question. Double_D, would the dextrose just be added to raise the gravity after the boil if it were too low?

 

[Double_D]

Well, yes. I was saying that in reference to priming. I thought the post before last was talking about being out of DME for priming. I've added dextrose at the end of the boil with very good results.

 

[MalFet]

Well, yes. I was saying that in reference to priming. I thought the post before last was talking about being out of DME for priming. I've added dextrose at the end of the boil with very good results.

Dextrose for priming? At the end of the boil? Whatwhat? I'm missing something here... Are you saying you add your priming sugar straight out of the kettle, before fermentation?

 

[IXVolt]

Dextrose for priming? At the end of the boil? Whatwhat? I'm missing something here... Are you saying you add your priming sugar straight out of the kettle, before fermentation?

Sierra Nevada bottle conditions their beer.... not sure if they actually use priming sugar or just cap at a specific time when there is just enough residual sugar remaining to carb correctly.

 

[MalFet]

Sierra Nevada bottle conditions their beer.... not sure if they actually use priming sugar or just cap at a specific time when there is just enough residual sugar remaining to carb correctly.

Sure. I bottle condition all of my beer, but Double_D seems to be suggesting that he primes by adding dextrose at the end of the boil (or, equally likely, perhaps I'm completely misunderstanding him).

Even if he were bottling with a point or two left in fermentation (which seems an insane thing for homebrewers to try to do properly), the dextrose would be long gone by the time the beer hit the bottles. He wouldn't be priming with dextrose, just adding dextrose to the grist.

Sierra Nevada uses corn sugar to prime.

 

[StillLearning]

I think Double_D just means he has added dextrose post boil to bring up the gravity a little; something for which I had only considered using DME.

By the way; racked the beer from the original post into secondary this evening and it came in at about 1.005. Looking good.