First All Grain Batch

[Rave]

I brewed my first All Grain Batch of Nut Brown ale, and I had more problems than I anticipated (actually I think I screwed it all up) My sparge did not acheive the temp I wanted. It was about at 148 degrees. Then I was unsure how much water to start with so I ended up with 5.75 gallons of wort and after a 90 minute boil I had 2.5 gallons in my fermentor. Now here comes the bad part. I know that using a partial mash and extract you could top off your primary to five gallons using cold water. I tried to research if you could top off with water doing all grain, but I could not find the answer. So I topped it off anyway.

After bringing the primary up to 5 gallons my OG was at 1.042 at 54 degrees. I know that cold water prob affected the OG a bit so once the temp goes up I think the OG will go up also. I'm worried about the beer being watered down, and also about infection being that the water I added to top off the primary was not boiled. (then again neither was the water I used to top off my primary when I was brewin with partial/extract.)

So reading these procedures can someone more experience with brewing, especially all grain, tell me if they think the brew will end up okay.

 

[johnnybrew]

I brewed my first All Grain Batch of Nut Brown ale, and I had more problems than I anticipated (actually I think I screwed it all up) My sparge did not acheive the temp I wanted. It was about at 148 degrees. Then I was unsure how much water to start with so I ended up with 5.75 gallons of wort and after a 90 minute boil I had 2.5 gallons in my fermentor. Now here comes the bad part. I know that using a partial mash and extract you could top off your primary to five gallons using cold water. I tried to research if you could top off with water doing all grain, but I could not find the answer. So I topped it off anyway.

After bringing the primary up to 5 gallons my OG was at 1.042 at 54 degrees. I know that cold water prob affected the OG a bit so once the temp goes up I think the OG will go up also. I'm worried about the beer being watered down, and also about infection being that the water I added to top off the primary was not boiled. (then again neither was the water I used to top off my primary when I was brewin with partial/extract.)

So reading these procedures can someone more experience with brewing, especially all grain, tell me if they think the brew will end up okay.

Rave - I can be mistaken, but the OG is what it is. A hydrometer reading of 1.042 at 54F won't change. Topping off with water with AG versus partial grain or extract with steeping grains is the same. You run the same risks as before. And, I don't think it is that great of a risk of infection. I usually use bottled water when needed and just wipe the spout with a little starsan prior to pouring it into the carboy.

I am sure your batch will be a fine session beer given your OG.

RDWHAHB!

 

[Teromous]

Your gravity will change with temp, but normally hydrometers are calibrated at 60F and plugging in your 1.042 @ 54F still gives me 1.042. Your beer will be relatively low in ABV but it doesn't mean the beer will end up bad. You're probably looking at something around 3.6-4.0% ABV. That's not bad for a beer. Just let it run its course and see how it turns out.

 

[johnnybrew]

... plugging in your 1.042 @ 54F still gives me 1.042..

I did the same with BeerSmith prior to responding earlier. I even plugged in the gravity at 32F and it only went down one point to 1.041.

 

[Rave]

Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how it all comes out.

 

[TwoWheeler]

On the verge of doing my first AG, and after reading this, a question occurred to me - If, after sparging, my OG is too low, can I add some extract to the boil to make up the difference? I don't see why not, but how would you calculate how much DME to add?

 

[Rave]

Good question..I actually had the same thought during my brewing process, but as you can see I ended up with the opposite problem. Curious to see any replies.

 

[carl_g]

According to beersmith 1 lb of light DME = .008 on the OG.

 

[KyleWolf]

Carl g has got it. The way I understand it to get exact measurements is to look at your DME and check the ppg. The PPG gives you gravity points per pound per gallon

ex. 1lb of DME has a ppg of approx ~ 45. So, 1 lb of DME into 1 gal of water gives a gravity of ~1.045. for a 5gal post boil batch, that is 45 points/5 gals or as carl g said .008.

so if you are say 6 points off and you really want to hit your gravity, work this equation backwards, .006*5 gal= .030 so you need 30 gravity points 30/45PPG= .667lb of DME.

 

[HokieBrewer]

Yes you can definitely add DME to boost the gravity if your efficiency is low.

Sparging with colder water has been shown to not make much of a difference in efficiency as it's basically just rinsing the grain. As far as boil off, now you know your rate and can adjust for next time. If you want 5 gals in the fermenter, you need to start off with 7.2 gals for a 60 minute boil and 8.3 for a 90 minute boil. You might want to try turning down the stove a bit too, that's an intense boil you've got.

 

[dcp27]

Rave: If you took your OG after your topped off, there's a very good chance it is inaccurate. It is very tough to properly mix wort and water to the point where you'll get an accurate reading. Next time take your OG before topping off.
Also, you didn't technically mess up with a lower temp sparge. Higher temps make it easier to remove the sugars left on the grains due to lowering the viscosity more, but 170ish temp is by no means required.

TwoWheeler: Like carl_g said, each lb of DME adds 8points in a 5 gallons batch, but just remember, pre-boil and post-boil OG's are quite different.

 

[Rave]

HokieBrew you're absolutely right about the boil, I was thinking the boil was pretty intense, but it was my first batch outside on the propane burner. I guess I'll take all this as a learning experience and press on from there. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Rave]

Rave: If you took your OG after your topped off, there's a very good chance it is inaccurate. It is very tough to properly mix wort and water to the point where you'll get an accurate reading. Next time take your OG before topping off.
Also, you didn't technically mess up with a lower temp sparge. Higher temps make it easier to remove the sugars left on the grains due to lowering the viscosity more, but 170ish temp is by no means required.

TwoWheeler: Like carl_g said, each lb of DME adds 8points in a 5 gallons batch, but just remember, pre-boil and post-boil OG's are quite different.

I took the OG after I topped off so I guess I'll wait to see what my FG is going to be. There is already some activity in the airlock, I'm curious what the end result will be.

 

[TwoWheeler]

According to beersmith 1 lb of light DME = .008 on the OG.

Ah, got it. (I just started playing with Beersmith yesterday - I figured there'd be a way to get that number out of it).

 

[johnnybrew]

...I just started playing with Beersmith yesterday

I love BeerSmith and would recommend it, but would also recommend you work through each calculation manually at least once to get a better understanding of how things work together. If you haven't picked up Palmer's book, How to Brew, I would recommend doing so. I suggest supporting your LHB shop, but if you don't have one, you can get it at a big box like WM (http://www.walmart.com/ip/4565060?sourceid=1500000000000003260340&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=4565060).

 

[Rave]

Okay, so I kegged the batch yesturday after letting it sit in the secondary for two weeks. Tasted a small sample and it tasted pretty good. A final gravity reading of 1.011. Overall I'm very happy with the batch being that it's my first All grain batch. Goes to show that even though sometimes things don't go as planned in the brewing process, if you use common sense you can adjust accordingly and end up with a great batch. Thanks to all for the advice.

 

[joeldp144]

The gravity varies a lot more as the temperature goes above 60 F, but your 54 F reading is going to be pretty close.

I used to top off with tap water when I brewed extract, and I never had a problem with infections. I think that you'll be fine, but you may just be a little on the "light" side as far as flavor. If you got a decent extract of flavor from the grain, then I'd bet your beer turns out pretty good.