First all grain is a disaster!

[natewv]

I did Yoopers Stone Ruination IPA recipe doing BIAB with a 7.5 G mash pot and 15 Gal sparge pot. My mash SG was 1.066 (what i expected exactly) but I sparged and it was 1.016!!! I didn't measure the SG of the sparge until I poured it in (there was some wort leftover and I wanted to limit it to 6.25 G).

Total SG or preboil gravity was like 1.036. I feel like I just wasted a **** load of grains and am starting the boil but is it even worth it to use the hops?! I have more preboil wort than i expected so I guess I could let it boil off for a bit before I start to add hops? I have no idea what to do. Maybe I shouldn't have tried AG. FUC*

 

[natewv]

Can anybody suggest any ideas? I added more of the sparge water and I"m almost at at least 6.5 gallons of wort and it's begun to boil. Should I start the hops schedule or wait until it bolis down closer to 6.25 gallons or so?

WIll that help concentrate the sugars or something?

FOCK

 

[Gremlyn]

FIRST THING TO DO: Take a DEEP breath.
I assume you're boiling 6.25gal of 1.036 wort down to 5gal? That will come out to 1.045 if I calculate right. What is you target? You can start the boil, and go long enough to make room for the extra sparge water, and restart the boil. OR, you can adjust the hops down knowing you're under gravity. If you post your IBUs I, or someone else, can come along and help figure how to adjust the hops to keep the bittering ratio the same.

Most important thing to do is relax and go with it, and go get yourself a beer! It's going to be beer one way or another, and as long as you learn from the mistake you made, who cares? I would call this a small misstep, nothing near a diaster. RDWHAHB!

Edit: I will refresh this page regularly to see if you reply for a bit.

 

[natewv]

OK so I really flipped out and added all of my sparge wort and I'm at like 7 gallons.

I'm too stressed out (and buzzed) to link to people, but I used brewtarget and with the grain bill below got 4.7 g mash and 3.1 G sparge, just like someone in the All grain BIAB with pics thread, who plugged my stuff into brewsmith.


14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 93.33 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %

He said:
Plugging the grains into BeerSmith tells me that you will need about 4.7 gallons of water for the mash plus the space required by the 15 pounds of grains, and it says 5.86 for the total mash volume (which will be tight in the 6 gallon container). For the batch sparge step, you will need 3.16 additional gallons (plus the grains).

So everything was good, especially since he and I got the same thing I assume the numbers were right but 1) I came up with way too much extra liquid and 2) my SG (as is the issue here) is too focking low.

I'm just letitng it boil down to 6.25 or so gallons, what hte hell else am i going to do at this point? Is that an OK thing/the right thingto do?

Maybe (obviously) my sparge didn't catch enough?

 

[Gremlyn]

OK so I really flipped out and added all of my sparge wort and I'm at like 7 gallons.

I'm too stressed out (and buzzed) to link to people, but I used brewtarget and with the grain bill below got 4.7 g mash and 3.1 G sparge, just like someone in the All grain BIAB with pics thread, who plugged my stuff into brewsmith.


14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 93.33 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %

He said:
Plugging the grains into BeerSmith tells me that you will need about 4.7 gallons of water for the mash plus the space required by the 15 pounds of grains, and it says 5.86 for the total mash volume (which will be tight in the 6 gallon container). For the batch sparge step, you will need 3.16 additional gallons (plus the grains).

So everything was good, especially since he and I got the same thing I assume the numbers were right but 1) I came up with way too much extra liquid and 2) my SG (as is the issue here) is too focking low.

I'm just letitng it boil down to 6.25 or so gallons, what hte hell else am i going to do at this point? Is that an OK thing/the right thingto do?

Maybe (obviously) my sparge didn't catch enough?

I would say the easiest and likely best case scenario for a good result is to do exactly what you are doing now. The extra boil time won't hurt anything if you haven't added hops yet. Don't forget that wort at or near boiling temp is less dense than wort at ferm temps, so 6.25 gal at a boil is probably closer to just about 6 gal.

 

[H-ost]

It's all gonna be fine.

Did you VERY thoroughly mix the wort before you took a sample to take the reading? If not it is very easy to get an incorrect gravity reading. Also, was the wort the correct temperature?

 

[BargainFittings]

Definitely mix your wort before taking a measurement and freaking out!

Hope it worked out.

 

[jetmac]

I'm not sure about the hop schedule but if you can boil vigorously down to 5 gal that would give you a 1.050. It's a ways off of your target but that would prolly be better than only boiling to 6.25 from 7 gallons.

 

[natewv]

I would say the easiest and likely best case scenario for a good result is to do exactly what you are doing now. The extra boil time won't hurt anything if you haven't added hops yet. Don't forget that wort at or near boiling temp is less dense than wort at ferm temps, so 6.25 gal at a boil is probably closer to just about 6 gal.

so this **** is boiling. I can't exactly check my SG. Just wait till it hits around 6 gallons and start my 60 min hops boil?

 

[jetmac]

It's all gonna be fine.

Did you VERY thoroughly mix the wort before you took a sample to take the reading? If not it is very easy to get an incorrect gravity reading. Also, was the wort the correct temperature?

This is true. if you drained your sparge on top of your first runnings without mixing it, you will get a much lower gravity reading

 

[jetmac]

so this **** is boiling. I can't exactly check my SG. Just wait till it hits around 6 gallons and start my 60 min hops boil?

This is why it's nice(convenient) to have a refractometer.

 

[natewv]

So guys what do I do? I don't know whether I mixed it up well enough or not. The time for me to guess is over, my wort is boiling now do I wait till I hit 5.75 gallons and then just start with the hop boil?

I hope this ****er doesn't walk this guy with bases loaded.

 

[jeffd10]

I hope this ****er doesn't walk this guy with bases loaded.

Too late for that .....just roll with it ..:rockin: your Beer will be fine

 

[BrewKnurd]

So guys what do I do? I don't know whether I mixed it up well enough or not. The time for me to guess is over, my wort is boiling now do I wait till I hit 5.75 gallons and then just start with the hop boil?

I hope this ****er doesn't walk this guy with bases loaded.

just grab a sample with a pyrex measuring glass and cool it down enough to measure the gravity if you want to know where you are.

I think your OG is higher than you thought, because 1.066 first runnings + 1.016 sparge does not add up to 1.036 OG unless your sparge volume was 1.5 times your first runnings. with the numbers you gave for first runnings and sparge volumes and gravities, you should have ended up around 1.046 OG.

 

[jetmac]

So guys what do I do? I don't know whether I mixed it up well enough or not. The time for me to guess is over, my wort is boiling now do I wait till I hit 5.75 gallons and then just start with the hop boil?

I hope this ****er doesn't walk this guy with bases loaded.

I'm guessing but I wouldn't wait until 5.75gal

 

[jetmac]

just grab a sample with a pyrex measuring glass and cool it down enough to measure the gravity if you want to know where you are.

I think your OG is higher than you thought, because 1.066 first runnings + 1.016 sparge does not add up to 1.036 OG unless your sparge volume was 1.5 times your first runnings. with the numbers you gave for first runnings and sparge volumes and gravities, you should have ended up around 1.046 OG.

Maybe you can draw a bit out. (enough for your hydrometer) and try to chill it in the freezer and when you get close to 6.5 -6.25 gal check it out.

But if you're starting at 7 gallons, I might boil 15 or 20 min then start the hops schedule

 

[Bobby_M]

When you added the sparge water, did you stir it up?

 

[natewv]

I ended up adding hops when it was boiling at the 6 G mark or so, so probably a total or 5.5 G I guess. I did check my hydrometer reading at pretty high temps, so maybe that was it? I don't know. I'm at the giving up stage, just let it boil down for over an hour, and started the hop schedule a bit ago. I'll take a gravity reading after the boil and see how I did.

 

[BrewKnurd]

I ended up adding hops when it was boiling at the 6 G mark or so, so probably a total or 5.5 G I guess. I did check my hydrometer reading at pretty high temps, so maybe that was it? I don't know. I'm at the giving up stage, just let it boil down for over an hour, and started the hop schedule a bit ago. I'll take a gravity reading after the boil and see how I did.

If you take a hydrometer reading at high temp, you absolutely need to correct it for temp or you could be way off.

Per the hydrometer correction tool in beersmith, if you read 1.036 and the temp was, say, 120, your actual OG is 1.047, so it can be a big difference.

 

[cwlodyka]

Remember that your hydrometer is likely calibrated at 60*. So if you were taking a gravity reading right after mashing (approx. 150* wort) your gravity would be a lot higher than what you were reading.

Relax. All will be well.... reading this post actually made me feel stressed so I grabbed a homebrew, you should do the same!

 

[cwlodyka]

what he said before me! I sat on submitting my post for a while, ha! Damn beer got in the way... but it is delish!

 

[BrewKnurd]

what he said before me! I sat on submitting my post for a while, ha! Damn beer got in the way... but it is delish!

But at least you have a delish beer. I'm drinking a bottle of my worst homebrew batch. Ah well, I'm still drinking it, so it can't be that bad.

 

[natewv]

sh*t. So I always thought hydrometer reading had to do with ambient temp and not liquid temp. LOL. Before today I guess i never took a Hydrometer reading other than after cooling the wort, since it was all Extract except the last brew that was a PM. Ok, anyway I just threw my 30 min Cents in and I'm sanitizing and getting my IC ready, but AG takes a looooong time. haha

 

[natewv]

Still not sure why I ended up with so much wort?

 

[Wrecked]

RDWHAHB

I did the same thing today on my first AG. I had a neighbor stop by and pull a pint from the keezer with me and I over sparged by a gallon, lol.

I just boiled the 7.25 gallons down to my target pre-boil of 6.25g, took an SG sample, then started my hop schedule.

When all was said and done I hit my SG & OG targets.

Keep on brewin!! It's all beer in the end!

Cheers

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[cwlodyka]

yea, don't worry I did the same thing with my first batch (how I learned!). Except that I was so frustrated I poured the damn thing out... then I realized my mistake in the middle of the night, seriously awaking me from my slumber. So it happens, and it won't be the last! But Relax. Don't Worry. Have a Homebrew. (Whether it's the best you've made or not!)

 

[cwlodyka]

And not sure about your quamtity of wort, how much you end up with? You probably just over estimated mash ratio or sparge water. If you think you have too much you can always just boil off a little more, the extra boil time won't hurt.

 

[jpietraski]

What was your target SG? Like the others already said, you can boil down to 5galdisassemble/wash/rvassemble and accept the SG at that point. Or continue to boil to achieve your target SG, and live with a smaller batch (less than 5gal)

 

[Wrecked]

My target SG was .041 and my OG target was .050.

I did the AHS Bavarian Hefeweizen recipe.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[natewv]

I don't know the difference betwee OG and SG (and don't feel like looking it up at the moment) but I ened up hitting my target, ridiculously. In hindsight it's very likely my hydrometer readings were out of whack since I didn't even consider temp (even though I was told to do so). Anyway, I'm still not sure what I miscalculated that had me with 7+ gallons at the start of the boil, and I'd like to sort that one out.

 

[Wrecked]

My understanding is SG = pre-boil gravity and OG = post boil gravity.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[SwampassJ]

This is why it's nice(convenient) to have a refractometer.

Take a sample and stick it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes then pop in the hydro. Might still be 90-100 but it's close enough for a ball park measurement.

 

[BeerMe21]

This is why it's nice(convenient) to have a refractometer.

And/or not being overly buzzed while brewing

 

[Flomaster]

I don't know the difference betwee OG and SG (and don't feel like looking it up at the moment) but I ened up hitting my target, ridiculously. In hindsight it's very likely my hydrometer readings were out of whack since I didn't even consider temp (even though I was told to do so). Anyway, I'm still not sure what I miscalculated that had me with 7+ gallons at the start of the boil, and I'd like to sort that one out.

boil time and boil off rate effect how much wort you start your boil with, also factoring in grain absorption all 3 things effect how much starting wort you need.

-=Jason=-

 

[natewv]

I guess what I'm asking is my planned pre goil amount was 5.5 gallons and I seemed to have almost all 7 that I started with. I did not squeeze the bag during mash or sparge, but it seems I ended up with almost all the water I put in. What could change in my calcs to account for that?

 

[tennesseean_87]

Did you calculate absorption in the sparge? If I understand correctly, the grains shouldn't absorb anything while sparging because they've already absorbed all they can absorb while sitting in the mash.

 

[natewv]

Ok so did 2 AG BIAB brews this weekend. My biggest lessons learned:

1) a hydrometer is temperature dependent (ha!) and
2) sparge runnings will be way less gravity than mash runnings.

I am still at a loss about the gallon plus of extra wort each brew had. Almost 7 gallons each time.

Everyone's advice has been great, but I understand that I have miscalculated somewhere, that's evident. What I need some thoughts on is how I miscalculated, and how to fix it.

Now that I have a bunch of data and 10 gallons of beer bubbling away, what things should I try to manipulate in my software? For example, how do i calculate my brewhouse/equipment efficiency?

 

[natewv]

delete

 

[natewv]

delete

 

[natewv]

Did you calculate absorption in the sparge? If I understand correctly, the grains shouldn't absorb anything while sparging because they've already absorbed all they can absorb while sitting in the mash.

umm, I'm not sure. I'm using beertarget 1.2.3 , I am not sure what it calculates for me.

And not sure about your quamtity of wort, how much you end up with? You probably just over estimated mash ratio or sparge water. If you think you have too much you can always just boil off a little more, the extra boil time won't hurt.

How do I more accurately estimate this?

Also, how do I estimate brewhouse efficiency? I just assumed 70% since I haven't done AG BIAB before.

just grab a sample with a pyrex measuring glass and cool it down enough to measure the gravity if you want to know where you are.

I think your OG is higher than you thought, because 1.066 first runnings + 1.016 sparge does not add up to 1.036 OG unless your sparge volume was 1.5 times your first runnings. with the numbers you gave for first runnings and sparge volumes and gravities, you should have ended up around 1.046 OG.

what equation do you use to combine first and second runnings?