First all-grain questions. (Schwarzbier)

[mcoatney]

Been brewing with extract and specialty grains for awhile now. Brewed my first all-grain batch today. Followed this recipe (mostly) for a schwarzbier:

A ProMash Recipe - The Jamil Show - Schwarzbier

Tweaked the hop schedule a little. LBS didn't have Hallertauer pellets so I used Mt Hood whole leaf and adjusted for alpha %. BeerSmith said the final IBUs matched up. Mashed for about an hour at 155* at a 1.2 ratio and then fly sparged with about 18 quarts at 170*. (Forgot to Vorlauf.)

Pre-boil gravity was 1.057 (Recipe target is 1.054.)

So we'll see if I completely ruined the beer or not. After the boil, I chilled it, racked it to the 6.5 gallon primary and took the gravity. Ended up with about 4.5 gallons of wort at 1.077. Way too high. Looked at BeerSmith for options. Ended up diluting the wort with 2 gallons of water and bringing the OG down to 1.053, about where I wanted it. Problem is, I have no head space in the carboy now. Thinking about siphoning some off, but already pitched the yeast (White Labs San Francisco Lager because of the temps where my primaries are,) so don't want to lose any. Afraid I'm going to blow off the top during the night.

Suggestions? Ideas?

 

[C-Rider]

Been brewing with extract and specialty grains for awhile now. Brewed my first all-grain batch today. Followed this recipe (mostly) for a schwarzbier:

A ProMash Recipe - The Jamil Show - Schwarzbier

Tweaked the hop schedule a little. LBS didn't have Hallertauer pellets so I used Mt Hood whole leaf and adjusted for alpha %. BeerSmith said the final IBUs matched up. Mashed for about an hour at 155* at a 1.2 ratio and then fly sparged with about 18 quarts at 170*. (Forgot to Vorlauf.)

Pre-boil gravity was 1.057 (Recipe target is 1.054.)

So we'll see if I completely ruined the beer or not. After the boil, I chilled it, racked it to the 6.5 gallon primary and took the gravity. Ended up with about 4.5 gallons of wort at 1.077. Way too high. Looked at BeerSmith for options. Ended up diluting the wort with 2 gallons of water and bringing the OG down to 1.053, about where I wanted it. Problem is, I have no head space in the carboy now. Thinking about siphoning some off, but already pitched the yeast (White Labs San Francisco Lager because of the temps where my primaries are,) so don't want to lose any. Afraid I'm going to blow off the top during the night.

Suggestions? Ideas?

I never add water to dilute my beer. If it comes out high due to better eff, than bingo I get higher ABV which don't matter if you ain't gonna enter in a contest. At the most I might have in your case added .5 gallon to make it an even 5 gallons. Get your blow off tube in NOW.

 

[Mjolnir]

run a blow off tube into a bucket of sanitizer

 

[Yooper]

I never add water to dilute my beer. If it comes out high due to better eff, than bingo I get higher ABV which don't matter if you ain't gonna enter in a contest. At the most I might have in your case added .5 gallon to make it an even 5 gallons. Get your blow off tube in NOW.

That's interesting, because I always dilute to the correct OG. I guess it's because I spent time working on the hop/gravity balance, the OG/IBU ratio, and I don't usually want a high octane beer. I would have done the same thing, but probably in an ale pail, and not a small carboy!

A blow off tube sounds like a great idea!

 

[periwinkle1239]

You made a lager and I assume you're fermenting around 50 degrees, so there's a good chance you might not need the blow-off. Better safe than sorry though.

 

[mcoatney]

Using WLP810 San Francisco Lager yeast. It prefers higher temps, fermenting around 60*. I'll still lager at normal lagering temps in my kegerator though.

Ended up pulling some wort from the carboy. I've never needed a blow off before, since I use a 6.5 gallon carboy for 5 gallon batches. Didn't have large enough tubing around to use as a blow off with the stoppers I have.

Everything seems good. Airlock is bubbling away contentedly.

 

[C-Rider]

That's interesting, because I always dilute to the correct OG. I guess it's because I spent time working on the hop/gravity balance, the OG/IBU ratio, and I don't usually want a high octane beer. I would have done the same thing, but probably in an ale pail, and not a small carboy!

A blow off tube sounds like a great idea!

I don't mind a few extra % of octane in my brew. I'm not brewing for a contest and if I happen to be extra efficient in my mash why not take advantage of it? Also I'm limited to my 2 gallon fermenters so I don't have much room for added water, but I understand your point.

 

[Euphist]

I'm a little confused...the target pre-boil was 1.054 and it was supposed to be 1.053 after boiling???

As I understand it, the only way that's possible is by diluting it...