First Brew Day - Dude, Where's My Beer?

[iamleescott]

My first ever brew day today - Belgian Witbier (BIAB)

Everything went well until I discovered that instead of expected 5.25gal I ended up with just under 4gal. And if I'm using the Brewhouse efficiency calculator - I ended up with a 54% efficiency

Here's the basics:
Started with 6.25gal, mashed at 150f for 60mins - then boiled of 60mins.

I'm assuming evaporation is the biggest culprit here, but are there other factors at play here? e.g...Brewed in the garage which was a balmy 35degress F. - Did the ambient cold contribute to more boil off?

Thanks for your advice.
Lee

 

[mj1angier]

It might. Cold means the humidity is lower so evaporation is higher. And the grain might be drier that what the calculator is allowing for.

Keep good notes, including what the weather was on brew day, brew the same beer a few times and see if any thing changes. Then start changing things to see what effects you day. It takes some time to "dial" it in

 

[iamleescott]

It might. Cold means the humidity is lower so evaporation is higher. And the grain might be drier that what the calculator is allowing for.

Keep good notes, including what the weather was on brew day, brew the same beer a few times and see if any thing changes. Then start changing things to see what effects you day. It takes some time to "dial" it in

Thanks for the feedback. Is it too early to conclude that I need to start with more water next time?

 

[mj1angier]

Thanks for the feedback. Is it too early to conclude that I need to start with more water next time?

I would brew same bee again, the same way and see if you get same results.

But that is if it means that much to you, lol. You are going to make beer and if you don't freak out about numbers, you can play around with as much as you want.

Kind of like baking vs. cooking. Bakers need to measure out each item to get the correct results each time because it is a chemical reaction. Cooking you can just go with it as you please because the flavors will blend but most of the time there is not a chemical reaction need to get to food, lol

 

[Wreck99]

Welcome to home brewing! It does take some time to dial in your system so don't worry, you'll get it the way you like it in time. Aiming for your numbers is a great goal but I'm sure it'll still make good beer. I brew in the garage and do notice a difference with the weather too. You just have to make adjustments accordingly, and knowing what to fine tune will come with experience. Cheers!

 

[whiskeyjack]

How I calculate water is total I want 5.25g + boil off (1gal/hr for me) + grain absorption/equipment loss (0.06-0.15gal/#grain) with biab it depends on how hard you squeeze and how much you get out. I hold up the bag while my gf presses the sides with 2 plates to squish it and get as much out as I can. Another factor is hops, specially if you use whole cone. The more you use, the more water you will lose but it doesn't pally in your case bease it's a wit. I'm assuming you used around 10.5# grain. So with that 5.25 + 1 (boil off) + 1 (grain abs) = 7.25g Once you learn your variables you will be set. I got a new pot the other day, 1st thing I did is fill it with 2 gallons and checked my boil off per hour on the stove. Moving to stove top brewing

 

[Jtk78]

It doesn't sound like you calculated for grain absorption or equipment loss. You started with 1 gallon over your finished volume. 1 gal per hour is a typical boil off rate depending on equipment, atmosphere, and how vigorous a boil it is. I typically boil closer to 1.25 gallons per hour.

 

[brew703]

I brew full volume BIAB and for a 5 gal batch (5 gal in fermenter / 5.5 gal kettle). I brewed a batch Saturday. 10.65 lb grain. I use priceless brewing's calculator to determine strike water volume. I leave grain absorption and hop absorption alone. Boil off is 1 gal/hr. I used 8.75 gal of water and I ended up with exactly 5 gal to fermenter.
I think part of your issue is you didn't use enough strike water. Since your temp was 35 degrees I don't think evaporation was the issue. Down here in the South, when it's humid, I have more boil off then when it's cold. Humidity is bad here in the summer so I have to account for that when I brew.

 

[65C]

My first 3 or 4 brews were all short, then next 10 or so where too long ...

Now I've got it just right - for 6.5KG grain I'll use 34L of water in total - to get to around 21L at the end with 150g+ of hops used

 

[InTheBasement]

Perhaps I am confused regarding your initial post. Are you saying you started with 6.25 gallons of mash water? As in, you had your mash tun filled with grain and you added 6.25 gallons of water for the mash, and then no more water was used? If that's the case then I suspect you used way too little water. We all have our starting point, but I typically use 4.5 gallons of mash water (recipe dependent). I mash for an hour then drain into my kettle. Then I batch sparge with another 4 gallons or so. That gives me a pre boil volume of around 7 gallons. After my boil I am typically around 5.5 to 6 gallons into the fermenter. You have to account for grain absorption, and that is rather significant.

 

[porter1974]

It doesn’t seem like you took into account grain absorption. I estimate absorption to be about .5 quart of water loss per pound of grain. It’s not totally accurate but close enough.

 

[jalc6927]

My biab system I account for 1.25 boil off, .125 absorb rate per pound, and 1/2 gallon of trub

So for 11 lb grain it works out to 9.25 gallons

But 4 gallons of crisp fresh home brew is a great start