Fly sparge results

[Layne]

I usually batchsparge.
Friday, I did a 11 gal batch of porter.
SG was supposed to be 1.054
Mashed 154 for 75 minutes ( a little higher in the beginning)
I did a quasi-fly sparge. Ran the pump slow from the MT to the BK
I used a quart measuring cut to gently add sparge water to the top of grainbed. I poured into a strainer, and kept 1+ inches of water above the grain.

After 1 hour, I had collected 9 gallons of wort. Gravity was way up, over 1.080 But tested the gravity of the wort coming out of the hose from the MT, and 1.010 I remember reading to stop at 1.010 to avoid extracting tannins so I did.

I added 3 gallons of fresh water, testing SG along the way.
Ended up w/ 12.5 gallons of 1.058 wort. Which was fine, just not the path I expected to take to get there.

What did I do wrong....or right?

 

[halite]

To get your expected OG of 1054 what efficiency had you set? If you had your system set up for a 65-70% efficiency, you might have ended up with something closer to 80-85% that would explain the higher gravity.

What did I do wrong....or right?

It's never wrong to get a higher gravity than expected :rockin:

 

[HiGravShawn]

Sounds like you're getting good efficiency so nothing is wrong. Do a few batches measuring your eff. and see if you can get good, repeatable results and then use that eff. when calculating recipes. Most instructions or recipes are based on 70 or 75% eff. so getting higher is a good "problem" to have.

 

[Layne]

My beersmith is set at the default. I believe 70%
I usually hit within a few points.

Would you have stopped sparging at 1.010, and added fresh water, or continued to sparge to desired Volume or OG?

 

[HiGravShawn]

I mainly batch sparge as it gets similar eff. and is easier, but I know people who usually fly sparge to .08. If you get good enough extraction to go beyond your volume, you just made starter material.

 

[Dynachrome]

Is this one bottled/kegger yet? How did it turn out?

 

[Layne]

Took 2 days for the notty to start bubbling into the blow off bucket.
Fermented at 67 degrees. Stopped bubbling after 2 days. gravity was 1.025 Was shooting for 1.015
Took out of the fridge, swirled, and left out @74 degrees. I had to go out of town for a week. Came back, and it was still 74 degrees, but only down to 1.022 and no bubbles.
It is cold crashing now. Sample tasted ok.
Weird batch.....but it'll drink.

 

[chefchris]

toss some alpha amylase in there and let it sit a few days. that should take it down 4-5 points.

 

[Randar]

Would you have stopped sparging at 1.010, and added fresh water

Absolutely. This is my preferred method. I aim for 80%, fly sparge at as slow a rate I have time for (usually aim for 60-90 min) and when I collect more concentrated wort than my 80% calc affords, I top it off to match my pre-boil target gravity and simply end up with a slightly higher starting volume than I had targeted. I then tweak my hops/adjunct additions to account for volume variation and boil away as per usual.

Look at it this way. If you collect the wort and you get 15 gallons of wort at too low a starting pre-boil gravity, you would be boiling off for 2 hours or whatever. If you start out with too high a concentration, you just thin it out a bit per the dilution formula and start your boil. WAY easier, no?

I also save my HLT leftovers to top off the post-boil volume if my gravity is off (I calculate based on the low end of my boil-off rate to ensure I don't end up too thin, but for 13-15 gallon batches this is usually still within 2 quarts of top-off)

 

[Randar]

Took 2 days for the notty to start bubbling into the blow off bucket.
Fermented at 67 degrees. Stopped bubbling after 2 days. gravity was 1.025 Was shooting for 1.015
Took out of the fridge, swirled, and left out @74 degrees. I had to go out of town for a week. Came back, and it was still 74 degrees, but only down to 1.022 and no bubbles.
It is cold crashing now. Sample tasted ok.
Weird batch.....but it'll drink.

Definitely a disappointing FG on that. I have had terrific luck with the Notty yeasts finishing very dry, but I tend to do a 2-step mash for drier beers and this usually results in more fermantables. Still, I have never had Notty take 2 days to get going. Usually I am DONE in 2 days.

 

[schristian619]

I've been fly sparging fr about 3 years now, and have never checked the gravity while sparging. I just do it til I get my volume. Never had an tannin issues, or at least the judges haven't thought so. to each their own though.

 

[DarkNoonBrewer]

I've been fly sparging fr about 3 years now, and have never checked the gravity while sparging. I just do it til I get my volume. Never had an tannin issues, or at least the judges haven't thought so. to each their own though.

I think the OP should try what you and I have been doing. I also pay closer attention to the pre-boil volume, but feel guilty when my refract tells me to shut it down. But, I once reached my volume, and the I was reading high on the refractometer, and a friend convinced me to stop. I ended up with an imperial Irish Red that was un-pleasant because the yeast wasn't strong enough for the higher gravity, and the color was way dark!

So I say, shoot for your volume first, and keep going if you still have high Brix readings from the MT.