How did my OG get 1.035? (IPA)

[saeroner]

all-grain/batch-sparge

I took the hydrometer sample at the very bottom of the kettle after siphoning into carboy.

Was supposed to be between 1.049 - 1.054

Mashed at 152 and held for 1 hour

10 lbs 2 row
12z of crystal 15

The recipe is 'Single Hop Experiment' (bravo) from morebeer.

Everything looked good in beersmith software using my equipment profile.

The 1st mash temp was a bit low (144) so i added some hot water (little over 1/4 gallon) to the mash tun to reach 152 degrees.

Mashed then batch sparged and hit 6.5 gallons perfectly in the kettle.

Boil went great. cooled it down in 20 mins below 80. got it to 72 and pitched without adding any DME.

I can't figure out how it got to 1.035 other than adding the extra water to the mash tune but that wasn't even mush water??

 

[peterj]

Did you take a quart out of your sparge water to compensate? And have you ever done all grain before? What is your usual efficiency? Did you take any other gravity readings during brewing like a pre-boil? I always take a pre-boil so I know if and how I should correct it before I start the boil (boil longer, add extract, add water). In fact I didn't even take a post boil gravity last brew, I just calculated it from my pre-boil and volume loss.

If this is a very abnormal efficiency for you then I would look at anything that might have changed in your process especially your crush. If you've never done all grain before then you may have just gotten a low efficiency (which is common for just starting out) and perhaps diluted a little more than you should have. Or maybe you didn't boil off as much as you expected.

 

[saeroner]

Did you take a quart out of your sparge water to compensate? And have you ever done all grain before? What is your usual efficiency? Did you take any other gravity readings during brewing like a pre-boil?

It's my 5th all grain and yeah I have a lot to learn I guess. Still trying to learn how to calculate efficiency. Any links or tips on doing so?

I didn't take any readings pre-boil. Do you just let the wort cool down and take the reading?

 

[Staylow]

You can take the reading with hot wort, but it will need to be adjusted for temperature. If you have a smart phone, there is a handy free app called Brewzor Calculator that will correct it for you. Or, you could google one on your desktop.

 

[Terek]

Homebrew ing.com has an awesome calculator. I use It all the time. I have added up to a gallon of water before because of a low start temp and have never had a problem. Actually I have done almost this exact grain bill with almost same pre boil vol and temp. And came out at like 1.051
The only thing I can think of is one of two things. Your thermometer is off, and you are actually mashing at a lower temp than you think.
Or, your grain crush is not good. Do you crush it or does your LHBS crush it for you? Either way, sounds like it's not getting crushed enough. Most LHBS will intentionally crush it with like 60% eff. In mind so you buy more grain. I would ask them if they could crush it a little finer. If your doing it yourself, just crush it finer.

 

[peterj]

I always just use my software to calculate efficiency. I use Brewers Friend, but I'm sure Beersmith has that feature too. I've never really learned to calculate it the old fashioned way. I put your recipe in and assuming it was 5 gallons it looks like you only got 45% efficiency. That's very low but not unheard of. Like I said before, I would look at your crush first. That has a huge impact on efficiency.

As for this batch, you can leave it at that gravity and just get a very sessionable ale (somewhere around 3-4% depending on attenuation) or you could try to add some extract dissolved in as little water as possible. Bring the water to a boil, dissolve extract, then cool and add. Personally I would just let it ride as a low gravity beer.

 

[Terek]

Another thought. Have you ever calibrated your hydrometer? I have never seen one that far off, but it is possible. One of mine always reads .002 high

 

[Terek]

Here is the actual link to the calculator

http://www.homebrewing.com/calculators/?page=tools&section=efficiency&action=calculate

 

[Terek]

I always just use my software to calculate efficiency. I use Brewers Friend, but I'm sure Beersmith has that feature too. I've never really learned to calculate it the old fashioned way. I put your recipe in and assuming it was 5 gallons it looks like you only got 45% efficiency. That's very low but not unheard of. Like I said before, I would look at your crush first. That has a huge impact on efficiency.

As for this batch, you can leave it at that gravity and just get a very sessionable ale (somewhere around 3-4% depending on attenuation) or you could try to add some extract dissolved in as little water as possible. Bring the water to a boil, dissolve extract, then cool and add. Personally I would just let it ride as a low gravity beer.

That is what I would do. Sometimes brew day "mistakes" make the best beer. Let it ride, mabe it was ment to be.

And always, sit back, relax, have a homebrew

 

[peterj]

You can take the reading with hot wort, but it will need to be adjusted for temperature. If you have a smart phone, there is a handy free app called Brewzor Calculator that will correct it for you. Or, you could google one on your desktop.

I assumed you cooled the hydrometer sample first. Is that correct? Like Staylow said, you would need to adjust the reading for temperature, but I don't think it's all that accurate if the sample is hot.

 

[saeroner]

Thanks to all.

I ordered the grains milled from morebeer .com. Funny I lloked at them and they seemed almost whole like they were not crushed very much. I would think morebeer would do it correct though.

I used a brand new digital thermometer. I guess I should collibrate it (has that feature)

I ordered a barley crusher yesterday. I'll be crushing grains in a week.

Guess I need to watch more videos on all grain.

 

[fizgig]

Next time don't wait until post boil to take a reading.

 

[saeroner]

Next time don't wait until post boil to take a reading.

How do you correct it if it's low after the sparging?

 

[peterj]

How do you correct it if it's low after the sparging?

You can boil longer to concentrate the wort more, or you can add extract to the boil. If it's high you can add water. There's tons of calculators for figuring out exactly how long to boil or how much extract or water you should add.

EDIT: Brewer's Friend has everything you need in terms of calculators and I find them all very easy to use.

 

[fizgig]

What he said, plus it might be an indicator that the mash is not complete, you may have a bad thermometer reading low/high, you need to do an iodine test, etc. Taste it and see if it's nasty as sometimes the pH is way off with a bad crush and you'll have tannin city in there and might as well quit and start over instead of throwing another few hours at a bad batch.

It's like a giant red flag if your gravity is really off, it let's you know you need to fix something before continuing.

 

[saeroner]

Taste it and see if it's nasty as sometimes the pH is way off with a bad crush and you'll have tannin city in there and might as well quit and start over

By tasting nasty what am I looking for? Normally it's nice and sweet. What would nasty mean?

 

[fizgig]

Tannic like old tea or coffee left on the burner all day, you'd know it immediately, feels like you have low voltage on the back of your tongue. Puckering and dry feeling in your mouth.


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