I got 89% for my second AG!

[impatient]

Here is what I did:

10lbs Munich Briess
3lbs Wheat Malt
3ozs Cascade(8.7%) 60 minutes

I mashed in with 18 quarts at 152 for an hour. Hit my target right on the nose with the following calculation.

((.2/<quarts per pound>) * (<target temp> - <grain temp>)) + <target temp>

I then fly sparged with 16 quarts at a rate of 2 quarts minute. The temp at the sparge arm drip was 165 degrees. I got this by heating the water to 190 before putting it in my reservior (bottling bucket that feeds the arm by gravity).

I boiled for an hour then immersion chilled to 67 degrees in 5 minutes. This is where I took the gravity reading (1.081).

I put it in the carboy and pitched it. Here is a shot right before pitching.

 

[Southwood]

Congratulations on a great job! I too was suprised by my high efficiency on my first AG. I now have to reformulate all the recipes I get that are usually set for around 70% efficiency. Cheers!

 

[kaptain_karma]

Hell yeah, fly sparge. It can be a pain sometimes, but the efficiency is hot.

 

[nosmatt]

wow, 1081 from 13lbs of grain.
kudos!
a side thought, a 1.081 beer with that little headspace, and an airlock, are you skeered?

 

[impatient]

wow, 1081 from 13lbs of grain.
kudos!
a side thought, a 1.081 beer with that little headspace, and an airlock, are you skeered?

Once it starts to go, I'll put a blow of on it. Once it slows, I'll put the airlock back on.

 

[impatient]

I hear that wheats form a heavy krausen. Time for the blow off. Like I said, I will put the airlock back after phase I.

 

[p4ck37p1mp]

Fly sparge FTW!

 

[bull8042]

89%! I hate you!!!

 

[impatient]

don't hate the player, ....

 

[impatient]

Fly sparge FTW!

FTW???????

 

[impatient]

I love that fruity smell.

 

[joety]

What's with the 20 foot long blowoff tube?

 

[bull8042]

What's with the 20 foot long blowoff tube?

I see what you mean now. I was thinking he was blowing off into an old cast iron blow-off-thingie. I guess that is so he can barf his kreusen into the neighbor's yard if it get too bad.

 

[joety]

I have a feeling there is a legitimate reason, and I want to know what I'm missing out on.

 

[impatient]

Ok, that is how long the piece of hose was I bought from Menards. But, anyway, it still made a mess. I just got done wiping up sticky foamy **** all over my desk. I smells so good I want to taste it. But, I know it won't taste good. For some reason, Nottingham differs from other yeasts, it goes like hell for about 48 hours and blows off one hell of a krausen.

 

[dontman]

it will take extra force to blow off all the way through that length of hose. In the meantime enough scmutz can build up to clog even a pipe of that id. Cut a piece long enough to reach from the top of the carboy to the bottom plus maybe a foot.

 

[maltMonkey]

...I then fly sparged with 16 quarts at a rate of 2 quarts minute.

8 minute fly sparge? Wow that's fast. Everything I've read says that you need to go really slow when fly sparging (mine usually take an hour), but I'm tempted to try going fast after seeing your efficiency.

 

[pompeiisneaks]

by the way I saw that "FTW?" ftw means For The Win and FTL is loss of course... its gaming/internet slang

I almost type BTW for (by the way) there at the top too but figured that may be confusing as well FWIW (for what its worth haha)

 

[impatient]

8 minute fly sparge? Wow that's fast. Everything I've read says that you need to go really slow when fly sparging (mine usually take an hour), but I'm tempted to try going fast after seeing your efficiency.

I couldn't get the run-off to keep running any slower. And it took longer than that since I had to collect the Mash water as well as the sparge water. I would say I had all of the wort collected in 20 minutes.

Oh, I forgot to mention, after getting the running clear but before I started the sparge, I stirred the top about 3-4 inched down very gently to loosen the top of the grain bed, hopefully allowing the sparge water to flow through the grain bed evenly instead of around the sides or tunneling.

 

[Nerro]

@pompeiisneaks
FTL = Faster Than Light

Back on topic, I've heard on mroe than one occasion that sparging overly fast can transfer unwanted bitter sustances from the spent grains. Are you afraid that might have happened?

 

[impatient]

@pompeiisneaks
FTL = Faster Than Light

Back on topic, I've heard on mroe than one occasion that sparging overly fast can transfer unwanted bitter sustances from the spent grains. Are you afraid that might have happened?

I've never heard of that. I only heard that exceeding 170 when sparging will release tanins.

 

[dontman]

@pompeiisneaks
FTL = Faster Than Light

Back on topic, I've heard on mroe than one occasion that sparging overly fast can transfer unwanted bitter sustances from the spent grains. Are you afraid that might have happened?

I'm skeptical of this. Why would speed have any effect on the rinse. Except that if you go too long at too high a temp or too acidic a mash that you extract tannins.

Nope. I'm not buying this rumor at all. Maybe the other way around but not by sparging too fast.

 

[impatient]

I'm skeptical of this. Why would speed have any effect on the rinse. Except that if you go too long at too high a temp or too acidic a mash that you extract tannins.

Nope. I'm not buying this rumor at all. Maybe the other way around but not by sparging too fast.

Yah, what he said. I got 89% suckers!

 

[impatient]

this turned out fantastic

3 weeks in the bottle