Just finished my second batch

[tbel]

I just finished my second batch, it was NB Farmhouse Ale Biere De table. Everything went well, quicker and smoother than the first. One thing I was wondering about is my OG. The recipe says it should be 1.043 but I got 1.047. That was @ 63 degrees F. Could I have gotten some extra from my Steeping Grains? It is what it is, but I'm just curious. The immersion chiller worked great. I was @ 100 in about 8 min. Had it @ 68 in less than 15. The top off water had been sitting @ room temp since last night so my pitching temp was @ 68 also.
I'm wondering if I'm handling the wort to much. In an effort to minimize the solids I put the wort into my bottling bucket, running it though a funnel with a nylon strainer and top off to 5 gal. Then I run it into the Primary through the spigot allowing it to splash as a means of aerating it. Maybe next time I'll just go to the primary though the strainer and top off there. Any thought or critique on these ramblings would be much appreciated.

 

[flabyboy]

you know me. I just go from pot to primary. with extract, I usually top off and stir like crazy until I get the reading that is expected. I'm usually at 5.25-5.5 gallons when I start fermentation. I always go with my readings and not just the 5 gallon mark on the pail.

glad it went well. were going to have to start exchanging some six packs in the coming months

 

[rescuedogrr2010]

I'm wondering if I'm handling the wort to much.

i wouldnt worry about that as long as you maintain sanitation.

in some between-brew-day reading, i came across white labs' experiment measuring oxygen levels in wort (white and zainasheff, yeast, chapter 4 covers fermentation). they recommend 8-10 ppm dissolved oxygen as optimum. the experiment observed ~3 ppm as a result of 5 minutes of shaking. according to white and zainasheff, using air as a source for adding oxygen to your wort you will only be able to approach 8 ppm with "plenty of headspace, a strong back, and lots of vigorous shaking"