2nd all grain brew, I've been .020 points low on both... I have hit the target temps. The second one I ran through the mill twice, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. The first beer turned out ok but definilty lacking in the malty ness to offset the hops. Any ideas????
Low OG, No Where Near OG Target...
- Thread starter RMCN
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Probably the crush is too coarse. That's the premier factor of low efficiency. Set that mill finer if you can or get your own mill. No grain pieces should be 1/8" or larger.
Are you batch sparging or BIAB?
Sparging twice with equal volumes?
Are you batch sparging or BIAB?
Sparging twice with equal volumes?
As for your efficiency, I don't know. It will help if you post your recipes and process. Next time you could keep some extract around to adjust. You still can in the fermenter. But if this is a five gallon batch you'd need 2.4 lbs of DME or 3.2lbs LME. If you do this, boil some water first to mix.
What's actual batch volume vs target batch volume? If you're brewing 5 gallon batches and ending up with 6 gallons, then yeah, you're going to be a bit shy.
What's the recipe source? And what's the efficiency of the recipe? If you're using someone else's recipe, and it's set at 85 or 90% efficiency, and you're getting 65% efficiency, that'll explain at least a chunk of it. Most recipes from common sources seem to be set 70-75%, so if you're getting lower it shouldn't be too far off unless there's a bigger problem.
I would also look to crush first. If you're using store crush, buy yourself a mill. And then tighten it down from the factory setting. My Barley Crusher mill came preset at 0.038", if I recall correctly, and I adjusted it down to 0.032".
Sparging method is worth looking at too. If you're fly sparging and doing it fast, slow down. If you're batch sparging, make sure you're not wasting a bunch of sugars in extra sparge runnings. Especially if you're fly sparging, make sure your MLT isn't getting any channeling. If you're doing BIAB and no sparge, you might try sparging.
Make sure your sparge water is a high enough temp- you want the grain bed to be in the 168-ish range. If it's too low, sugars aren't as soluble. I batch sparge, and if I do a mash-out first, then sparge, I get a few extra points of efficiency.
What's the recipe source? And what's the efficiency of the recipe? If you're using someone else's recipe, and it's set at 85 or 90% efficiency, and you're getting 65% efficiency, that'll explain at least a chunk of it. Most recipes from common sources seem to be set 70-75%, so if you're getting lower it shouldn't be too far off unless there's a bigger problem.
I would also look to crush first. If you're using store crush, buy yourself a mill. And then tighten it down from the factory setting. My Barley Crusher mill came preset at 0.038", if I recall correctly, and I adjusted it down to 0.032".
Sparging method is worth looking at too. If you're fly sparging and doing it fast, slow down. If you're batch sparging, make sure you're not wasting a bunch of sugars in extra sparge runnings. Especially if you're fly sparging, make sure your MLT isn't getting any channeling. If you're doing BIAB and no sparge, you might try sparging.
Make sure your sparge water is a high enough temp- you want the grain bed to be in the 168-ish range. If it's too low, sugars aren't as soluble. I batch sparge, and if I do a mash-out first, then sparge, I get a few extra points of efficiency.
The recipe was one I found on Beersmith so I'm sure their effeciancy is much better than mine. I use the mill at my brew store and I ran it through twice because I read that could be the issue after the first batch. I fly sparge and it takes me 45 min to an hour to sparge. The temperatures seem to be really close to what I was shooting for on both batches. Could my hydrometer be reading incorrect?
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I would look to the crush, like I said. Doesn't matter if you run the mill twice if it's too coarse. Might get a slight improvement, but it'll still be too coarse.
I'm not an expert on fly sparging, but it should take at least an hour. I think you'll find if you slow it down a bit your efficiency will go up.
And since you're fly sparging, I would very carefully analyze your lautering set up, because any channeling while fly sparging (basically uneven rinsing of the grain bed where all the sparge water rinses the same small part and leaves the rest more or less unsparged) will cause both low efficiency and potentially oversparging at the same time.
I'm not an expert on fly sparging, but it should take at least an hour. I think you'll find if you slow it down a bit your efficiency will go up.
And since you're fly sparging, I would very carefully analyze your lautering set up, because any channeling while fly sparging (basically uneven rinsing of the grain bed where all the sparge water rinses the same small part and leaves the rest more or less unsparged) will cause both low efficiency and potentially oversparging at the same time.
Thanks for the advice, I'll talk to the guy at my brew store about his mill setting and I'll start looking into investing in one myself. I'll also slow the sparge process down and modify my sparge arm to be a little more gentle on the drip. Thanks again
