Low OG

[Redlantern]

Good morning everyone - just finished an IPA yesterday and noticed something I did not like. My OG for the second batch in a row has dropped.

The previous batches have hit within .004 of target, but the last two have been .012 low.

I taste the grains after sparge and it seems that there is nothing left.

Water treatment has been the same per Bru'n

Mash at 148°F. Mash water at room temp was 6.0ph, Mash was 5.4ph.

Sparge water at room temp was 6.0. Sparge temp at 168°F

Verified grain weight prior to mash and it checked out.

The last two batches have been simply excellent, but it seems strange to see a shift like this in yield.

Any places I should look or is this normal?

 

[mongoose33]

Same grain supplier?

Have you checked and validated your thermometer and Ph meter?

Different volumes of water in boil kettle?

When everything is the same (ingredients and process) but the result is different, what that suggests to me is something you're using to measure is out of whack--e.g., scale, PH meter, themometer.

 

[Redlantern]

Verified ph meter - calibrated with 10, 7 and 4 standards prior to brew and left running

Thermometer is +.8°F (32.8°F) in distilled ice water
Thermometer is +.2°F (212.2°F in distilled boiling water

Hydrometer is +.001 (1.001) @ 68°F in distilled water

Grain came from a different source each batch and were different bases malts.

 

[sailsaway]

Different sources can result in different results. freshness of malts are one factor, settings of the mill being used from each source can be another factor. This type of scenario is not unheard of. I just had a conversation with a regular customer who went to a competitor locally and had the same issue show up. Efficiency was considerably lower than normal even with the same recipe and methods. hard to really isolate sometimes.,

 

[Redlantern]

Realizedf I mis-spoke

First running or pre-boil gravity was low