Been brewing for 2+ years on my Grainfather system, probably 40+ brews. Recently my last 5 brews have had a significantly lower SG than expected. I thought for sure this was something I could diagnose on my own, but unfortunately I'm getting really frustrated as I haven't really figured out what is causing it (hence 5 brews with low SG).
What is bothering me is that my actual SG is pretty far off of the Beersmith recipe estimate. I really don't remember having this problem before 3-4 months ago.
My last batch was 15 lbs of Maris Otter, 1 lb of various specialty malts, 1lb of various crystal malt, 1 lb of roasted malts. 18 lbs grain bill. I use Brew'N water with distilled water for a water profile that estimated a 5.4 pH, but I do not actually measure the pH during the brew. My Beersmith recipe/equipment configuration was giving me a 1.089 SG estimate at 70% brewhouse efficiency. My pre-boil was 1.069 at 6.7 gallons and my SG was 1.073. Per the Grainfather mash efficiency calculator it is suggesting my efficiency is at 70%, but Beersmith is saying ~55%.
1) I figured it was my mill. So i re-calibrated my mill gap to .032. No improvement in the next batch efficiency.
2) I was concerned it could be an issue with freshness of the bulk grains I was using at home. Bought the next batch of grain at the LHBS. Also had them mill x2 as a feeble attempted to rule out my incompetence. No improvement in the next batch efficiency.
3) I focused on making sure my Grainfather mash recycling was not going to fast to cause the wort to drain through the overflow valve. My batch sparges have all seemed to go well, good water flow, 25 minutes or so. No improvement in the next batch efficiency.
I'm finally at maybe my beersmith configuration for my equipment was out of whack. Is a 1.073 SG for an 18lb grain bill abnormally low?
I reviewed all of the equipment settings in my Grainfather Beersmith profile against several internet threads and didn't find anything that looked wrong. Maybe I should just reload the Grainfather equipment profile and start from scratch? See how that impacts the recipe estimates?
Any other recommendations on what to look at? Thanks.
What is bothering me is that my actual SG is pretty far off of the Beersmith recipe estimate. I really don't remember having this problem before 3-4 months ago.
My last batch was 15 lbs of Maris Otter, 1 lb of various specialty malts, 1lb of various crystal malt, 1 lb of roasted malts. 18 lbs grain bill. I use Brew'N water with distilled water for a water profile that estimated a 5.4 pH, but I do not actually measure the pH during the brew. My Beersmith recipe/equipment configuration was giving me a 1.089 SG estimate at 70% brewhouse efficiency. My pre-boil was 1.069 at 6.7 gallons and my SG was 1.073. Per the Grainfather mash efficiency calculator it is suggesting my efficiency is at 70%, but Beersmith is saying ~55%.
1) I figured it was my mill. So i re-calibrated my mill gap to .032. No improvement in the next batch efficiency.
2) I was concerned it could be an issue with freshness of the bulk grains I was using at home. Bought the next batch of grain at the LHBS. Also had them mill x2 as a feeble attempted to rule out my incompetence. No improvement in the next batch efficiency.
3) I focused on making sure my Grainfather mash recycling was not going to fast to cause the wort to drain through the overflow valve. My batch sparges have all seemed to go well, good water flow, 25 minutes or so. No improvement in the next batch efficiency.
I'm finally at maybe my beersmith configuration for my equipment was out of whack. Is a 1.073 SG for an 18lb grain bill abnormally low?
I reviewed all of the equipment settings in my Grainfather Beersmith profile against several internet threads and didn't find anything that looked wrong. Maybe I should just reload the Grainfather equipment profile and start from scratch? See how that impacts the recipe estimates?
Any other recommendations on what to look at? Thanks.