My California common turned out weird...

[mac640sp]

I was shooting for 5 gallons with a 1.054 OG. No idea what happened, but got 5 gallons at 1.044. Mashed in a 10 ga. cooler for 90 min at about 155f

Vorlaufed, batch sparged

Boiled for 60 min, boiled off 0.5ga.

Fermented down to only 1.011 FG

Here's the weird part: it's easily the BEST batch I've brewed. Tastes great, ultra clear, huge hit.

What went "wrong" and how do I do it again?

 

[mac640sp]

My guess is I miss measured during sparge and diluted my batch

 

[mac640sp]

Hypothesis #2 is that some of my grains weren't crushed. Like the LBS dude forgot part of the recipe. Like my dude, but read of this happening, dunno?

 

[gromitdj]

This will teach you to take better notes and log the information. It's hard to tell unless we know what your pre-boil gravity and volumes were. Also, quantities of grain used, Batch sparge volume?

Quality note keeping is key to reproducing a brew you want to reproduce. If you didn't take good notes... it's anybody's guess.

 

[estricklin]

This will teach you to take better notes and log the information. It's hard to tell unless we know what your pre-boil gravity and volumes were. Also, quantities of grain used, Batch sparge volume?

Quality note keeping is key to reproducing a brew you want to reproduce. If you didn't take good notes... it's anybody's guess.

Well said, I measure pre boil volume pretty religiously, usually my post doesn't vary much but I generally measure it anyway. It takes a while to get your system dialed in too, really helps when you know it like the back of your hand.

 

[RM-MN]

When you aren't the one ding the milling, you can never be sure that someone didn't mill them wrong. As you said, it could be that part of the grains were missing but more likely the mill setting got changed and that affected the efficiency of your brewing. I'm not usually one to advocate spending more money on the hobby of brewing but this is the one case where it really does make sense. If you have your own mill you can purchase the grains in bulk which saves a bit of money and you can stockpile a variety of grains so you can brew what you want when it fits you schedule without requiring a stop at the LHBS before you brew.

 

[mac640sp]

Ok, after looking at my notes, it was a SIX gallon batch.

13.12 lbs of grain

Drained tun, 1 sparge of 5.5 ga

My pre-boil Gravity was listed at 1.022 but I'm wondering if that's the error.

 

[McKnuckle]

Pre-boil gravity is notoriously difficult to measure accurately. The extracted wort tends to stratify in the kettle during early minutes after lautering. In order to grab a good sample, you need to stir completely and collect the sample with a cup that you dipped in a couple of places. And then of course, you need to chill it to double digit temps since hydrometer temperature correction at high temps is iffy at best.

You can also use a refractometer, but stirring is still essential and frankly, they can be a pain also - they need to be calibrated and they have a "correction factor" that, until you figure out, you're only in the ballpark.

So there are two main issues to sort out: 1) Wort stratification; and 2) Temperature correction.

To mitigate the first issue, I prefer to take my pre-boil right after hot break - when the boil timer begins - not after lautering. The boil does most of the stirring for you at this point. For the second issue, I use a refractometer that, over time, I've figured out its correction factor.

Another way to get pre-boil gravity is to very accurately measure boil-off, then compare OG (which is easy to get) with the starting and ending volumes to determine what your pre-boil gravity was. It's a forensic method rather than an empirical one. But it works just as well. The key is to measure boil-off very well, ideally within a cup or less as your margin of error.

 

[gromitdj]

I just give it a really good stir before taking my sample and cooling it down to 60F before taking my reading with a hydrometer. Hasn't failed me yet.

1.022 is pretty low for a mash of 13+ pounds. What was your grain bill, and what volume did you use for strike water?

 

[mac640sp]

Of course I didn't stir the wort, so i guess the pre boil Gravity is wrong.

Bill: 10 lbs 2 row
1.25 Munich
0.5 victory
0.25 chocolate