Problem with low exraction

[LeBrewski]

I have made two all grain beers now, similar recipes and each time I end up with a OG of about 1.020-1.030. I was hoping for a OG of at least 1.045. So what I ended up doing was collecting the 6 gallons I needed then boiling down until I reached the desired OG then I would begin my boil schedule. The problem with this is that I am spending a lot of time and money and ending up with very little beer.

1. I am using a standard rectangular shaped cooler as a mash tun.
2. The first infusion was for 60 @ 155 with 12.5 quarts of water and 10 pounds of grain. After the 60 minutes I drained the wort. I didnt collect a lot but it was very concentrated (1.060).
3. I did a second infusion with 14 quarts for 60 @ 160.
4. This is were I started to have problems. After I drained off the second infusion I only had about 5 gallons collected instead of 6 and the OG was 1.030.

So what I can tell from this is that my first infusion may of needed more water and I must of made a mistake on my second infusion.

Any thoughts?

 

[COLObrewer]

What about your crush?Do you have a crusher or is it LHBS crush?

Your first infusion should be the consistency of slightly runny oatmeal and you need to stir the piss out of it.

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

Did you stir the piss out of the mixed runnings? The wort will tend to stratify and throw off your pre-boil reading.

3. I did a second infusion with 14 quarts for 60 @ 160.

Was this a batch sparge? If so, you can run that off right away, don't let it sit for 60 minutes.

Do you use any kind of brewing software? How are you making your OG calculations, and what was you recipe?

 

[LeBrewski]

What about your crush?Do you have a crusher or is it LHBS crush?

Your first infusion should be the consistency of slightly runny oatmeal and you need to stir the piss out of it.

I crushed the grain myself, I tried not to go too coarse. I crushed it enough so that the husks were broken open while remaining intact.

I stirred it every 15-20 minutes, the first infusion went pretty good minus the fact that I got less then 1 gallon after draining it.

Did you stir the piss out of the mixed runnings? The wort will tend to stratify and throw off your pre-boil reading.

Was this a batch sparge? If so, you can run that off right away, don't let it sit for 60 minutes.

Do you use any kind of brewing software? How are you making your OG calculations, and what was you recipe?

Yes I stirred it before taking a reading. Yes I was batch sparging. I used the http://www.tastybrew.com calculator.

 

[LeBrewski]

Adjusted Hydrometer Reading!

I was looking at some brew software and I realized that I never made an adjustment for temperature when taking a gravity reading. So this must mean that when I tested the wort before the boil at 150F that my reading of 1.030 really meant 1.049 which is right on target. So basically I had good extraction!

Can someone please confirm that this may be what went wrong.

 

[Yooper]

Adjusted Hydrometer Reading!

I was looking at some brew software and I realized that I never made an adjustment for temperature when taking a gravity reading. So this must mean that when I tested the wort before the boil at 150F that my reading of 1.030 really meant 1.049 which is right on target. So basically I had good extraction!

Can someone please confirm that this may be what went wrong.

Next time, make sure you cool the sample down before checking the OG. Even with temperature correction tables, they are notoriously inaccurate over about 90 degrees. Cool the sample, then check the reading.

What was the OG of the batch, and how much wort did you end up with? What was the grain bill? That's the important thing.

There is no need to let the sparge sit for 60 minutes- that is about 59 minutes too long, and a waste of time. Add the sparge water, stir like it owes you money, then vorlauf and drain.

 

[LeBrewski]

Next time, make sure you cool the sample down before checking the OG. Even with temperature correction tables, they are notoriously inaccurate over about 90 degrees. Cool the sample, then check the reading.

What was the OG of the batch, and how much wort did you end up with? What was the grain bill? That's the important thing.

There is no need to let the sparge sit for 60 minutes- that is about 59 minutes too long, and a waste of time. Add the sparge water, stir like it owes you money, then vorlauf and drain.

Before I started fermenting I had a gravity of 1.045 but only about 2.5 gallons of beer because I boil off the rest. Problem is I took that reading right after boiling which means that my actual gravity is probably somewhere around 1.060... or higher. Ha this will be the beer I serve after everyone has already had a few.

Thanks for the advice, must appreciated.

 

[Yooper]

Before I started fermenting I had a gravity of 1.045 but only about 2.5 gallons of beer because I boil off the rest. Problem is I took that reading right after boiling which means that my actual gravity is probably somewhere around 1.060... or higher. Ha this will be the beer I serve after everyone has already had a few.

Thanks for the advice, must appreciated.

I don't understand that at all. If your OG was 1.045, why is it "1.060....or higher"? You mean because you didn't chill it before taking the sample? Usually, you chill the wort, take the sample, then add the yeast.

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

I would advise investing in a refractometer for taking pre-boil gravity readings rather than using a hydrometer.

 

[LeBrewski]

I don't understand that at all. If your OG was 1.045, why is it "1.060....or higher"? You mean because you didn't chill it before taking the sample? Usually, you chill the wort, take the sample, then add the yeast.

Yes exactly I took my reading while the wort was hot, boiling, I am assuming this is why I thought my gravity was too low.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

I fly sparge 11 pounds of grains in my 5 gallon mash tun using about a 1.25 mash thickness and my first runnings going into the boil pot always average 1.090 at 70F. After collecting 6 gallons of wort my readings are seldom below 1.020 at 70F so I know I didn't extract too many tannins.

Going into the fermenter I get a 1.060 gravity reading and some pretty tasty wort.