Rule of thumb (wrist) question

[elvis156]

I have VERY basic volume question as I am trying to backtrack and figure where I went wrong. Am new to all grain and have a batch that came out too weak in flavor(watered down in taste).
Sorry for the all grain 101 idiot queston but:

Volumes of liquid:

10 gallon batch of finished beer
-Start with 8 gallons with grains
-sparge with 4 gallons to give you 12 going into boil??
-boil 12, ending with 10-ish gallons of wort?
-1/2 gal lost in primary and possible 2ndary ( 2 glass carboys)
end wth 10 gallons-ish of finished beer?

I am aware of differences in recipes and dependent factors---but only looking for a basic rule that I can work from/adjust--to stop making me wonder WTF happened with my last batch.

 

[DeafSmith]

You have to allow for liquid absorbed by the grain which cannot be recovered. This is typically in the neighborhood of 0.1 to 0.125 gallons per pound of grain. For example, if you are doing a 10 gallon batch and use 20 lbs. of grain, you will lose about 2 or 2.5 gallons to grain absorption. This loss will be from your strike water to your first runnings. When you sparge, you should get out as much liquid as you put in because the grains will not absorb any more liquid after the initial amount. Other losses (to boil-off, trub, dead-space) will depend on your equipment.

If your problem is that your beer was too weak, then you need to look at other factors - grain bill, mash temp, fermentation, etc.

 

[elvis156]

Than you Deafsmith,thats the type of info a novice could digest EASILY-that I was hoping for.

Correct, it sounds like I do need to research what happened elsewhere but at this point, the beer doesnt taste wateed down as it initially did when I transferred wort to fermenter last weekend, now its just a matter of low SG. Beginning was 1.052, a week later with stopped ferment, its 1.030. But for a stout, may or may not be too bad.

Thank you for the advice, it helps alot!

 

[duboman]

+1 to Deafsmith's post and evaluation/explanation!

My concern is your 1.030 and the fact that is just too high to be done.
Did you make a starter and what yeast was used?
How well did you aerate the wort?
What was your OG expected to be?
What was the actual recipe/grain bill?
What temperature did you mash at?
Are you taking your reading with a hydrometer or refractometer?
Did you calibrate your thermometer and hydrometer?

If you answer these additional questions then we can help you further diagnose what is going on and what you may be able to do help the beer along. There are a lot of variables in AG brewing that can determine how the beer finishes for you. At this point I would NOT package as IMO it is not yet done.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Sounds like plenty of grain to me??? I would look closely at the crush of the grain as to perhaps why extraction was low???

edit sorry, I thought you had 1.030 OG...guessing again I would ponder weak yeast / fermentation or very high mash temps...

 

[tnbrewer371]

love the title of this thread.....boondock saints, awesome movie!

 

[helibrewer]

I have VERY basic volume question as I am trying to backtrack and figure where I went wrong. Am new to all grain and have a batch that came out too weak in flavor(watered down in taste).
Sorry for the all grain 101 idiot queston but:

Volumes of liquid:

10 gallon batch of finished beer
-Start with 8 gallons with grains
-sparge with 4 gallons to give you 12 going into boil??
-boil 12, ending with 10-ish gallons of wort?
-1/2 gal lost in primary and possible 2ndary ( 2 glass carboys)
end wth 10 gallons-ish of finished beer?

I am aware of differences in recipes and dependent factors---but only looking for a basic rule that I can work from/adjust--to stop making me wonder WTF happened with my last batch.

I would look into one of the online calculators that allow you to enter your recipe and they will generate your water volumes and expected gravities. Software like BeerSmith or ProMash does this also.