Tyler.W
Well-Known Member
I was brewing a pumpkin ale yesterday and while the process was relatively successful, my efficiencies were much worse than expected.
I brew 3 gallon batches on the 6.5 gallon Anvil Foundry. My grain bill was 7lb plus 2+ lb of canned pumpkin. The system has a limit of 8lb of grain, so I was definitely pushing it. I crushed my grains at 0.035” to try and improve lautering compared to previous brew days. About 10 minutes after dough-in I took a pH reading. I was targeting 5.35, but did not account for the pumpkin, and came in at 5.09. Also, my strike temperature seemed to be a bit off as I was targeting a mash around 153F but would up in the low/mid 140s for most of the mash. Needless to say all this amounted to me missing my OG by 15 points; target of 1.059 and actual at 1.044).
So, for the more experienced folks out there, what do you think messed with my efficiencies the most? I am trying to plan a rerun of this beer before long and want to try and get a bit closer to the target…
p.s. My last brew was a Czech dark lager, pretty light on the grain bill with a mash efficiency of 80+%. I know it is definitely not an apples to apples comparison, but I have had decent efficiencies in this system that leads me to believe something with this brew went seriously wrong.
I brew 3 gallon batches on the 6.5 gallon Anvil Foundry. My grain bill was 7lb plus 2+ lb of canned pumpkin. The system has a limit of 8lb of grain, so I was definitely pushing it. I crushed my grains at 0.035” to try and improve lautering compared to previous brew days. About 10 minutes after dough-in I took a pH reading. I was targeting 5.35, but did not account for the pumpkin, and came in at 5.09. Also, my strike temperature seemed to be a bit off as I was targeting a mash around 153F but would up in the low/mid 140s for most of the mash. Needless to say all this amounted to me missing my OG by 15 points; target of 1.059 and actual at 1.044).
So, for the more experienced folks out there, what do you think messed with my efficiencies the most? I am trying to plan a rerun of this beer before long and want to try and get a bit closer to the target…
p.s. My last brew was a Czech dark lager, pretty light on the grain bill with a mash efficiency of 80+%. I know it is definitely not an apples to apples comparison, but I have had decent efficiencies in this system that leads me to believe something with this brew went seriously wrong.