First, a clarification for new readers. All these grains are "malted" by Briess or Dingemanns, etc. Their malting process is what puts the flavors and also some sugars in them for you. Some we call steeping grains, because all you must do is steep them (~155F) to get those pre-made sugars out. The base grains require "mashing" (by you the brewer), to convert tied-up starches into sugars, and that is another process altogether.
The recipe was set correctly (IMHO) to extract as the amount of non-malted grains is only 6oz out of almost 2lbs. I see many "extract recipes" including small amounts of non-malted grains and have brewed many.
You are correct. Only the Bisquit is a mash-required grain. But the Extract as Type selection takes all the steeping grains out of the OG estimate as well. I count 1.95 pounds of steeping grains, with PPG ranging from 1.030 to 1.035. The total OG contribution of these grains, per BSmith, is only visible when you select Partial Mash as the Type, even if you're only steeping. Toggle the Type and see what happens down in the OG estimate. It changes from 1.058 to 1.064 when I toggle it. If you're looking at the Ingredient list, then yes, only the Bisquit gets that exclamation point beside it, but all the OG is removed from the math. Even if steeping only, then you must still select Partial Mash to get the accurate OG estimate.
And BeerSmith was only 2 points shy of the OG reading ... But it still leaves me wondering because for 2 plus days I had a pretty rousing fermentation and then poof nothing and I'm left at 1.024.
I suspect the difference between the better OG estimate of 1.064 and your achieved 1.060 is due to the difficulty of getting sugars out of the grains. 1.060 down to 1.024 is 36/60 = 60AA%, which is not great, true. However, for a sprinkle-n-go that costs you up to 2/3 of the viable yeast count (per yeast mfr and JZ), AND such a high proportion of crystals, chocolate etc., that create less-fermentable sugars, it's probably OK. (The 75% AA% quoted for Windsor is likely achieved when proofed and put into wort that is 85% base grain/extract or higher, or some law of averages like that.) I imagine the active ferm was done in two days, and as it moved on to the more complex sugars, the yeast slowed and made less CO2. The test there is taste; does it seem fully fermented out and not cloyingly unfinished?
So I'm still suspecting the yeast ... and when I get this bugged I'll re-brew this same recipe in a few weeks and and drop in some Safale-04 and see what I get.
On paper, Windsor is 75% AA% and S-04 is 73%, so all else equal, you should get lower FGs with the Windsor. Perhaps Lallemand yeast are more sensitive to the sprinkle-n-go, which makes sense because their spec sheets ask for a warmer proofing, so going straight to cooler wort may shock Lallemand more than Safales. Pure speculation on my part. (But when proofing, I regularly put Nottingham straight into 64F wort and reach 1.011 or 1.012 from upper 1.050s.)
I think you're closer than you realize, and that it is a combination of the Type setting, sprinkle-n-go costing you some yeast cells, and on grists with high rates of dark crystals and roasted grains, fermentability will suffer no matter you do. The MrMalty calculator says a 11.5g dry yeast should handle 5.5 gallons of up to 1.056 ale wort. The main thing I'd recommend is to always proof the yeast.
On a different topic - how much non-malted grain should be in a extract recipe ? And to be clear I almost do a mini-mash as I steep in 1 gallon of water for 40min holding 150-155deg.
When I was mini-mashing, I started at four pounds in a bag, then switched to "free grain" and could use up to eight pounds, which was my lautering limit. Then I tinkered in BSmith and realized if I reduced the batch size, I could do all-grain, full-mash, full-boil batches in the kitchen. I just had to accept a batch size of 3.5 gallons. I'd recommend mashing all you can handle, and adding DME/LME to reach the OG and volume you seek.
