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First Brew

tuzlo

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Jun 4, 2011
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OK. I did my first all grain brew last night. I used Beersmith but missed a couple of targets, major one being volume. Here's the recipe

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Blonde According to XXXXXX
Brewer:
Asst Brewer:
Style: Blonde Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 45.00 qt      
Boil Size: 55.91 qt
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 4.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 16.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount        Item                                      Type         % or IBU      
15.50 lb      Pale Malt - 2 Row (Schreier) (2.0 SRM)    Grain        82.67 %      
1.50 lb       Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                     Grain        8.00 %        
1.00 lb       Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)                    Grain        5.33 %        
0.75 lb       Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM)               Grain        4.00 %        
28.30 gm      Cascade [5.30 %]  (60 min)                Hops         8.8 IBU      
28.30 gm      Cascade [5.30 %]  (21 min)                Hops         5.5 IBU      
28.30 gm      Cascade [5.30 %]  (7 min)                 Hops         2.4 IBU      


Mash Schedule: My  Mash
Total Grain Weight: 18.75 lb
----------------------------
My  Mash
Step Time     Name               Description                         Step Temp    
45 min        Mash In            Add 24.50 qt of water at 76.7 C     70.0 C        
10 min        Mash Out           Add 24.00 qt of water at 82.1 C     75.6 C        


Notes:
------




I was expecting 45 Qts (43 Litres) only got 32.8 Qts (31 Litres). Impropper mash? How do you set mash absorption?What did I do wrong?
 
tuzlo,

        It isn't that you did anything wrong but you expected it to be right? It rarely goes according to plan! Boil rates vary with humidity and the vigor of your boil. For people that love numbers (I don't) it is fun to get things perfect with temps, times and volumes. For people that just like to brew beer for fun (me) it's like horseshoes and hand grenades Close is good enough! Your beer will be great even though you may be a little short. As you brew you will naturally acquire expertise. Keep on brewing!
 
The boil wasnt vigourous at all, barely boiling in my eyes. Im am assuming that My grains absorbed a lot of the HLT water but I might not have accounted for that somewhere, 10 Litres of wort short is a lot, I dont think Im chasing numbers. 'This seems to have pushed the ABV past what the style calls for as well. Just looking for advice.

on another note, Im definitely bringin this thing indoors and going electric. Weather here hasd not been cooperative for the last month.
 
Yes, your equipment profile is not set up correctly.  you added 48 quarts of water expecting 45 out. 

For example, on this recipe I would have used 7 gallons (28 quarts for my mash at approx 1.5:1 water to grain ratio) and then close to 11 gallons or 44 quarts of sparge water.  I lose about 1 gallon in my system to dead space and use a grain absorption rate .2 gallons per lb.

I batch sparge and can measure me rate by carefully measuring the amount of strike water then carefully measure the amount of the first runnings. 
 
I didnt even get 45 out. it was more like 33. My water to grain ratio was 1.25 qt/Lb. I currently have it set for 1.5, but I am wondering if that is high enough, with that ratio it only allows for 8 litres absorprtion. is that enough?
 
Suppose your absorption rate is .2g / lb (sorry, easier for me to work in us imperial) that would be .2g / ~19 lb or 3.8g or ~14 liters for 8.5 kilo of grain.  I think that is .6 liter per kilo if my math is right.

Back to to US imperial... So, your strike was 24.5qt or ~6.2g and your grain probably absorbed ~3.75 gallons and first running were ~2.5g  (~10qt) in the kettle.  You added another 6 gallons (24 qt) of which, assuming a little loss of 1qt, works out to about 8.25g (33qt) pre-boil.    It also should have been much higher than the target 1.046 and you could have added more boiled water to dilute the gravity back to the approximate target pre-boil gravity of 1.038.

Looking at your output below, The target pre boil was 55qt but you only added 48.5 so you were already starting with an insufficient amount of water. 

Your strike calculates to 1.25:1.  I calculate about 24 quarts strike and 45 quarts mashout to end up with about 11 gallons after the boil is done.  Assuming 15%/hour boil-off, you needed something like 13.5 gallons preboil (assume ~1 gallon boil off).

So, your mash profile needs work. 

For comparison, here is the mash suggestion by Beersmith for my DIPA.  This is a 6 gallon batch.


Mash Profile Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Mash Tun Weight: 9.00 lb
Mash Grain Weight: 19.00 lb Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Sparge Water: 13.64 qt (3.41 gal) Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 28.50 qt (7.12 gal)of water at 164.0 F 154.0 F 60 min
 
I know this sounds simplistic but are you sure your measuring device is actuate and that you are adding the amount of water you think you are?
 
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