This is my... 7th or so AG batch. Everything's been going great, until now.
Recipe for reference:
Been milling in the 0.040" to 0.045" range with average 82% efficiency. Today I decided to take the gap down to 0.037" to see if I could get some more efficiency gains. The crush:
I mashed in and sparged exactly as I always do, just as BeerSmith says to for my setup (see above). Mash bed was measured as 153.0F at the beginning of the mash and 152.5F at the end of the mash, so I hit my temps exactly. Mashed for the full 60 minutes.
Took a pre-boil gravity check with my refractometer. Expecting 1.051ish (edit: I meant to write 1.043ish). Refractometer reads 1.031 (60.3% mash efficiency). Hydrometer comes in for back up and reads 1.024 at 102.6F, which calculates to 1.030. Sample is still cooling in the fridge so I can get a 60F reading, but not looking good so far. Yes, I stirred the boil kettle very very well, several times, before taking the sample.
What did I do wrong?
Recipe for reference:
Code:
BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Haus Pale Ale - 2013.04.06
Brewer: Thadius Miller
Asst Brewer: EdWort
Style: American Amber Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 12.52 gal
Post Boil Volume: 11.02 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 10.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 4.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 39.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 82.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.8 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
13 lbs 10.2 oz Brewer's Malt, 2-Row, Premium (Great Wes Grain 1 76.1 %
3 lbs 6.5 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 2 19.0 %
14.1 oz Crystal 15, 2-Row, (Great Western) (15.0 Grain 3 4.9 %
1.32 oz Magnum [12.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 30.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [4.10 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 5 6.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [4.10 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 1.9 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [4.10 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 7 0.8 IBUs
2.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 8 -
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 17 lbs 14.8 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 22.91 qt of water at 170.0 F 152.0 F 60 min
Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (2.75gal, 6.32gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
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Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Been milling in the 0.040" to 0.045" range with average 82% efficiency. Today I decided to take the gap down to 0.037" to see if I could get some more efficiency gains. The crush:
I mashed in and sparged exactly as I always do, just as BeerSmith says to for my setup (see above). Mash bed was measured as 153.0F at the beginning of the mash and 152.5F at the end of the mash, so I hit my temps exactly. Mashed for the full 60 minutes.
Took a pre-boil gravity check with my refractometer. Expecting 1.051ish (edit: I meant to write 1.043ish). Refractometer reads 1.031 (60.3% mash efficiency). Hydrometer comes in for back up and reads 1.024 at 102.6F, which calculates to 1.030. Sample is still cooling in the fridge so I can get a 60F reading, but not looking good so far. Yes, I stirred the boil kettle very very well, several times, before taking the sample.
What did I do wrong?
