Bigarcherynut
Well-Known Member
I have been looking at several programs but have been using 3 of them. I'm using Bru'N Water for my profiles seeing my well water is extremely hard and that's helped greatly. For brewing I'm using BeerSmith 2 and Priceless BIAB Calculator. When first using Priceless, I had several questions and he helped me out. I have learned to make notes, collect all the data and make sure I document every thing. Because I don't brew as often as I like I feel it's like starting over every time. When I put in the required grain bills they are almost dead on to each other. What I'm finding is that my strike water temps are always high by 3-4 degrees. My last 5 batches have come out with high mash temps and I'm rushing to either add cold water or bagged ice packs to get the temp down and at the same time testing my pH.
Could my kettle design cause the incorrect strike water temps? Instead of a round kettle it's an oval. A person on this site calculated the area on my tank and said it was equal to a round tank with a 19.75" diameter. I use this in Priceless. Could my longer oval tank spread the grains out more not requiring the listed strike temp?? Will the higher starting mash temps cause issues with my mash? Should I just lower my strike temp the 3-4 degrees and not worry with what the programs say?
I'm also having problems with consistent boil off rates. Can they vary each time? I'm not sure this is normal. This week I did a test run before my last batch and calculated the rate to be 2.35 gals./Hr. I was sure I finally had it right only to find I was lower this time, around 2.2 Gals./Hr. I ended up extending my boil for an additional 20 minutes.
Maybe this was a mistake to extend the boil.
If I find I need a longer boil should I just boil longer and adjust my hop times accordingly? I use boards to squeeze my bag and it does a great job of getting the wort out. Maybe I'm getting more wort out then what Priceless is calculating even though I entered 2.35 for boil-off rate. Here are the numbers for comparison.
Volumes from Priceless for 5.5 gal :
Amount needed = 9.31 gals.
Mash with grains = 11.02 gals.
Pre-boil = 8.18 gals.
Post Boil = 5.74 gals.
My Volumes:
Amount needed = 9.31 gals.
Mash with grains = 11.1 gals.
Pre-boil = 8.4 gals.
Post Boil = 6.2 gals. Note, OG not reached so extended boil for 20 minutes to 5.8 gals.
Maybe this is not uncommon. That's why I'm asking your help.
Thanks for your input.
Bill
Mash with grains = 11.1 gals.
Pre-boil = 8.4 gals.
Post Boil = 6.2 gals. Note, OG not reached so extended boil for 20 minutes to 5.8 gals.
Maybe this is not uncommon. That's why I'm asking your help.
Thanks for your input.
Bill