I brewed a pale ale, 3 gal. all grain recipe using a hybrid mash technique and ended up with 2 gallons of wort with an OG of 1.046. I opted not to top the batch with water which would have increased the final volume to 3 gallons and I assume lower the OG? I was hoping to achieve an OG more in the 1.056 range. Would it have been better to top it to 3 gallons and accept the lower OG? I pitched a packet of safale US-05 (11.5g) into the bucket, put the lid on and we'll see what happens. How much of an effect would have adding the extra gallon of water have on the final product?
3 gallon all grain recipe target OG vs. final volume
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RPh_Guy
Bringing Sour Back
All the "stuff" in the beer would be reduced by 33% ... ABV, malt flavor, hop flavor, etc.
Makes sense that it would across the board.
Even though you’ve already pitched the yeast you can still top off to 3 gal. and add enough additional fermentables to get to your target OG.
You have 2 gal. of .046 beer in the fermenter. If you drop the “1.0” from your gravity reading what you have is the number of gravity points in your beer. So, you have 2 gal @46 points/gal, or 92 gravity points. Your target was 3 gal of .056 beer. 3x56=168 gravity points. 168-92=76 points. That’s what you need to add to hit your target.
You can add anything readily fermentable to make up the difference but I’d suggest DME, which contains 46 gravity points per lb. So, 76/46=1.65 lbs of DME. Heat a gallon of water to 140-150°, dissolve the DME, and let that cool to the temp of your fermenter before pitching. If you don’t have a lot of headspace you might want to wait until the krausen starts to drop. With a full pack of US-05 you have plenty of yeast.
If you want to look at other options just search for “gravity points per pound”. You will find the numbers for a variety of common fermentables and can plug any of those into your batch.
Edit-I gave the points/lb of DME as 46. I was looking at the OP’s OG. The actual number is 44, which doesn’t change much.
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brewdude88
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What's a hybrid mash technique and what efficiency were you trying to get from it?
McKnuckle
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Another perspective... target OG is less important than purity of ingredients and flavor. And ditto for target volume. At least that’s my approach. I would never dilute or add DME after brewing a carefully considered recipe. Just let it ride. Correct the errant factor next time.
Due to the scale of my equipment, I was following a technique from Brewtopia Easy All Grain Recipes http://www.classiccitybrew.com/recipes.html Crystal Pale Ale. I wasn't shooting for an efficiency. I was trying this purely as an experiment and seeing if the method worked for me. This is my 3rd try at AG brewing, with only 6 brews under my belt. The first 2 efforts were Brooklyn Brew kits that came out really good. Awaiting the results of 3 different extract brews. In all, I've got a total of 5 gallons (4 different brews)in various stages.
brewdude88
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Dang, with 8lbs of grain and a final volume of 2 gallons at 1.046, you're looking at 30% efficiency.
If you really want to do all grain batches, a simple 5+ gallon kettle and a brew bag will get you going way easier than that method. It's as simple as mash in, wait for conversion, lift grain bag and let it drain until you get to your pre-boil volume. Sparging is of course optional, but can be as easy as having a couple of gallons of water ready to dunk the bag in. Boil, cool and pitch as normal after that.
BIAB makes the mechanics of all grain easier and more consistent so you can start to think about water chemistry and recipe design.
If you really want to do all grain batches, a simple 5+ gallon kettle and a brew bag will get you going way easier than that method. It's as simple as mash in, wait for conversion, lift grain bag and let it drain until you get to your pre-boil volume. Sparging is of course optional, but can be as easy as having a couple of gallons of water ready to dunk the bag in. Boil, cool and pitch as normal after that.
BIAB makes the mechanics of all grain easier and more consistent so you can start to think about water chemistry and recipe design.
dwhite60
Well-Known Member
Just roll with it like it is. Probably won't be bad. Probably be better than you think it will be.
Figure out what you did wrong and try again.
Original recipe was for three gallons. Works out to about sixty percent efficiency which still isn't great.
All the Best,
D. White
Figure out what you did wrong and try again.
Original recipe was for three gallons. Works out to about sixty percent efficiency which still isn't great.
All the Best,
D. White
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Yes, that is my next step up, moving to BIAB. I just need to purchase a large enough kettle. I only used 5#-4oz of grain. I didn't follow the exact recipe, just the method.
It's rolling along and bubbling away. The waiting is the hardest part.
Update: Kegged 1.75 gallons on 2/21, batch primed w/ 4-1/3 Tbs of honey. Tasted after 6 days in the keg. Results:
Carbonation was just right. Upfront honey aroma, slight hops aroma. Nice bitter flavor followed by a smooth rounded honey note on the finish. Drank almost all of it, warm with some help. Never took a FG reading but if I had to guess from the very slight buzz it had a ABV of 3.75 - 4. Used an ounce this morning to make some kimchi pancakes. Overall, not a bad beer.
Carbonation was just right. Upfront honey aroma, slight hops aroma. Nice bitter flavor followed by a smooth rounded honey note on the finish. Drank almost all of it, warm with some help. Never took a FG reading but if I had to guess from the very slight buzz it had a ABV of 3.75 - 4. Used an ounce this morning to make some kimchi pancakes. Overall, not a bad beer.
dwhite60
Well-Known Member
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