Ending up with too much wort post boil

[Rzlblrt417]

So recently switched my brewing system from a 40 quart steam kettle to a keggle and propane burner set up. I have done about 5 batches on the new system but I have been trouble hitting my numbers because I keep ending up with 1 -1.5 extra gallons. I am using the mash tool in beetsmith to calculate my mash and sparge volumes for a medium body so for infusion with no mash out. I'm not sure why this is happening because I maintain a pretty aggressive rolling boil.

My question is, could I be doing something wrong, a d it would it hurt my numbers at all if I just lower the sparge volume to end up with a smaller pre boil volume?

Thanks!

 

[KeninMN]

Rely on your experience. The software is only a tool. Plug your known boil-off rate into Beersmith. This should reduce your process water by 1 - 1.5 gallons.

 

[Morrey]

Rely on your experience. The software is only a tool. Plug your known boil-off rate into Beersmith. This should reduce your process water by 1 - 1.5 gallons.

Yes, BS allows the boil off rate to be set. These programs are only as good as the information put into them by the user.

Depends on other factors...maybe cut back 1/2 G on each the mash vol and the sparge vol for a total of 1G to see if that helps? Or as Kevin suggests, adjust the BO rate and that should solve the overage.

 

[Rzlblrt417]

Rely on your experience. The software is only a tool. Plug your known boil-off rate into Beersmith. This should reduce your process water by 1 - 1.5 gallons.

I'll definitely do that on the next brew day, I'll make a dipstick to track it.

But on that day before I have the numbers, should I just cut back on the sparge a bit?

 

[schatzke]

If you are consistently having 1-1.5 extra gallons I would say you need to adjust your equipment profile. Did you create a new equipment profile when you started using your new kettle? You can create multiple profiles in BS. You could just knock a gallon or so off your total volume but do look into the equipment profiles and you will be able to trust the numbers again.

 

[Rzlblrt417]

Yes, BS allows the boil off rate to be set. These programs are only as good as the information put into them by the user.

Depends on other factors...maybe cut back 1/2 G on each the mash vol and the sparge vol for a total of 1G to see if that helps?

That wouldn't make the mash too thick? My understanding is that the mash volume doesn't have too much wiggle room in terms of volume without affecting the conversion

 

[KeninMN]

yes, bs allows the boil off rate to be set. These programs are only as good as the information put into them by the user.

Depends on other factors...maybe cut back 1/2 g on each the mash vol and the sparge vol for a total of 1g to see if that helps?

gigo

 

[doug293cz]

So recently switched my brewing system from a 40 quart steam kettle to a keggle and propane burner set up. I have done about 5 batches on the new system but I have been trouble hitting my numbers because I keep ending up with 1 -1.5 extra gallons. I am using the mash tool in beetsmith to calculate my mash and sparge volumes for a medium body so for infusion with no mash out. I'm not sure why this is happening because I maintain a pretty aggressive rolling boil.

My question is, could I be doing something wrong, a d it would it hurt my numbers at all if I just lower the sparge volume to end up with a smaller pre boil volume?

Thanks!

Sounds like your equipment profile in BeerSmith is not set up correctly. You need to tell BS about the typical losses in YOUR SYSTEM rather than letting BS work with default values which are probably inappropriate for your system.

Sounds like you are fly sparging, so you need to determine your target pre-boil volume. To do this, start with your desired batch volume (amount in fermenter) and add in all of your losses:

• Trub left in BK and plumbing when transferring to fermenter
• Boil off volume (you need to measure the gal/hr rate for your system.)

Then you mash in with a strike volume based on your desired mash thickness, and just sparge until you hit your pre-boil volume target.

Brew on

 

[Morrey]

That wouldn't make the mash too thick? My understanding is that the mash volume doesn't have too much wiggle room in terms of volume without affecting the conversion

Yeah, that would be a concern to me too. If this problem persists, I'd take the time to do a test boil in your keggle to get a real accurate boil off rate to input into your equipment profile. I think the wall design of a keggle may have less evaporation than a straight walled kettle but this is just speculation. To me...I'd do an accurate test boil.

 

[Rzlblrt417]

Would the rate of water boil off be the same as boiling wort? If so then I will just do that when I get home

 

[doug293cz]

Would the rate of water boil off be the same as boiling wort? If so then I will just do that when I get home

It may not be exactly the same, but it will get you very close. Then track your next few brew days to fine tune the boil off rate.

Brew on

 

[wilserbrewer]

While using software is wonderful, my opinion you need to be more involved with the process measuring volumes as you proceed.....then make adjustments in your next batch....

This way when you realize your over volume mid boil you can extend boil time and increase boil vigor, then time your late hop additions to flame out...

My advice is to get your head off the computer and over the boil kettle.

 

[apl_seed]

If you have the equipment, you could do a couple 3/4 gal. ferments with the extra wort using different yeasts or dry hops to do side by side comparisons.

 

[Rzlblrt417]

This actually a really good idea, if I have extra on the next one I'll definilty give that a shot. No use in letting good wort go to waste

 

[Burquebrewer]

So recently switched my brewing system from a 40 quart steam kettle to a keggle and propane burner set up. I have done about 5 batches on the new system but I have been trouble hitting my numbers because I keep ending up with 1 -1.5 extra gallons. I am using the mash tool in beetsmith to calculate my mash and sparge volumes for a medium body so for infusion with no mash out. I'm not sure why this is happening because I maintain a pretty aggressive rolling boil.

My question is, could I be doing something wrong, a d it would it hurt my numbers at all if I just lower the sparge volume to end up with a smaller pre boil volume?

Thanks!

You do not want to use less sparge water, as you may leave behind quite a bit of sugars in the mash. I had a similar problem when I first started using BeerSmith. I adjusted my equipment profile like all here are mentioning, which helped a bit but did not solve the problem completely.

I also improved my method of measuring the volume in the boil tank, but be careful of liquid expansion when hot, as it can throw off your measurements.

The best thing to do is keep measuring the gravity throughout the boil and kill the boil when you hit the target gravity you are looking for. I found that I have extended my boil by 30 minutes (from 60 to 90) on most of my beers to compensate for what I believe to be less than ideal sparging practices (double batch sparge) I use. Rather than sparge less and leave sugars behind, I extract the sugars through a bit more sparging and boil a little longer.

Also, measure the gravity of your run-off from the mash, rather than looking for a specific volume of wort. Keep sparging until the run-off gravity is about 1.009 or so.

For lighter beers, you may not want a longer boil. For these beers, I add a little more grain in the mash to ensure I get the pre-boil gravity I am looking for. If it is a little higher before the boil, you can always pull some of the wort from the boil kettle before the boil begins and save it make starters, or adjust your hops to get a slightly larger batch of beer.

Point is, if you are basing your recipe on a volume of beer as opposed to the gravity, you are doing things backwards. Just my $0.02...