JScottTuck
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- Nov 5, 2018
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Hi all. Hoping for a bit of advice. I'm still new to brewing, so I'm still learning the ropes. Since switching arrest from BIAB to full all-grain with sparge, I've been missing my OG by 10 or 11 points, resulting in my last 3 batches missing their final target ABV.
At first, I thought the size of my mash tun. I was using the 72qt Coleman Xtreme, and I was attempting to fly sparge. Ended up picking up a Rubbermaid 10 gallon cooler and used it today.
Once the mash settled, I was at 152. After the hour rest, I was at 149. I started with just into 4.5 gallons of water.
I vorlaufed with a pump until clear, then began my fly sparge. The water coming out of my HLT was at 175. I was using a hose from the HLT to drip down into the mash with this: Eagle Brewing BE510 Siphon Spray Wort Aerator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ODSS5J8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YNuQCbP485YJX
I do feel like I sparged too fast. My HLT ran out of water after about 10 minutes; although, my overall sparge lasted for about 22 minutes in total until I hit my 6.5 gallon target and stopped. There was about a gallon of water left in the mash tun. I couldn't really get a good spray going without letting the flow from the HLT speed up a bit.
OG came out to 1.042, while my target was 1.053 assuming a 70% brewhouse efficiency, which I obviously didn't get.
I'm thinking that my sparge technique is likely the cause, so I'm guessing that I need to switch to batch sparging, unless I want to get a sparge arm. I also get my grains milled at All Seasons homebrew shop. I'm wondering if I need to perhaps ask for a finer grain crush, or if I should just bite the bullet and get by own mill, so I can control that variable.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to stop these missed targets and low ABV beers!
At first, I thought the size of my mash tun. I was using the 72qt Coleman Xtreme, and I was attempting to fly sparge. Ended up picking up a Rubbermaid 10 gallon cooler and used it today.
Once the mash settled, I was at 152. After the hour rest, I was at 149. I started with just into 4.5 gallons of water.
I vorlaufed with a pump until clear, then began my fly sparge. The water coming out of my HLT was at 175. I was using a hose from the HLT to drip down into the mash with this: Eagle Brewing BE510 Siphon Spray Wort Aerator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ODSS5J8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YNuQCbP485YJX
I do feel like I sparged too fast. My HLT ran out of water after about 10 minutes; although, my overall sparge lasted for about 22 minutes in total until I hit my 6.5 gallon target and stopped. There was about a gallon of water left in the mash tun. I couldn't really get a good spray going without letting the flow from the HLT speed up a bit.
OG came out to 1.042, while my target was 1.053 assuming a 70% brewhouse efficiency, which I obviously didn't get.
I'm thinking that my sparge technique is likely the cause, so I'm guessing that I need to switch to batch sparging, unless I want to get a sparge arm. I also get my grains milled at All Seasons homebrew shop. I'm wondering if I need to perhaps ask for a finer grain crush, or if I should just bite the bullet and get by own mill, so I can control that variable.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to stop these missed targets and low ABV beers!