Recipe and Software do not match

[pharaohpierre]

Hello all,

I just got a Northern Brewer 3 gallon kit (BIAB, even though I am not brewing in a bag, I plan on using my Rubbermaid mash/lauter tun) called Oatmeal Cookie Brown Ale. Anyway, here are the mash ingredients:

• 5.5 lbs Fawcett Optic Malt
• 1 lb Flaked Oats
• 1 lb Belgian Munich Malt
• 1 lb Belgian Special B
• .5 lb Brown Malt
• .33 lb Fawcett Pale Chocolate

That is a total of 9.33 lbs of grain. The recipe says that the O.G. after Boil should be 1.066. However, after plugging the numbers into Beersmith I get an O.G. after boil of 1.076 with a 70% Eff. This gives me a beer with roughly 8% ABV after fermentation.

Why are these numbers not adding up. Plus, it does seem like this is a lot of grain for a 3 gallon batch. Help Please

 

[Hammy71]

Yeah, something doesn't add up with those numbers. To get a 3 gallon batch with those ingredients, your looking at a 55% eff. I tried to make it a 5 gallon batch, and even at 75% it came out 1.052. I dunno.....

 

[Trail]

The good news is, you caught the mistake now (and it's not on your end.) If you've got the equipment, I recommend scaling your hops to match and brewing a bigger batch!

If you don't, either resign yourself to a much bigger, maltier beer than planned, or discard some of the sweet liquor before the boil and replace with water until you reach target gravity.

 

[pharaohpierre]

Yeah, I guess my options are limited because they crushed all the grains and put them in a bag together. So, I can't accurately reduce my grain count and still get the correct percentage of grains. I guess I could just make a bigger batch of beer or take out some of the liquor as suggested above and replace with water. I'll figure something out.

Thanks for the responses

 

[duboman]

Agree with above options but I would also suggest you call Northern Brewer to see what they say, I find them to be pretty responsive and if they have a product that is screwed up they would appreciate hearing about it

 

[Bob]

BIAB is less efficient than your software thinks. If I remember BIAB expectations correctly, 55% efficiency is pretty good for that method. So if the kit recipe is formulated to that expectation, there you go.

You will get better efficiency from a non-BIAB all-grain brewhouse. At least you'd better.

Me, I'd just do a 5-gallon batch, provided you have the kettle to boil the full volume. If you don't, just do what Coors and other large breweries do - brew a strong wort and dilute to the point you want. Google "high-gravity brewing" and noodle around. It'll become clear. There's nothing wrong with brewing a strong wort and diluting to a target gravity. It's not all that different than a concentrated-wort extract brew once the boil is over, when you think about it.

Cheers!

Bob

 

[Trail]

BIAB is less efficient than your software thinks. If I remember BIAB expectations correctly, 55% efficiency is pretty good for that method. So if the kit recipe is formulated to that expectation, there you go.

You will get better efficiency from a non-BIAB all-grain brewhouse. At least you'd better.

I respectfully posit that you're insane. I get 83% efficiency with my extremely normal BIAB setup. I know plenty of folks who do too. If you got 55% on your BIABs, your crush is suspect.

 

[IL1kebeer]

I respectfully posit that you're insane. I get 83% efficiency with my extremely normal BIAB setup. I know plenty of folks who do too. If you got 55% on your BIABs, your crush is suspect.

Yep he's insane. I get 80% efficiency with BIAB and I don't even double crush.

 

[Bob]

Okay, okay. I've been misled.

Sheesh!

I've never even done BIAB. I've read up on it, that's all. I was giving what - clearly erroneous - knowledge I could bring to bear.

[scurries off to hide in a burrow]

 

[satph]

Even at 1.066 OG, it's still expected to be a 6.8% ABV beer.

I would think that customers would be more angry if they can't reach the expected OG. I also think that there are some kit buyers who are new, and don't get good efficiencies. So, NB builds the kit with 60% efficiency. If you mix the grains well, you could use all but a pound of it and probably hit the OG.

Or you could just make the 3 gallons and get a 7.9% beer. There are two 1 oz hops additions. If you have extra you could add a bit more of each. But it's a brown ale. It's supposed to be malty and not particularly hoppy.

Or you could make a 3.5 gallon batch.

 

[pharaohpierre]

thanks for the added response guys. It makes sense. I bought the 3 gallon kit just because it sounded good. I never planned on using a bag anyway since I have all the gear to make 5 gallon all-grain batches. I am thinking about using the concentrated wort idea brought up by Bob.

Trail, you make a good point about NB, they can't assume that every brewer gets good efficiency so they err on the safe side and give you extra grains in the kits.

Satph, I do have extra hops laying around in my refrigerator so I'll probably just adjust my hop count for a 4 gallon batch

Thanks for the responses everyone,