Best brewday ever, dissappointing result

[wbosher]

You may know it as Big Double Ewe

Surprisingly, in the 10 or so months I've been here, this is only the 2nd sheep joke! You Aussies are slacking off. :lol:

 

[Spiesy]

I'm just a little puzzled as to how it was your "best brew day" when efficiency and subsequent pre-boil and post-boil gravities are all out?

Out of interest, the 70% efficiency you were targeting for - you've hit this with a similar grain bill (IPA) and mash schedule before?

I BIAB and recently noticed diminishing returns in efficiency as the grain bill gets bigger... My recent Black IPA turned out as a very nice Black Ale (thankfully I caught the low efficiency at pre-boil and changed some of the hop quantities to balance it out).

 

[pk.sax]

I think he meant to say he had the time to take the sheep behind the house between doughing in and mash out, kinda pita if you gotta keep looking after the temp drop, spills, gas running out, stuck sparge or whatever.

There, better?

 

[wbosher]

I think he meant to say he had the time to take the sheep behind the house between doughing in and mash out, kinda pita if you gotta keep looking after the temp drop, spills, gas running out, stuck sparge or whatever.
There, better?

Much better

spiesy - by best brew day, I meant that everything went smoothly. No problems with temp, spillage, gas, kids, drunkenness, bag breaking etc...went beautifully and really enjoyed it. This is precisely why I was so disappointed.

And yes, I consistently get 70% with the same grain bill.

I'm not so much asking advice on why this happened, I think I know why, just venting and seek reassurance that it's not a complete disaster from those who may have been here before.

 

[Nick JD]

Recently, we had a brew day for the Gold Coast club. We were brewing a beer from a set bunch of ingredients for a comp (the grain came pre-milled) and we got the same kind of numbers as you have.

Woefully under expected OG. Heaps of uncracked grains on inspection of the spent grain.

It happens.

 

[wbosher]

How did it turn out Nick?

 

[AndrewQLD]

You did everything right, measured your pre boil and found the gravity lacking, that was when it all went pear shaped. Nothing after that pre boil gravity reading was going to get better unless you made corrections.
Add more extract, dextrose or sugar to increase your pre boil gravity OR reduce the bittering hop additions to give you a more balanced bu/gu ratio.

Lesson learnt and for your first brew not really all that bad.

 

[Adr_0]

Lesson learnt and for your first brew not really all that bad.

Wasn't his first brew by the sounds of it; I think what you meant to say was "Lesson learnt and for a kiwi not really all that bad."

 

[AndrewQLD]

Wasn't his first brew by the sounds of it; I think what you meant to say was "Lesson learnt and for a kiwi not really all that bad."

Nope, Kiwis are awesome, great country and people that grow great hops and brew great beer, but your right best brew day, not the first.

 

[Adr_0]

On a serious note, good to know or have a pretty good idea where your efficiency was lost, and so you can test it next time you brew. I will certainly be having a peek at the grist before I mash next time, but I'm sure there's always a small % that will be uncracked. Sounds like you had a good 20-25% of your grains uncracked though, which is pretty disappointing.

 

[wbosher]

Kiwi jokes aside (yeah, I asked for it ), thanks for all the replies guys. I will be having a chat to the shop about their mill, but I suspect someone will probably beat me to it.

 

[Nick JD]

How did it turn out Nick?

Not sure if it's fermented yet. Got given a long boil and had the OG upped that way - but wasn't a comp playa - so they sent out some properly milled grain.

Free beer for the club!

 

[Spiesy]

The quality of buying pre-milled grain is one of the many reasons why I'm in the middle of setting up my own mill.

 

[QldKev]

The quality of buying pre-milled grain is one of the many reasons why I'm in the middle of setting up my own mill.

Have you mentioned the mill adjustment issue to the LHBS who is currently milling the grain? Maybe with time the adjustment has moved and they haven't realised and would happily re-adjust it.

 

[wbosher]

I did think about getting a mill myself, but as I only brew about once every three or four weeks, I didn't think it was really worth it the expense.

The LHBS had just modified their mill, new motor and/or rollers, so that could have something to do with it. I have to say that I have never had a bad crush from them in the past, so hopefully it's just a one off. Having said that, I might look into getting a cheap Corona style mill, just in case this happens again.

 

[sponge]

OG: 1.033
IBU: 33
IBU/SG: 0.922

IBU/SG = 1?

 

[jc64]

IBU/SG = 1?

Remember, he is in NZ, things don't always equal there what they do elsewhere.

 

[sponge]

Pi = 3.1417 in NZ

 

[wbosher]

:lol:

It's not IBU divided by SG, it's a ratio in Beersmith...probably should have made that clear. I'm not sure exactly how it's calculated but a ratio of .9 would indicate that it's quite bitter, but not overly so. There is a chart somewhere on the interwebs but I can seem to find it at the moment, it gives an idea of what ratio is appropriate for any particular style of beer. Obviously each individual perceives bitterness differently, but it's a guideline.

There are a few threads on AHB about it, here is one

 

[wbosher]

Pi = 3.1417 in NZ

Pi = Steak and mushroom please.