The Punt
Member
- Joined
- 6/5/16
- Messages
- 15
- Reaction score
- 23
Hello, fellow homebrewers.
I have been brewing all-grain for a couple of years now, and i've had a re-occuring problem with just about every batch. I use a refractometer to measure my mash and wort gravity. I have been calibrating it with distilled water at 20c at the start of each brew day for my last couple of brews, but this hasn't made a difference to the problem.
Basically, i'll measure my wort about half way through the boil to check that it's on track. I take a small sample out, cool it for 30 seconds in a dry stainless dish, then take a reading. It is usually exactly what i expect it to be.
I take another reading from the kettle at flame-out, again cooling the sample. This reading is almost always exactly what I WANT my Original Gravity to be. All good so far.
I chill the wort (with an immersion chiller, until my last batch when I changed over to a counterflow chiller) and pump it into the fermenter. I take another sample from the fermenter at pitch temp (20-25c), and it is ALWAYS at least 4 gravity points lower than the reading at flameout. For higher gravity brews, it has been up to 6 or so points lower.
My question is how can I lose 4 or more gravity points between the flameout and the fermenter?
I have tested the fermenter samples with a hydrometer, and they always match the refractometer reading.
I recirculate the wort through the pump and hoses throughout the boil, so its not water in the hoses.
I do cover the kettle after flameout, so I thought maybe it is condensation, but surely there wouldn't be enough condensation to THIN the wort by 4 points...?
Its not a huge problem, but it is frustrating as I can't hit my expected figures. For example, my last brew, a 4.5% blonde ale was 1.044 at flameout (exactly what I wanted) but was 1.040 by the time i chilled it and transferred it to the fermenter. It'll finish at about 4.2%.
My solution at the moment is to purposely overshoot my gravity targets. But, as a perfectionist, i need to know why this is happening.
Sorry for the long-winded post, but has anyone had this happen to them, or have any idea's what would cause it?
Cheers,
JW.
I have been brewing all-grain for a couple of years now, and i've had a re-occuring problem with just about every batch. I use a refractometer to measure my mash and wort gravity. I have been calibrating it with distilled water at 20c at the start of each brew day for my last couple of brews, but this hasn't made a difference to the problem.
Basically, i'll measure my wort about half way through the boil to check that it's on track. I take a small sample out, cool it for 30 seconds in a dry stainless dish, then take a reading. It is usually exactly what i expect it to be.
I take another reading from the kettle at flame-out, again cooling the sample. This reading is almost always exactly what I WANT my Original Gravity to be. All good so far.
I chill the wort (with an immersion chiller, until my last batch when I changed over to a counterflow chiller) and pump it into the fermenter. I take another sample from the fermenter at pitch temp (20-25c), and it is ALWAYS at least 4 gravity points lower than the reading at flameout. For higher gravity brews, it has been up to 6 or so points lower.
My question is how can I lose 4 or more gravity points between the flameout and the fermenter?
I have tested the fermenter samples with a hydrometer, and they always match the refractometer reading.
I recirculate the wort through the pump and hoses throughout the boil, so its not water in the hoses.
I do cover the kettle after flameout, so I thought maybe it is condensation, but surely there wouldn't be enough condensation to THIN the wort by 4 points...?
Its not a huge problem, but it is frustrating as I can't hit my expected figures. For example, my last brew, a 4.5% blonde ale was 1.044 at flameout (exactly what I wanted) but was 1.040 by the time i chilled it and transferred it to the fermenter. It'll finish at about 4.2%.
My solution at the moment is to purposely overshoot my gravity targets. But, as a perfectionist, i need to know why this is happening.
Sorry for the long-winded post, but has anyone had this happen to them, or have any idea's what would cause it?
Cheers,
JW.
