Daft Question

[Crookedeyeboy]

Ive been brewing for around 6 years now and I cant believe I cant work out the answer to this one, I think its more a case that I would like to see others answers compared to mine.

I brewed last night and had dropped the efficiency on the recipe for the first time down to 70% as I had been missing gravities etc.

So for the first time I also had the patience to sparge very slowly, huge improvement there in extract and gravities.

My issue is that I set the recipe for 25lts and ended up with about 22lts but I hit all the gravities I was supposed to.

Whats the easiest way of correcting this? I know that if I add more water I shall be diluting therefore I wont get the gravities I am after.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

to adjust raise or lower your grain or sugar if doing all grain and some extra water, you can scale up or down in the recipe editor, edit tools, scale

 

[Nosybear]

I'd just go ahead and ferment it. You can solve the problem with math as well using gravity points but we're talking about three liters of water and, depending on the gravity, a few hundred grams of DME. You're not far off - if you assume the same gravity in both volumes your yield was 88% of what you predicted. Malt can make that difference, as can yeast selection, as can mash temperature. If you want to bring it back up to volume, you'll add water (3l) and some form of sugar (the missing gravity for the three liters). Think of it this way: To bring it back up to 25 liters without changing gravity, you'll have to add three liters of exactly the same specific gravity wort you currently have. Too much work. RDWHAHB. Cheers!

 

[sbaclimber]

I *think* there is an even easier answer...
Just drop your efficiency even lower. 12% less volume should come out to about 8-9% less efficiency (very rough guess!).

 

[Crookedeyeboy]

Thanks guys, I know its only three litres but I have been trying for a while to get this rig calibrated.
I may well either try dropping the efficiency, which is rubbish, its already at 70% or I may add some sugar at the end of the boil.

 

[sbaclimber]

I may well either try dropping the efficiency, which is rubbish, its already at 70% ...

I know it can be hard to admit, but sometimes your efficiency is what it is.
Much like target practice, make sure you are getting consistant results before trying to improve them.
I am using a very basic stove-/counter-top setup, so my efficiency isn't great, but after a lot of repetition I have gotten my setup dialed in to a consistant 70-71% efficiency....provided the process remains the same!
As soon as I change the process (thicker mash, thinner mash, longer boil, colder/hotter sparge, different malts, etc, etc, etc) my efficiency changes. That is normal...

 

[Crookedeyeboy]

Thanks sba, these are all things I know but I think I've been trying to nail efficiency without getting the process into a routine, until now that is.
One day I'll treat myself to a Braumeister!

 

[Nosybear]

The result was 88% of what you expected (22/25). So your efficiency is about 62% based on the numbers you gave (88% of 70%). So SBAClimber's wild guess is pretty close. He's also right about the efficiency: It is what it is. Any number of factors can be causing it but I'd start with mash temperature. If you're mashing warm, your efficiency will be lower because a good bit of the sugars end up staying behind as dextrines. Are you doing an iodine test at the end of your mash to check for conversion or are you getting a starchy haze? That would indicate incomplete conversion. Start with the mash. If you're still having problems, change your malt and see what happens. If you're still getting low efficiencies then, it's time to start checking water.

 

[Nosybear]

Also, you nailed it (sez the quality engineer). Without consistent process, you'll never know if your experiments are working. Cheers, mate, and I hope you get it dialed in!

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

as I have added on to my system, each device like a rims tube or a trub filter, plate chiller and hoses creates more loss so a once 5.5 gallon batch went to 6 and now going to 6.5 for my recipe, in order to figure this out I had to measure my losses so if I don't tilt or dump my kettle I have to start my 0 to 5.5 gallon on my dip tube at the top of my trub or bottom of ball valve instead of the bottom of the kettle

to find this I fill up everything all the way to the out of the plate chiller then filling up to the bottom of my ball valve and adding 5.5 gallons on top then draining all of it and measure how much is there. that gives me my total losses besides evaporation and hops and grain abortion

I will then add these settings to the sites equipment profile and this will tell me how much water I need to start with and for "my system" to brew like I want I will need a 6.5 gallon recipe just ending up with 5.5 in the carboy making me use more grain than most but hitting my 80% mark that I'm used to because of all my losses

 

[sbaclimber]

I will then add these settings to the sites equipment profile and this will tell me how much water I need to start with and for "my system" to brew like I want I will need a 6.5 gallon recipe making me use more grain than most but hitting my 80% mark that I'm used to

Hehe, this just reminded my of the saying, "lies, damned lies, and statistics...!". :lol:
@Crookedeyeboy: w/ 6yrs under your belt, you are probably way more experienced than I, but from my experience with AG over the past 3yrs...like OMB is saying, it is all about figuring out "your" system. That doesn't just mean the physical setup, but also the numbers that you punch into a calculator to figure out what your brew is going to turn out like.
Both can be *tweaked*, but at the end of the day consistency is key. If that means dropping your efficiency in the calculator, or adding an extra kilo of sugar, or extra liter of water, so be it.

 

[Myers]

A potential problem of hitting your gravity with less wort that the recipe calls for is a higher IBU level for the finished batch than targeted by the recipe, unless the hop additions are reduced appropriately to account for the reduced wort volume, or you can add an appropriate quantity of DME and the amount of water you're short to your batch as you begin your boil. These fixes require a little bit of math but are simple adjustments in order to achieve the outcome you want.

 

[Crookedeyeboy]

Thanks guys for your comments, they have really helped.

I am biting the bullet and taking Charlie Papazians advice, relax. Stop worrying about it.
Ive now set my efficiency at 65% and I'm happy with that.

I brewed on Monday and everything worked out fine. I really should have worked out the secret with home brewing after 77 brews, relax, chill, have a beer!

Cheers