Irish Red's a little short

My efficiency dropped 10% on my last batch. I mashed at 150 for 60 minutes instead of the usual 90, plus I used mostly Belgian pilsner malt which might possibly explain part of it. Moral of the story: I'll be mashing for 90 minutes from now on.

On the other hand, one of my earlier all-grain endeavors was a barleywine with a surprise brewhouse eff. of 90-something percent instead of 70% and an OG over 1100. (I learned a lot about yeasts and their alcohol tolerance with that one.) I figured the most likely explanation was that the guy at the lhbs accidentally gave me an extra pound of Maris Otter for my 2.5 gal. batch.

Btw trub and other solids in suspension don't effect your hydrometer reading. The hydrometer shoves all that stuff out of the way when it's submerged, and only the dissolved sugars affect the gravity. That's my understanding of it anyway.
 
My efficiency dropped 10% on my last batch. I mashed at 150 for 60 minutes instead of the usual 90, plus I used mostly Belgian pilsner malt which might possibly explain part of it. Moral of the story: I'll be mashing for 90 minutes from now on.

On the other hand, one of my earlier all-grain endeavors was a barleywine with a surprise brewhouse eff. of 90-something percent instead of 70% and an OG over 1100. (I learned a lot about yeasts and their alcohol tolerance with that one.) I figured the most likely explanation was that the guy at the lhbs accidentally gave me an extra pound of Maris Otter for my 2.5 gal. batch.

Btw trub and other solids in suspension don't effect your hydrometer reading. The hydrometer shoves all that stuff out of the way when it's submerged, and only the dissolved sugars affect the gravity. That's my understanding of it anyway.
Gerry ive got a bag of that Belgian pils malt Dingermans my efficiency has been going up.:cool: I've been really milling down that grains though so more starch available to the enzymes but I'm having a little clarity issue from this I think and I have to be real careful on dough balls that fine crush justs wants to stick together real bad. I need a few more brews to see how this goes but from low seventies to mid eighties is a great improvement in my book mate. If I sparge more or mash in more that hits my efficiency especially if the boil is shorter and I've used same mash liquor volume. But most modified malts will convert in first 15 minutes but at lower mash temp I've herd conversion is slower. But who am I to speak I've left this malt mashing for over 2 hours while I dashed to the shops to grab some vanilla without no probs. stick to ya guns I say!:D
 
Right on, I've read differing opinions about the Belgian pilsner thing so I didn't want to rule it out. Next time I'll do at least 90 minutes for the mash. Thanks!
 
Lots of attenuation on this one.. FG calculated at 1.014, already down to 1.011 and still bubbling.
 
Right on, I've read differing opinions about the Belgian pilsner thing so I didn't want to rule it out. Next time I'll do at least 90 minutes for the mash. Thanks!
I had trouble with Castle Pil's needed 90 min. mash to convert.
 
I know the Dingermans Pilsner malt I use is highly modified that's why I chose this over wayermann Pilsner malt even though I suspect wayermann may be a more popular maltster. My last mash was 60 min single infusion with pretty much full volume mash and my extraction efficiency was Over 100% I sparged with 5 liters and hit pre,boil grav of 1.042! Off 4.kg grain bill of basically pils with 500g Munich and some carapils my brew house efficiency was around 85%. I've been using this Pilsner as my base for 3 brews now and couldn't be happier with its conversion or colour or mouth feel. I don't step mash with it as I don't need to. And I've herd you can actually do more damage than good with well modified malt with that. A very forgiving malt but you still need to follow brewing principles of great cleanliness and sanitation practices. I think mash ph has a big role to play in extraction of sugars and enzymatic activity in wort!:)
 
Still at 1.011 so I racked into the fining bucket - bottling on Wednesday.
 
I ended up waiting until Thursday to bottle this. Very clear and pretty and it smells great! Gave me something extra to be thankful for on Thanksgiving!

Now to start planning for the next brew.. the Pale Ale is going fast!!
 
14 days in the bottle... decided to pop the first one for a try. Couldn't drink it for myself cuz the doc says I have to avoid alcohol for while. I poured it for my wife and had a few sniffs and tastes for myself just to see.

I was very pleased with the clarity and color. The aroma was gentle and pleasant (love those E. Kent Goldings!) and the flavor was great! Lots of body and mouthfeel - caramel and a little fruit from the yeast, a pleasant touch of heat. Came out quite nice altogether, though it's a bit short on carbonation. I taste some sweetness, so there's room for more bubbles as time goes by.

Wifey had no trouble finishing the bottle, so I think it's a hit! Forgot to get a pic, though :mad: I'll post one at the next tasting!
 
Well by the time your back to drinking she'll be just right me thinks mate;)
 

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