So every time I brew, I never end up with the batch size my recipe is scaled for. I measure my mash and sparge volumes but I don't know how much ends up in the kettle. The weird thing is, I almost always hit my mash numbers and my OG. So how do I end up with 4 gallons of beer when my OG is dead on? And no I'm not losing a full gallon to break material.
What are you using to calculate the amount of water you need? Also, there are many places you lose water along the way... -grain absorption -mashtun deadspace -boiloff -hop (and break) absorption -kettle deadspace (if yours has one) -other places, depending on your setup By paying attention to those things, I always hit my volumes into the fermenter +- 0.5 quarts. And about your OG...that's a function of volume, but if you're hitting your OG with less volume than you expected, then you are probably getting less mash efficiency than anticipated. (Or losing a lot of wort later in the process.) How are your pre-boil volumes compared to what you expect?
I measure my mash and sparge volumes with an empty gallon jug and then a measuring cup for smaller increments. I plug all my info into BeerSmith that account for boil off, mash tun deadspace, grain absorption, break material, and trub. Today I brewed a saison and my pre boil gravity was only off by .003 and my OG was exactly what it was supposed to be but I ended up with what looks like 4 gallons, possibly less, as my wort reached the bottom of the Better Bottle logo. I don't really have a way to measure my pre boil volume besides markings I put on the side of my kettle that go from 5-9 gallons. BeerSmith's default losses are as follows: Evap rate 23.5% per hour, cooling loss 4%, trub loss .4 gallons, and .9 gallons for grain absorption using 7.5 lbs of grain. I also don't boil very hard at all. So I assume it has something to do with the numbers BeerSmith is giving me but I'm not sure what, nor do I know how to find out. Any suggestions?
´So how do I end up with 4 gallons of beer when my OG is dead on?´ What do you mean when you say that, are you talking about bottled/kegged beer or final wort volume before fermenting?
There must be something wrong in the way you measure some of those volumes, check your ´gallon jug volume ´, maybe its volume is not 1 gallon.
You can measure every loss, in some cases without even making a wort. - Grain Absorption...you need to make a wort to measure this, but 0.9 gallons sound right on for 7.5 lbs of grain - Mash Tun Dead Space... put two gallons of water in your empty tun, then drain by your normal method. Measure whatever ends up in your receiving vessel and subtract from 2 gallons. That's your dead space loss. - Boiloff... Beersmith uses a percentage per hour? That's silly. It should be a volume per hour. To roughly estimate, boil 2 gallons of water (at your normal vigor) for 15 minutes. Measure what you're left with and subtract from 2 gallons. Then multipy by 4 to get a volume loss per hour. Do some math and see how that compares to the percentage beersmith is assuming. You can then adjust Beersmith's percentage boiloff parameter to match the volume you measured. Or better yet, use software or a spreadsheet that uses sensible parameters. - Trub Loss... you'll have to measure that in a real batch. Hopefully Beersmith let's you adjust that per ounce of pellet or leaf hops or something like that? If you find this to be a hard thing to measure (and it is, kind of), you can measure all the other things and back into this number to fit the result. I think most people are losing more wort to the pile of hop/protein sludge than they realize. Edit: just out of curiosity, what was your total beginning volume of mash and sparge water for this batch and how much/what type of hops?
2.54 gallons of mash water and 6.15 gallons of sparge water. 1.5 oz of Hallertauer, 1 oz of Citra, 1 oz EKG.
trub and hop loss >>> 0.4 gallons. You should try and get a good, vigorous, rolling boil going. In my system at least, I would doubt 23% boiloff per hour. More like a gallon or a touch more when starting with 6+ gallons (closer to 15-18%/hr). Yours may differ, but if you're not doing as vigorous a boil as you can, I think that's a bit high. 0.9 gallons grain absorption / 7 lbs grain? Not sure, but then I've never used that small an amount of grain. I expect to lose more than that with a typical 12 lb batch. This page should be of help when dialing in beersmith http://www.beersmith.com/forum/index.php/topic,5140.0.html
I should have asked how long your boil was. In my system, your 5 gallon batch (assuming pellet hops) would have called for 7.29 gallons water total for a 60 minute boil, or 7.91 gallons total for a 90 minute boil. If assuming leaf hops.... 7.43 gallons for 60 minute boil, or 8.05 gallons for 90 minute boil. All of these volumes are less than what you used. I would definitely look into what your actual boiloff rate is, and measure your mash tun loss. Also, do you by any chance have a false bottom or a valve mounted on your brew kettle?
That should work as long as the markings are accurate. What was your pre-boil volume, and how much was left in the kettle post-boil when you were done filling your fermenter?
Which means you also probably have a kettle deadspace. Are you leaving wort in the bottom of the kettle (and in the valve)?
My first measurement is how much water goes into the mash tun. My second (and third) are for batch sparging. My third measurement, where I'll stop you, is how much wort goes into the boil kettle. How much wort do you start with pre boil? What's your pre boil gravity? I'm pointing a finger to poor efficiency and a lower pre boil volume than you expected.
