first all grain...fail.

Before I changed systems I used to nail my calculated OG. Now I consistently miss it by 12 points. It works for me though. Most of my beers are calculated to come in at over 9%. I like 8% which is where they land now. I should do more homework and fix the problem, but for now I like it.

 

I can imagine several reasons why your gravity appears to be lower than your target. I don't need to imagine a 1.044 OG beer tasting pretty damn good. Instead of crying in your wort, ferment it and drink it.

 

Hmmm, that's interesting, I'm basing my suggestion off a How To guide to partial mashing over at another homebrewing site but Denny certainly knows his stuff. The general consensus was bumping the sparge from a 10-15 minute rest to 30 minutes could result in as much as 15 more gravity points.

I think the main takeaway for me is that each system is different and it takes time to get the nuance of your equipment down. I do agree with a post earlier about trying to use about the same amount of water for each infusion, and always stir well.

Either way Shredder it just takes some time to dial in your equipment and process as you add new pieces and techniques - best of luck!

 

keeping in mind you will loose about .5quart of fluid per lb of grain in the mash , I typically batch sparge, will run off all the first sweet and calculate the amount of sparge water then to hit my pre boil volume, also I check my pre boil gravity. If I over sparge Ill boil off a bit then start additions, i'd rather start higher than lower on my pre boil volume and cook it off.

 

I think my first all grain was off by 0.010. It came out fine, albeit not quite what I had envisioned. Shit happens, then you die. Have a beer along the way. Heck, have two.

You gotta dial in your all grain system. It took me about four batches till beersmith gave me dead accurate numbers. After that I was within a couple points every time. For beersmith there are instructions on beersmith.com as to how to dial in your system. Everyone's is different, so you have to adjust the stats according to exactly what your equipment and procedures are.

Things like dead space, mash tun volume, sparge water volume, sparging procedure (batch or fly?), the shape and heat of your boil pot, boil-off rate, how many beers you had that day , and other parameters are important and make a difference. Make adjustments, brew another batch, make more adjustments, you'll be within a few points after a few batches. Being off 0.011 on your first all-grain is far less than a travesty, it's just a speed bump at best.