o.g. mysteries

[fatcontro11er]

i did two all grain recipies on sat niether of which had the `expected`o.g.`s firstly the bishops tipple then the 6x both from dave lines bbltyb now i know the efficiency of the mash is on the high side so i took that in to account ! with the 6x i had an og of 1042 prior to boiling but that was with 4 gallons so i knew that after the boil to make up to 5 galls would take the o.g. down further so i added 1 lb malt extract syrup during the boil. After the boil i ran the wort into my f v that had 1 gall of cold water in when drained the biler i had 4.5 gall in the f v and the o.g. prior to pitching the yeast was 1039 ? i did nt bother making this up to 5 gall as i thoufght 1 gall of water was enough diluting for one day !Why does this happen during the boil i ,some what silly ly ¬ thought that it would only be water evaporating during the boil but am i losig sugars as well ?

[Whorst]

You diluted you wort too much. Your gravity was probably 1.048-1.049 with the addition of the malt extract. The water you added to top up diluted you wort to 1.039. Get your mash efficiency down, and make sure you enough wort at the time your boil starts.

[Scooby]

i ,some what silly ly ¬ thought that it would only be water evaporating during the boil but am i losig sugars as well ?

Some sugars are driven off during the boil how much depends on the vigor,
this is only a very small amount and is ignored.
Did you sparge the hops? sugar can be lost there and if your a little short on
volume it's a good way of making it up.

This may answer that specific point but as Whorst said after a few brews you
will know your efficiency and have nailed the volumes

[fatcontro11er]

i had the hops in a jelly bag and though i didnt sparge i did drain it well , but where i first thought it was going astray in my calculations was prior to the boil i had 4 gallons @1.042 after the boil i had lost 1/2 a gallon so i added 1 gallon of cold water making 4.5 gallons @1.039 even though i had added 1 lb malt extract, i think that had i not added the extract but instead added just the 1/2 gallon of water to bring it back to 4 gallons the o.g. would have been less than the 1.042 that i had at the start of the boil ! Aboiut the boil i think it was a fairly vigerous rolling boil; !is the wrong to do ?

[hoppingMad]

If you have real good efficiency you'll be needing approx 1 kg of grain per gallon. If you have mediochre efficiency you be needing around 1.2 kgs, and for not good efficiency say around 1.5 kgs grains for every gallon of wort you want to end up with. All this for an OG around 1.045.

Rough figures, but you can instantly wiegh up against what you used and see. Scooby is right, get a few batches under your belt and you will have established your efficiency. But for now, start using more malt.

[fatcontro11er]

this was the grain bill for the 5 gallon of bishops tipple which was around the 1.052 mark before pitching the yeast
8lb pale malt
1 lb 4 oz oz crystal malt
12 oz wheat malt
2 lb golden syrup
2 oz treacle
1 lb malt extract syrup
and the grain bill for the 4.5 gallon of 6x which was about 1.039 prior to pitching yeast was
5 lb 4 oz pale malt
12 oz crystal malt
12 oz wheat malt
1 lb malt 3extract
i think these should have been some what higher in o.g. terms !????????

[fatcontro11er]

i forgot to add i am using a boiler to mash my grain , and a grain bag !not sure if that is as effeicient as should be ?

[Scooby]

Aboiut the boil i think it was a fairly vigerous rolling boil; !is the wrong to do ?

Should not be a problem if you have enough wort of the right strength at
the start of the boil.

i forgot to add i am using a boiler to mash my grain , and a grain bag !not sure if that is as effeicient as should be ?

Yes, that is more than likely the root of you problems, nothing wrong with a grain
bag, but it does require careful sparging. How do you sparge, do you test the run
off for gravity or taste it for sweetness? you may not be sparging efficiently enough
or for long enough.

[prolix]

FC you sure of your figures? the imperial unity ones. By my reckoning you did not have enough grist you had 7lb roughly for a 5 gallon brew length then added the extract. I would have been looking somewhere near 9 lb 11oz of grist. Another 2lb of pale in the mash would have got you there at about 75% efficency (about standard)

are you sure it was british gallons in the recipe and not american?