8 replies to this topic

[Darin]

Hi everyone!Today was my first all grain brew. It's gonna take some getting used to. There are some things I'm going to have to prepare for the day before I brew to make things run a little smoother next time.I'm brewing a Scottish 80 Schilling. The OG is supposed to be 1.042. I measured my pre boil gravity and it was 1.042. I think part of that might be the fact that I couldn't control my mash temp.Should be an alright beer though.Darin

[rockon]

Congratulations and don't worry, it gets a lot easier. My first all grain took me about 7 hours. Now after a few years, it takes maybe 4.5 for 10 gallons. You'll also eventually learn your system and it will be almost intuitive for you to hit your numbers.

[davelew]

I'm brewing a Scottish 80 Schilling. The OG is supposed to be 1.042. I measured my pre boil gravity and it was 1.042. I think part of that might be the fact that I couldn't control my mash temp.

How was your volume? The first thing I do when my pre-boil OG is too high is to check that I got as much liquid as I expected. Expected amount of sugars in too little liquid = high OG.

[Darin]

How was your volume? The first thing I do when my pre-boil OG is too high is to check that I got as much liquid as I expected. Expected amount of sugars in too little liquid = high OG.

I planned on boiling 7 gallons. I wound up with 6 gallons. Had to add another gallon of water to the wort.

[MolBasser]

I planned on boiling 7 gallons. I wound up with 6 gallons. Had to add another gallon of water to the wort.

Why didn't you sparge more?Your losing sugar by cutting of the lauter and adding water....BrewBasser

[Darin]

Why didn't you sparge more?Your losing sugar by cutting of the lauter and adding water....BrewBasser

Never even thought about that,,,, LOL! First timer mistake.I took my FG and it measured 1.053,,,,, which calculates in ProMash as 72% efficiency. I don't think that's too bad for a first time batch.

[DaBearSox]

I took my FG and it measured 1.053,,,,, which calculates in ProMash as 72% efficiency. I don't think that's too bad for a first time batch.

I think the key here is that it was your first time and you don't know the efficiency of your own system... if you hit 72% in a full 5 gallons I think you had a pretty successful first go at it.

[MoreAmmoPlz]

I think the key here is that it was your first time and you don't know the efficiency of your own system... if you hit 72% in a full 5 gallons I think you had a pretty successful first go at it.

Agreed. My first all grain batch ended up with a very dismal system efficiency because I accounted for the boil kettle's dead space with the amount of water but not the amount of grain. Still turned into a drinkable beer but not great by anybodies standards.

[ncbeerbrewer]

Welcome to All Grain Darin. Yes I agree it only gets easier from here. My first all grain mash got stuck and it was not due to the grains. The elbow of the drain on my false bottom was sitting on the bottom of the mash tun and wouldn't drain. Sounds like you did fine and will have yourself a good beer as well.