tom_hampton said:
Trub loss is any pre-boil wort that doesn't make it to the fermenter. So, if you put your hops in a spider let them soak up wort and them later remove them....its still trub loss. Ideally, BS2 would have a hops absorbtion, just like grain. Then we could separate the two discussions. But, hops generally absorb about 4-5x their weight in wort. So, in most cases (other than IPA and above) the wort loss is less than half a quart. Big deal.
Ah, didn't think of it that way, just thinking that there is virtually nothing in the bottom of the kettle....so, no/little trub..... for the next few weeks I'll be running concurrent batches:
IPA 4oz hops
Imperial IPA 6oz hops.
So maybe a bit more than a half quart?
Your volumes and your BE% (brewhouse efficiency) are intertwined. So, you've got to get your volumes close, and your BE% close...then you brew several batches and tweak your volumes and BE% based on experiences.
Didn't realize they were that intertwined.....I'm running the numbers on the new pot now, to see where my efficiencies are going to be. Saw that last batch of a "light American Lager" run a 93% estimated efficiency. Yeah, not buyin' that one. Still trying to figure out the calculation of 'measured efficiency'
If you are experiencing excess wort at the end of the boil, there a few places it can come from:
grain absorption - BS2 calculates how much water your grain will absorb. if your grain is absorbing less than what BS2 is setup for, then you will have excess preboil volume.
MLT deadspace - you've fixed this, it sounds like. But, 24 oz stil seems high unless you have some funky manifold design. Are you sure about the 24 oz? How did you measure it---doing it right is a bit tricky?
I'm using 1.25g per lb water to grain.
I use a 10g red rubbermaid, with the domed SS false bottom.
Originally, I used the default of something like .8gallons....my simplistic measurement, probably incorrect, was scraping out the spent grains from the screen until I could see the liquid underneath, then poured that out into a measuring cup. 22-24oz, varying batch to batch. Really didn't know how else to measure it without going through some convoluted area/volume calculation (too many years between the last time I did that in school and now...These days I just measure distances and angles
)
Trub loss - As I said above, hops count here. What kind of kettle do you use? If you have a flat bottom pot, and you basically drain it dry, then your trub loss should be maybe 8 oz for hops.
Yep, was using a flat bottom turkey fryer with this funky overflow 'lip' lookin' thing at the top. Drained dry every time, and really the only thing that is left is a tiny bit....maybe 1/4 cup that I'm assuming is generated from the moss/protein interaction
Like I said, new Bayou Classic 16g pot sitting there beggin to be used, so I'm running new numbers on it.
Another point: When you work problems like this, you need to record every volume at every step of the brew day...and you need to record them accurately. By accurately, I mean to the 1/2 quart at worst. When you do that you can then analyze everything after the fact. You can post them here, and we can do the same.
I certainly appreciate that. I'll do the total run through this weekend. Typically my measurements, what I do make, are to the nearest 2 liquid oz...as I said before, anal about my numbers, am I.
Strike volume
first runnings
batch addition
second runnings
pre-boil
post-boil
into fermenter
You will probably have to educate me on the details of those terms... here's my guesses:
Strike- first heated water into mash (mash in)
First runnings - ummm.... why measure that, don't I just run it back in, sooooo.....?
Batch addition - water I add for sparging
Second runnings - same as first?
Pre-boil - my volume in the kettle after it's run the tun 'dry'
Post-boil - all said and done, before addition of starter.
Into fermenter - Hey, I think I know that one....lol
If you record the above along with the SG of the wort at each step, I can tell you exactly where the extra came from, instead of guessing. Don't forget to record temperatures of the measurements too.
There's one..... a couple months ago, one of the guys said something about your gravity measurement being inaccurate above 90*? I posed the question of 'why does the adjustment calc let you go above that then?' No answer. I'm not trying to be contrary, it was just the only time I've heard of that, before or since. I would have thought that would be a big deal. Thoughts?
For the record I record the above for every brew I make. I also record it 4-6 times during the boil, as well.
And I thought
I was uptight ;D Just messin' with ya.
I really appreciate your time and expertise, and I'll make a point of recording all that and let you know.
Oh, and count me jealous with your other hobby..... I think I'd probably spend more time in the grass and spinning around than you did, even though I've always sworn that's how I'd probably end up going.... hitting something when in the 3 digit range....with the last thought being 'awww man, this is gonna leave a mark'