Beer Forum

I did my second All Grain batch last weekend using the BIAB method with pump driven recirculation. The first batch was a brown ale, and everything went perfect. This batch was a weissen - 50% pils/50% wheat. After mashing for an hour I checked the gravity and was SUPER low. I finally hit my numbers (1.042 pre-boil), but I had to mash for THREE HOURS to get there. I used BeerSmith for the recipe, so I know I had enough grain (18 lbs total for a 10 gal batch).

What went wrong? Could it be the different grain? Perhaps the crush? (I purchased and milled the grain at a different store than my first batch)
I appreciate all feedback!

you probably lacked calcium in your mash.
Did you check your pH?

Or if you aren't able to adjust the setting, run it through multiple times.

Not sure if it was accidental, but no need to start two threads on the same topic....

Never heard of that method.
I use a multi-step infusion for Hefes.
3 hours is a long time. It can lead to tannins leaking out.
Although, I have heard of long decoration mashes back in the early years of decoration.

not sure what your water's like but here in SF i use a rough tsp of gypsum in the mash & get good conversion with a 90m rest. i don't test my pH because I'm a lazy fuck but I know that I've had shit efficiency (~10pt drop) when I forget that addition. maybe you're outside of the ideal pH range or it's possible you're leaving a bunch of sugar in/on the grain without sparging.

There's some variables missing here...

What was your mash temperature in the grain while mashing?
At what temperature did you dough in?
Did you account for the temperature difference between your kettle water temp and your grain temp?

And, just as a personal question, how the hell did you lift a 50+ freekin pound wet grain bag out of your kettle while it was still hot?


hth,

Another variable...

What was the temperature of your wort when you measured the pre-boil gravity?
What temperature is your hydrometer calibrated for?
Did you calculate for the difference if you were measuring hot wort?

hth,

Are you certain the grain was fully wetted?