Questions tagged [efficiency]

Extraction or mash efficiency - the percentage of actual sugars extracted from the grain compared to the theoretical maximum.

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Shorter Brew Day

For all grain brewers, what part of the brew session lends itself best to shortening the total brew session. Time is tight for me these days and shortening up the brew session a bit will certainly ...
brewchez's user avatar
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Why did I miss my high target gravity? By quite a lot. Is it just my brewhouse efficiency?

I cooked up my first Double IPA recipe over the weekend but have seriously missed the mark with the target gravity. So much so it most definitely won't be a Double. Target O.G. = 1.085 Actual O.G. = ...
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Why is my starting gravity low?

In the fall of 2011 I made the leap from extract/partial kits to all-grain kits. I'm enjoying AG, but my SG is continuously below the expected. I have brewed 5 AG kits and 4 have had a low SG. My ...
Jason Meckley's user avatar
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4 answers
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How can I raise my mash pH with something other than chalk or baking soda?

I recently moved to Rhode Island and my mash efficiency has suffered. The main part of my process that has changed is the water. The pH as measured by colorpHast strips (and two other off brands) ...
Hop the Mad Alchemist's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
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Does a smaller false-bottom affect efficiency?

Last night I picked up a 10-gallon cooler mash tun. It was supposed to come with a 12" false bottom, but the LHBS was out of those. Instead they offered me a 10" false bottom, saying that it would ...
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Mash Efficiency vs Brewhouse Efficiency

I'm trying to understand the difference between Mash Efficiency and Brewhouse Efficiency. Is Brewhouse Efficiency essentially the efficiency of Mashing AND Lautering, whereas Mash efficiency would be ...
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What is conversion?

While answering another question, about mash temperature, the question about conversion and how long it takes came up. So what is conversion? I think we all know its the process of enzymes converting ...
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Are Sparge Arms Necessary

Do you really need a sprinkler of some sort to sparge? Does it really improve the lautering process? How fancy does a sparge arm need to be, does it really have to rotate or can it just sprinkle all ...
brewchez's user avatar
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What are some methods to increase extraction efficiency and consistency?

I've got some irregular sugar extraction efficiency problems. My efficiency is regularly low. I need your help. :) I get anywhere from 60% - 85%. I've fine tuned my mill to the best of my ability, so ...
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BIAB efficiency

I have been doing some batch sparging with the Denny Conn method, and it works great! I also wanted to try, in the days that I want a slightly shorter brew day or a smaller experimental recipe, a BIAB....
Justin Rassier's user avatar
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Mash Efficiency and Quality of Wort

I recently achieved a 94% mash efficiency on a batch of Saison and was pretty stoked thinking, wow, 94% is much better than the the 72% I did last time. I must be getting better at this... But then ...
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How does efficiency change when adding grains that are normally steeped to a mash?

Imagine this scenario: you have a an extract recipe that contains a pound of steeped caramel malt. According to http://www.promash.com/FAQ/faq_diff.html the average efficiency of steeped malts is ...
Daniel's user avatar
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What Calcium ppm is required in the mash for alpha-amylase stability and mash efficiency?

I recently moved and my water here is quite soft with a very low pH. As such, I've taken to adding many of my brewing salts in the brew kettle and only using salts in the mash to balance the pH. ...
Hop the Mad Alchemist's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
625 views

Calculating Efficiency manually using metric system

Can someone please give me a hand calculating Mash Efficiency manually? I use mostly Gladfield malt along with some cara 'x's' and BeerSmith 3 but would like to calculate manually so I have a grasp ...
W4K1NG's user avatar
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RIMS declining efficiency

For many years, I was getting efficiency at about 81% after backing into the numbers with Brewers Friend doing simple non-recirculated infusions at 2qt per lb with continuous fly sparge. About a year ...
Icebreaker's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
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How can I fix low starting gravity?

I made my third all-grain batch last weekend. I have had issues getting decent efficiency so I added a couple extra pounds of ESB malted barley (11lbs, instead of 9, and about 3lbs of specialty grain)....
David Griffiths's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
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Trying to calculate my efficiency correctly

So I've just completed my fifth BIAB brew, and this time I decided to try and calculate the mash efficiency of my setup since I'm fairly sure it's not as high as it should be. I also think at the ...
George's user avatar
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How to increase gravity / decrease amount of water in my wort, and extract the same amount of sugars?

I have this problem: I'm regularly achieving 90% efficiency with my mash and sparge, and I like this effect. But I usually end up with about 30 ~ 35 liters when I aim for 20 ~ 22 liters. Boil to ...
Mołot's user avatar
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3 votes
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Poor mash efficiency - help please

I am a few all-grain brews in using the Robobrew (poor mans Grainfather) and they have actually turned out great!. One thing I haven't been able to figure out though is how to improve efficiency. ...
W4K1NG's user avatar
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How important is it to hit a recipe's target OG? What if my OG is too high?

I just brewed a chai tea brown ale (recipe here) -- which has a target OG of 1.048 -- and ended up with an OG of 1.064. My efficiency for this batch hit 78%, which I presume is higher than the recipe ...
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How to get higher gravity

I am using 60kg undermodified 6 row barley for 300 litres, I performed 60 minutes rest at 64°C and 30 minutes rest at 72°C, but I got 12°Plato original gravity (1.048) after boiling. Please help me ...
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Pale Ale All Grain, FG not achieved

I would like your input as to why my FG was far from the theoric on from brewer's friend calculator. All Grain Pale Ale: Maris Otter 4.7k Roasted Barley 94 gr Chinook 12 aau min 60 Cascasde 5 auu ...
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Are protein rests worthwhile in BIAB?

I've had problems with low efficiency when I have a large percentage of wheat in my BIAB batches. I am planning a Hefeweizen recipe that will be 60% white wheat malt and I want to get it right this ...
Michael Dicken's user avatar
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3 answers
230 views

What effect do water ions have on mash efficiency *other* than adjusting Ph?

I searched the questions and did not find an answer to my particular question. As the title says, my question is: What effect do water ions have on mash efficiency other than adjusting Ph? Put ...
Sean Cooney's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Litres / Gallons conversion

Hope this doesn't sound like too daft a question... but I'm English and a noob so please humour me :) When I am reading recipes, brewing instructions, calculations, etc. from American documentation ...
Doug's user avatar
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2 answers
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How do I calculate mash efficiency with BeerSmith2 when doing a partigyle?

I designed a barleywine in BeerSmith2, made it, plus I made another beer afterwords from the same grain. My mash efficiency on the first runnings turned out to be 75% (I put the grain bill and pre-...
Dale's user avatar
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fly sparging - stopping and efficiency

For the few years I've been brewing AG, I've used batch sparging with a 70qt cooler. But this year I've built a new brewery which is equipped for fly sparging, so I'm trying that. With fly sparging, ...
mdma's user avatar
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3 votes
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Re-using aroma hops (whole)

OK I may be called crazy, and it won't be the first time but hear me out please. I am wondering if anyone has tried what I am about to suggest and if so what were the results? Could one reduce the ...
Mr_road's user avatar
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First All Grain Batch / LOW Efficiency

Yesterday I went down to my homebrew retailer, planning on buying a simple screen/valve assembly for a cooler. No go. He didn't have any of THOSE left, however he did have an assembly to use an 8-...
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3 answers
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When/How to Measure Pre-Boil Gravity to Determine Mash Efficiency

I routinely take my pre-boil gravity after sparging to determine mash efficiency so that I can throw in DME or Dextrose for a lower than expected yield or add water for a higher than expected yield, ...
Matthew's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Conversion efficiency

What is the typical conversion efficiency during a normal single-rest mash (152 F/67 C, 3 l/kg)? I usually get around 80 %, but Braukaiser claims that it should be close to 100 %. I mash for 60 ...
Nemis L.'s user avatar
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5 answers
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Efficiency discrepancy

Last brew I calculated by brewhouse efficiency to be 63%. Not great, but I dialled this into BeerSmith and hoped my next brew would at least be predictable, even if I was not getting the most out of ...
Mild Fuzz's user avatar
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Gravity reading much lower than exected: why?

Okay, so my friend and me made an experiment yesterday. We wanted to brew a >20%, 300+ IBU IIPA. Yeah yeah... I know :) Now to the question. We used 10.5kg of grain for 26.25 liters of water for the ...
Simon Lapointe's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
124 views

If I’m using a high diastatic malt, was it still necessary to add some acid malt into the mash?

If I’m using a high diastatic malt, was it still necessary to add some acid malt into the mash ?
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How to Compensate for Higher than Expected Extraction Efficiency

What is the best way to handle a higher than expected extraction efficiency without compromising the flavor of the beer? If I'm brewing a blonde ale for example, aiming for a 72% extraction ...
Matthew's user avatar
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1 vote
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282 views

Is it Possible to Collect Too Much Volume From Mash Tun?

I'm still new to the all-grain scene and I've messed up my sparge more than once, leaving me with a pre-boil gravity that is too low. I got to thinking, if I fall short (in pre-boil gravity) in the ...
senfo's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
127 views

Poor mash efficiency part 2

I am still having mash efficiency issues. Here's my original post: Poor mash efficiency - help please With my last brew, I was trying to do a double IPA for 8.8% IOG: 1.08 but ended up with 1.06. I ...
W4K1NG's user avatar
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1 answer
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Can scaling down a recipes grain bill lead to increased mash efficiency in a smaller pot while maintaining the same final batch size?

I’m asking this because I’m thinking it might be possible to reduce the cost of my grain bill if the resulting mash efficiency can be increased to compensate for the fewer grains. The idea would be to ...
AlexS's user avatar
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How to adjust recipes for high mash / sparge efficiency?

It seems most recipes out there assume 75 - 80% efficiency*. Seems sensible for homebrewer. but I consistently get 95%. I should feel lucky, but this means that I either: have too much alcohol for ...
Mołot's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
329 views

A 15 gallon batch with two 10 gallon mash tuns

I need to split a 15 gallon batch of beer three ways. The brew is going to be an Imperial Stout, and the 5 gallon recipe calls for 20lbs of grain (60lbs for 15 gallons). Between the three brewers we ...
RoraΖ's user avatar
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1 answer
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Calculating mash conversion efficiency using Brewers Friend calculator

Can someone please help me out with how to properly calculate conversion efficiency using the Brewers friend calculator (found here and set to conversion efficiency: https://www.brewersfriend.com/...
W4K1NG's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
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AG brewing newbie, can only hit 50% efficiency, what's going wrong?

I've done 2 one-gallon AG brews now, and both have hit approx. 50% efficiency. I thought I'd fixed what was obviously wrong between the two, but the second one still looks like it's going to come out ...
user14605's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
71 views

What to do when american wheat ale turned out to have too high extract?

I used to have a problem - too much water due to extracting every last bit of sugar. That gave me 90% to 95% efficiency, but also it was a lot of work to boil it down to manageable and usable amounts ...
Mołot's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
385 views

Mash Efficiency With Top Off

I just put my second AG batch into the primary, but I ran into an issue I need some help with. When I did my first AG batch, I used water that was treated by a water softener (I know, I know...it was ...
Matthew's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
2k views

Poor efficiency during first all grain brew, need an fail safe for next brew

For my first all grain brew I bought an octoberfest all grain kit from morebeer. Before brewing with it, however, I decided to try a very cheap smash recipe. I ended up with a very low efficiency (...
kenyabob's user avatar
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0 answers
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Missed Expected OG, Sparging Issue? [duplicate]

I brewed my first all grain batch this past weekend and everything went pretty smooth except my OG was 1.050 instead of the 1.056 I was expecting. Would this be a sparging issue? I had calculated a ...
W.Jackson's user avatar
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