11
votes
Accepted
Why did I miss my high target gravity? By quite a lot. Is it just my brewhouse efficiency?
Mostly the high temperature. You started out at 73° C, which is already at the high side for the alfa-amylase enzymes, which convert the starches into complex sugars. While at this moment, the beta-...
- 3,645
9
votes
Accepted
How to increase gravity / decrease amount of water in my wort, and extract the same amount of sugars?
Your high efficiency is due to using a lot more water than you need, washing every last bit of sugar out of the mash. Ultimately, you want to collect less wort. This will result in a lower efficiency. ...
- 10.1k
6
votes
Accepted
How important is it to hit a recipe's target OG? What if my OG is too high?
Yes, it will to some extent. Not only will the higher alcohol affect it, but your beer will also be less hoppy and bitter than you intended it to be. Yes, you should always strive to hit your OG, ...
- 33.4k
5
votes
Why did I miss my high target gravity? By quite a lot. Is it just my brewhouse efficiency?
More bad news: If you didn't like the OG, you'll probably like the FG even less. This is because higher mash temps produce more complex (and less fermentable) sugars. You want to be making ...
- 368
5
votes
Efficiency discrepancy
"... so far above an efficiency that BeerSmith is aware of"
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by this, I'm positive BeerSmith is aware of efficiencies above 73%.
It's very common to get higher ...
- 6,417
4
votes
Trying to calculate my efficiency correctly
I can see that your post mash and post boil gravities are really off.
For example you state an estimated post mash gravity 1.037 after correction, but then have 1.030 post boil. This would only be ...
- 18.5k
4
votes
Trying to calculate my efficiency correctly
Looks like you are doing it right to me, using those calculators.
The only thing that might change your actual # is the calibration temp of your hydrometer. Be sure that it is 20C. Some hydrometers ...
- 36.2k
4
votes
Accepted
Poor mash efficiency - help please
Forget about the mash timer. A mash is done when there's no more starch.
The finer the grain crush, the more mash efficiency you will get. Up until it's so fine that it gets stuck. Finding that ...
- 18.5k
4
votes
Poor mash efficiency - help please
Water chemistry, particularly mash pH, can have a large effect on efficiency. My first step would be to check the pH of the mash and make sure you're in the 5.2-5.8 range (ideally closer to the low ...
- 998
3
votes
How to get higher gravity
Undermodified 6-row barley by itself doesn't have enough enzymes to give you complete conversion of starches to sugars, so you end up with low gravity. Add some highly modified malt (i.e. one with ...
- 344
3
votes
Are protein rests worthwhile in BIAB?
I do BIAB, and I don't think protein rest has much with extraction efficiency. Mashout temperature has, however: if wort has lower viscosity due to higher temperature, it will better flow from the ...
- 1,488
3
votes
Accepted
Calculating Efficiency manually using metric system
To start with, I'd figure out the yield as a percentage. I find this number way more useful, especially as maltsters generally provide a yield as a percentage on their analysis sheets. To do this, ...
- 998
3
votes
Efficiency discrepancy
I think that the issue is how both are calculated.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/brewhouse-efficiency/ is not accounting for losses in your equipment while beersmith is accounting for losses.
I ...
- 1,759
3
votes
Pale Ale All Grain, FG not achieved
Refractometer does not read correctly when alcohol is present. It is important only to measure in Brix, never specific gravity. Then use the following conversion calculator to determine the true ...
- 3,382
2
votes
How to adjust recipes for high mash / sparge efficiency?
If your brewhouse consitantly achieves 95% just use that setting in your recipe/brew software and it will cascade to the grains allowing you to reduce their wieghts to hit a target OG. This will ...
- 18.5k
2
votes
Trying to calculate my efficiency correctly
First, I can't see your images from my work computer so I'll explain it from scratch.
Each type of grain (base malt and adjuncts) have a potential yield of sugar. For simplicity's sake, we'll use ...
- 1,152
2
votes
Efficiency discrepancy
I do BIAB and my efficiency has varied around 70% from 65% to 75%. I've found that something as simple as stirring my mash 3 times in the 60 minute rest and not stirring it can affect that number ...
- 344
2
votes
What effect do water ions have on mash efficiency *other* than adjusting Ph?
IMHO it is the pH of the mash is the important thing. pH of the source water is not so important - as long as it is not ridiculously high of low.
Barley and wheat amylase enzymes work optimally in ...
- 5,631
2
votes
Accepted
Can scaling down a recipes grain bill lead to increased mash efficiency in a smaller pot while maintaining the same final batch size?
Yes
It's much easier to apply high efficiency methods in smaller volumes.
The biggest gain will be from being able to crush grains to near flour gauges. Allowing much more of the endosperm to have ...
- 18.5k
2
votes
Accepted
A 15 gallon batch with two 10 gallon mash tuns
If you split a 15 gallon batch into two 7.5 gallon batches, the 30lb grain alone will take up 2.34gallons of volume (30 * 10 / 128), as according to sizing the tun from HowToBrew, grain volume is 10 ...
- 2,168
2
votes
If I’m using a high diastatic malt, was it still necessary to add some acid malt into the mash?
Diastatic power refers to the enzymatic power of the malt itself – its ability to break down starches into even simpler fermentable sugars during the mashing process, but that's not related in any way ...
- 106
2
votes
RIMS declining efficiency
RIMS can denature your enzymes.
The biggest risk with a RIMS is the small volume or wort that is heated at a time. The result is often the enzymes are denatured because of the contact with the ...
- 18.5k
1
vote
If I’m using a high diastatic malt, was it still necessary to add some acid malt into the mash?
It depends on the purpose of the Acid Malt in the recipe.
Not only it has high diastatic power, this malt also affect pH of the mash, so depending on the water pH, this malt could be useful... ...
- 4,796
1
vote
Calculating mash conversion efficiency using Brewers Friend calculator
I've punched your numbers in, and it looks like 26.5L is probably close to the right number. It's not a very clear calculator though, so I would recommend heading to http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index....
- 998
1
vote
Poor mash efficiency part 2
I suspect that your robobrew (relatively) sucks at the mash. I have a few different mash vessels and I get different efficiency from the square cooler than the nice round Igloo. The Igloo does a ...
- 397
1
vote
Poor mash efficiency part 2
Are you confident that your recipe design calculations are correct? Are you confident that your grain specs are right and that the grain is of adequate quality?
All of the measures you have taken ...
- 998
1
vote
If I’m using a high diastatic malt, was it still necessary to add some acid malt into the mash?
Using acidulated malt is never necessary per sé, unless you want to stick to the medieval German Reinheitsgebot. Lactic or phosporic acids are frequently used to correct the pH of the mash (especially ...
- 2,298
1
vote
What effect do water ions have on mash efficiency *other* than adjusting Ph?
Water salts are not going to effect lautering efficiency to any large degree. Mash efficiency is a made up term that takes into account both lautering efficiency and conversion efficiency. It sounds ...
- 36.2k
1
vote
How to get higher gravity
With all additional information posted in the comments, I will try to answer the question.
First, 12°Plato is equal to a SG of 1.048. However, the gravity was taken at 30°C, so using this calculator ...
- 4,796
1
vote
AG brewing newbie, can only hit 50% efficiency, what's going wrong?
That part where you said that "it got a bit hot at first" is likely your culprit. The enzymes that break starches down into sugars (Amylase) don't like getting too hot and they die off. It's far ...
- 1,152
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