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duboman · 07-07-2012, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonex

your recipe was calculated for 5 gal. you had an extra 1/2 gallon not accounted for in the recipe so the beer was diluted by an extra 1/2 gal. of water not boiled off.

^^This^^, that half gallon plus the probability of an inadequate crush equals poor efficiency and lower than expected OG.

As you move to AG you will find all these details play into every beer batch you make. Any variations in the process, volumes, crush, etc will have the potential to make or break a beer

**ajf** · 07-07-2012, 09:11 PM

When you added the grain to the strike water did you stir really well to break up the dough balls? If not, that could explain the poor efficiency. I've never tried BIAB, but I also think that you would need a great deal of dunking (or even another stir of the grains in the bag to dissolve the sugars trapped in the grains.

-a.

**jb1677** · 07-07-2012, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajf

When you added the grain to the strike water did you stir really well to break up the dough balls? If not, that could explain the poor efficiency. I've never tried BIAB, but I also think that you would need a great deal of dunking (or even another stir of the grains in the bag to dissolve the sugars trapped in the grains.

-a.

I stired well, made sure there were no clumps at all - a nice slightly watery oatmeal consistency.

I dunked the bag numerous times, then stirred with it sumberged in the sparge water and let it sit for 10 minutes.

chmarkham · 07-07-2012, 11:42 PM

Yesterday I attempted a partial mash for the first time, I ended up missing my OG by a mile (target 1.067, actual 1.053). My calculated efficiency was ~30%. My method was not traditional and I am sure was the cause but I dot get exactly why.

efficiency is measured pre boil gravity after the mash

**jb1677** · 07-08-2012, 03:21 PM

After thinking about this a lot more than I probably should I came up with two other potential issues.

1. Testing my hydrometer with distilled water I came up with varying numbers. It became evident that dropping it in and waiting for it to settle could produce a consistent yet wrong reading. Dunking it with my finger and letting it bob back to a stable place too resulted in inacurate readings. I found that spinning it in the tube and allowing it to come to rest consistently produced a 1.000 reading. So its entirely possible my reading was wrong from teh start by a few points.

2. The Melanoiden, Carafoam and Caramel were all orderd crushed in 1lb increments. I only needed 1/2 lb of each so I split the lb by volume using a measuring cup - its entirely possible that I got more hulls and less seed. This would not account for the huge miss but could play a part.

I am thinking in the end there is no single answer, the two items above in conjunction with an elevated volume of wort probably all played into the "miss".

I am going to try brewing again real soon using grain crushed same day, and pre-measured before crushing along with very strict gravity and water measurements along the way along with adjusting my burner so that I end up boiling off exactly what I planned to do (its amazing how much I can vary boiloff by simply boiling more vigorously)

**Bobby_M** · 07-08-2012, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chmarkham

efficiency is measured pre boil gravity after the mash

What gives you that impression? You can measure efficiency at three distinct portions of the process.. in the mash, in the kettle preboil and in the fermenter. They all tell you important things about the process if you're in troubleshooting mode.

chmarkham · 07-08-2012, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby_M

What gives you that impression? You can measure efficiency at three distinct portions of the process.. in the mash, in the kettle preboil and in the fermenter. They all tell you important things about the process if you're in troubleshooting mode.

brewhouse efficiency is how much sugar you get out of the grain mash and pre boil gravity is the same thing. og and fg is different then brewhouse efficiency

Gartywood · 07-08-2012, 09:47 PM

I thought that was mash efficiency and brew house efficiency was how much sugar got to the fermenter.

Denny · 07-08-2012, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gartywood

I thought that was mash efficiency and brew house efficiency was how much sugar got to the fermenter.

You are correct.

**BrewKnurd** · 07-09-2012, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chmarkham

brewhouse efficiency is how much sugar you get out of the grain mash and pre boil gravity is the same thing. og and fg is different then brewhouse efficiency

Brewhouse efficiency is the percentage of potential sugar that makes it into the fermenter. Mash efficiency is the percentage of potential sugar that makes it into your kettle, which is what you seem to be referring to.