Calculating Efficiency??

natelindner · Feb 26, 2013

Hi all,

I'm brand new to brewing and I have a quick question regarding mashing. I have a recipe for an American Amber Ale. I am actually only doing a one gallon batch to begin with just to see if I like it (do not judge, I also don't have a big mash tun yet) so my first question is: if I am going to be boiling for an hour afterwards how much wort should I have before boiling? 2 gallons? Based on the volume of the wort I am able to mess around with my grain amounts to calculate predicted OG. However, that predicted OG also depends on "efficiency". How can I tell what my efficiency is going to be? I don't want to put a bunch of grain in assuming I'm going to get 70% efficiency then end up getting 90% and ending up with an OG of like 1.1! Please help!

FearKnowBeer · Feb 26, 2013

I do not know if you can tell what your efficiency is going to be. I just did my first all grain and just assumed 70% which i came close to. I think you are going to get alot of their are too many variables. How vigorous a boil, the grind of your grain, etc.

What i have done with extract/all grain recipes i have used from this site is. Keep it clean, hit your temps, and be accurate with time.

jethro55 · Feb 26, 2013

Mash efficiency is a comparison of actual measured OG to the maximum attainable OG. Maximum attainable comes from look-up tables.

Here is a good example to use:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12-5.html

Pie_Man · Feb 26, 2013

Efficiency on your system will involve some trial and error. 70% is a great starting point, you're not going to get 90%, nor do you really want to, so don't worry about that.

To determine your boil off rate, I would boil 1.5-2 gallons of water for an hour and see how much is remaining. Your boil off rate is likely between .25 -.5 gallons per hour.

ThaBrewFather06 · Feb 26, 2013

70% is where I'd start brewing Is a lot of trial and error so estimate at 70 and see how it goes 90% probably won't happen especially on your first run. Don't worry about it, and have fun.

kaconga · Feb 26, 2013

I would be more concerned about getting lower efficiency. You don't want to expect 70 and end up with 50. Remember that you can always dilute with some water if you overshoot your OG. Undershooting will require either malt extract or a longer boil which will mean a smaller batch size.

helibrewer · Feb 26, 2013

natelindner said:
Hi all,

I'm brand new to brewing and I have a quick question regarding mashing. I have a recipe for an American Amber Ale. I am actually only doing a one gallon batch to begin with just to see if I like it (do not judge, I also don't have a big mash tun yet) so my first question is: if I am going to be boiling for an hour afterwards how much wort should I have before boiling? 2 gallons? Based on the volume of the wort I am able to mess around with my grain amounts to calculate predicted OG. However, that predicted OG also depends on "efficiency". How can I tell what my efficiency is going to be? I don't want to put a bunch of grain in assuming I'm going to get 70% efficiency then end up getting 90% and ending up with an OG of like 1.1! Please help!

Read this when you get a chance, it's very informative: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency

Calculating Efficiency??

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