High Efficiency

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Sherpa FE

Sherpa FE

The < 1% Club
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Is a God da$n myth.....
For all you people getting mid 70's, 80's and 90's KISS MY ARSE....

I mean I follow all the steps here and it doesnt work.
You say add 5.2, I add it, and it doesnt work.
You say check thermometer calibratiion and I do, it doesnt work.
You say sparge at 185 degrees, I do, and whaddya know it DOESNT work.
You say, crush, crush, crush, I crush at .030" on a BC, and guess what??? It dont work for ****e....
You say, dont sparge valve full open, I dont... and it doesnt work.
You say sparge longer, I do..and it doenst work
You say, stir alot etween sparge's and I do....OMG, guess what IT DIDNT WORK...



So I say SCREW IT!!! I make good tasting beer and my frineds like it and I get druck drinking it.... I DONT CARE WHAT MY EFF IS!!!!! IT STILL MAKES BEER.
GOT IT>????

Whew...I feel a little better. I think I need another beer. " HEY WIFE....BEER ME!!"
 
You remembered to do the magical efficiency dance, right?

It's ok, it will just take me less grain to make the same product.:D It doesn't make you any less of a brewer.
 
Well, I have been able to move from high 50's to mid 70's.
My pocketbook can deal with adjusting to lower eff, so yea. If you like the beer you make, don't worry about it and have a dam.. homebrew.
 
Sherpa FE said:
Is a God da$n myth.....
For all you people getting mid 70's, 80's and 90's KISS MY ARSE....

I mean I follow all the steps here and it doesnt work.
You say add 5.2, I add it, and it doesnt work.
You say check thermometer calibratiion and I do, it doesnt work.
You say sparge at 185 degrees, I do, and whaddya know it DOESNT work.
You say, crush, crush, crush, I crush at .030" on a BC, and guess what??? It dont work for ****e....
You say, dont sparge valve full open, I dont... and it doesnt work.
You say sparge longer, I do..and it doenst work
You say, stir alot etween sparge's and I do....OMG, guess what IT DIDNT WORK...



So I say SCREW IT!!! I make good tasting beer and my frineds like it and I get druck drinking it.... I DONT CARE WHAT MY EFF IS!!!!! IT STILL MAKES BEER.
GOT IT>????

Whew...I feel a little better. I think I need another beer. " HEY WIFE....BEER ME!!"
Click to expand...

Here is a question, are you sure you are doing the equations correctly, I have seen people do what I think are simple brewing equations before and come up with some completely wacky numbers. I am just saying check your math, and the high efficency people should probably do the same, they could be messing up their math as well.
 
well I guess you've explored the most common stuff: getting a water report, checking your equipment design against stuff other people have working well, calibrating thermos, grain crush (too fine a crush can cause channeling and drop your eff)

some things Ive learned, make sure the lautertun is perfectly level this makes a bigger difference than you might think, a slow steady runoff while fly sparging is really important, you can always collect a larger boil volume and boil it down for a while before adding hops, this takes longer and might result in a little bit more caramelization but shouldnt have a huge effect and can help raise efficiency if the sparge is the problem.
 
I'm trying to raise my eff. too. But in the long run what is a 5-10%, all of $2 on a 20 lb grain bill? Thats not worth a longer boil at todays fuel prices or my time and frustration. I plug along and every few brews change one thing at a time so I can determine if it was fluke or fact. Don't let it bother you too much. RDWHAHB. I've slowly raised my eff. from 58 to 76% and since I recently reduced MLT, BK and chiller loss deadspace by over 1.5 gallons think it may jump drastically. I'm really looking forward to the next several brews.
 
Donasay said:
Here is a question, are you sure you are doing the equations correctly, I have seen people do what I think are simple brewing equations before and come up with some completely wacky numbers. I am just saying check your math, and the high efficency people should probably do the same, they could be messing up their math as well.
Click to expand...

I use beer tools pro to calculate but I've also done the math for giggles. They line up +/- 1%.

It's so true that there's literally only a $2-3 difference per 5 gallon batch between 70 and 85% efficiency.
 
Donasay said:
Here is a question, are you sure you are doing the equations correctly, I have seen people do what I think are simple brewing equations before and come up with some completely wacky numbers. I am just saying check your math, and the high efficency people should probably do the same, they could be messing up their math as well.
Click to expand...


Pretty sure that this is not an issue, I am using Beer Smith, I know the old addage, gargabe in, garbaage out, BUT I am very meticulous with my measurements. (just not sooo much with my spelling). :D
 
k1v1116 said:
some things Ive learned, make sure the lautertun is perfectly level this makes a bigger difference than you might think.
Click to expand...

Check, MLT is level.

k1v1116 said:
a slow steady runoff while fly sparging is really important.
Click to expand...

Check, I batch sparge. Dont think that I am getting chanelling.

I appreciate all the tips, keep em coming, bound to get it right somehow.
 
Sherpa, surely you fly into Dover, DE from time to time. Next time let me know and I'll show you how I get 90+ everytime. Matter of fact, when I started brewing, I brewed with recipes set to "mid" level efficiency. My OGs always ended up WAY high. It took me a while to realize/admit that my efficiency is high. I've even tried to tempt fate by sparging quickly (valve open full-bore) and I just can't seem to get under 90.:(
 
menschmaschine said:
Sherpa, surely you fly into Dover, DE from time to time. Next time let me know and I'll show you how I get 90+ everytime. Matter of fact, when I started brewing, I brewed with recipes set to "mid" level efficiency. My OGs always ended up WAY high. It took me a while to realize/admit that my efficiency is high. I've even tried to tempt fate by sparging quickly (valve open full-bore) and I just can't seem to get under 90.:(
Click to expand...


Damn dude, that sucks...but I guess we all have our little crosses to bear...LOL
:D
 
wow, when you are hitting 50% thats pretty sad IMO. I get 70-80 all the time and I batch sparge
 

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