How would you handle a giant efficiency jump?

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carnevoodoo

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So my efficiency has always been poor. I blame my technique more than anything, as people I know hit way higher efficiencies with grain from the same mill (which also happens to be a mill that a brewery uses.)

So the last two beers I made, I change my technique a bit and my efficiency jumped 11-12%. I was using my refractometer and when I checked my pre-boil gravity I was WAY up from my normal efficiency. So one of the beers was no big deal. An APA that just turned out bigger. Great.

The other was a hefe. I was shooting for close to 5% and after all was said and done I now have a 6.8% beer that's not really a hefe at all, so I am just calling it "beer". It is reasonably drinkable even though it is tart and tastes like a fruit salad.

I guess my big question is that the pre-boil gravity check worked great for an APA where I could just adjust my hops to make it bigger. What do you do with a beer where there's no bigger style? What adjustments would you make?
 
Add more water and make a bigger batch. Of course you might need a bigger or additonal fermenter.

Of course if your not going to enjoy the end result anyways, just dilute and throw away the extra (or save for yeast starters)
 
Agreed. Since you have a refractometer, you should be able to track how many GU's you've collected. Any leftover wort can be boiled without hops, then frozen for starters.
 
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