SeanS86
Active Member
I've brewed 6 AG batches so far on my new equipment, and have consistently been getting 55% efficiency. I've tried different sparging methods, sparge times, mash times, and each time I only get 55%. My mash tun is a 15 gallon megapot with a false bottom, and initially I thought that my efficiency was low because there was a good deal of dead space underneath the false bottom and only about 3.5 gallons of water above it with the grain. I tried the same recipe with a bazooka screen, but got the same preboil OG. I thought it might be the grain crush, but I've now bought grain from 5 different online shops and have not seen any difference in my gravity readings between them. I'm not too familiar with water chemistry, and the first 2 batches I did not tamper with it and used spring water from the grocery store. Used the same water with 5 Star PH buffer, and no change in my gravity reading. I'm doing a batch now that had 16lbs of grain, and my preboil was 1056 after a 2 hour mash. Same reading before and after sparging. Second time doing this recipe, exact same preboil gravity. Water to grain was 1 to 1.33. Besides a consistently poor grain crush between stores or poor water PH I am really at a loss at to what could be effecting the efficiency so dramatically. The beer I'm making is fantastic beer, but I'd like to be getting 75% efficiency so I don't need to buy extra grain to account for the poor conversion. Any help would be very very appreciated.