Calculate Efficiency

First time doing this so a helping hand would help.
Done a couple all-grain,but i kept forgetting to take a hydro-Measurement.
And tired of buds asking how much alcohol.
Grains are
11.5 pounds pale two-row malt
1.5 pounds crystal 120
After Cooling
Hydo shows 1.070 at 78*.
Recipe States SG at 1.070
So iam good here..
Is there a calculator,some were, that i can plug "Grain bill+SG/OG"
And give me my efficiency

Well, you need some volumes too of course. Wander over to TastyBrew for a fine set of brewing calculators.

+1 for TastyBrew they have great calculators there..

Hi Double-R,

I usually use this on-line calculator:

http://dd26943.com/davesdreaded/tools/convert.htm

It allow you to calculate SG at different termeratures of your wart (which is very important just before the boil that allow you to see if you need any adjustments) and also give you the potential Alcohol by Volume. It is very easy to use.

It also estimates the calories in a 12oz bottle/glass of your brew.

Hope this helps,

Trip

Thank you....
So After adding, Pre and Post boil water #'s,and "OG "and grain amounts.
It gave me a 88 percent efficiency...
Could this be right.. Am i missing something
Gravity Calculator
Maximum Potential Gravity
Calculated for Efficiency of 100 %
Boil Gravity: 1.063 (Calculated for 7.5 gallons)
Orig Gravity: 1.079 (Calculated for 6 gallons)
Estimated Color
SRM 14 Approximate Color

Color will vary due to the estimation made in these calculations and the color settings on your monitor.

Efficiency
Actual Gravity: ( 1.070 - 1 ) * 1000 = 70 points
Potential Gravity: ( 1.079 - 1 ) * 1000 = 79.2 points
Efficiency: 70.0 / 79.2 * 100 = 88.4 %

well, at 78* and assuming your hydrometer is calibrated to 60* your actual post boil gravity is 1.072. This would actually be a little higher than 88%. I've never actually figured out efficiency this way as beersmith does it for me. But assuming your method is correct your actual efficiency is 90.9%. I'd be damn proud of that number if I were you. I'll run the grain bill and numbers through beersmith quick and see what it spits out.

I'm not sure how beersmith calculates efficiency but beersmith calculates 102% into boiler and 93.4% post boil. I'd maybe check your volumes but your method of calculating efficiency seems accurate. As an example let's assume you by mistake actually only boiled 7 gallons down to 5.5. This changes your efficiency numbers to 94.5% into the boiler and 85.7% post boil. I don't want, in any way, for you to take this the wrong way, just want to help you make sure your accurate. In my very humble opinion efficiency is only as important as it's lack of variance from batch to batch. I regularly hit 73% efficiency every batch. Yes, I'd love that number to be higher because honestly who wouldn't want to be more efficient (choose your reason here) but I'm more proud that it is the same every batch because that means I can confidently design beers knowing how much grain I need to hit a certain gravity at a certain volume and don't have to make any adjustment later. I guess to summarize, tracking efficiency is only useful to predict future efficiency. My bet is that your still making great beers whatever your efficiency is.

Thanks to all
Didnt know about calibrating hydo
So that could be throwing it off
Next time.. Going to keep a closer eye on water #'s

Unless you are under strict or precise guidelines to hit your numbers to the 5th decimal, getting your calculations close is good enough for some great beers. Most home brewers' equipment works quite well.

As you can see by my signature, I am trying to get close to a few clones that I love but I know I will never get the exact taste as some of the masters do. But my beers are close enough to stand up to those commercial brewers...so they are good enough for me...

Happy brewing...

Trip