High mash efficiency

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dogslapbrewery

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Started playing with my pH last Couple of batches and my efficiency have been mid 90's. I've figured it out my self and using different online calculators so I'm pretty positive its correct. My last batch I got 7.5 gallons at 1.049 which turned out to be 95%. I took gravity runnings at the end and I was only low at 1.020, pretty much my question is I heard you wanna be between 80-85 and to high will start extracting off flavors. I haven't noticed anything and also I wasn't at 1.010. Is this something I should watch?
 
Started playing with my pH last Couple of batches and my efficiency have been mid 90's. I've figured it out my self and using different online calculators so I'm pretty positive its correct. My last batch I got 7.5 gallons at 1.049 which turned out to be 95%. I took gravity runnings at the end and I was only low at 1.020, pretty much my question is I heard you wanna be between 80-85 and to high will start extracting off flavors. I haven't noticed anything and also I wasn't at 1.010. Is this something I should watch?

90% efficiency is quite hard to get. Did you get someone to review your numbers/math?

MC
 
I've plugged it into efficiency calculators where you select how many lbs and type of grab, total yield gallons and points
 
Is my brew house just that awesome or am I messing up the math?

Mashed with 4 gallons at 151 degrees 60m 1.53lbs/qt
Batched sparged with 3 gallons at 170 degrees and then fly sparged 1.5 gallons on top of the batch sparge.
 
Is my brew house just that awesome or am I messing up the math?

Mashed with 4 gallons at 151 degrees 60m 1.53lbs/qt
Batched sparged with 3 gallons at 170 degrees and then fly sparged 1.5 gallons on top of the batch sparge.

How do you get efficiency without providing the number of pounds of grain and the final volume?

MC
 
Points x gallons ÷ lbs= x
49x7.5÷10.5=35
35÷37=95%

9.5 lbs- two row
1lb - crystal 20

So, just to be clear, 1.049 was the gravity of your 7.5 gallons of runoff, and NOT the OG of your post-boil wort?

If so, then yes, you are getting 94.5% efficiency. How does it taste?

What doesn't make sense is how your final runnings could still be 1.020, which means you're leaving a LOT of sugar behind, which can't be if you're getting 94.5% efficiency. I'd have to chalk it up to a measuring tool problem. Calibrate your hydrometer?
 
I was concerned about high efficiency and less flavors, not off flavors. Less malt = less potential flavor. I have not problems with off flavors and my efficiency runs in the low to mid 90's. No problems with off flavors. The flavors I want are there after a little tweaking - I upped the specialty malts a little and backed off on the base malt to keep the ABV where I want it.
 
Yeah that's my PBG, but my hydrometer was reading 1.008 at around 135 would brings it up to 1.023 since its calibrated at 60 degrees. I didn't think of mixing a solution that I know its gravity to compare my hydrometer against. Good idea cause I'm sure that's gotta be it! Any know a good hydrometer calibration recipe? Or can I just use water and it should read 1.000?
 
Yes, distilled water should read 1.000. Also try cooling down any sample to below 80 F as hydrometers are pretty inaccurate above that, even with temp adjust calculators.
 
Distilled water at 60 degrees should read close to 1.000.

I use my refractometer to check the gravity, especially at higher temps. Easier to check the gravity "on the fly". But you need to check to see if its calibrated as well.

I also have an all grain hydrometer that is calibrated at 155 degrees and I'll let it float in the brew kettle during the runoff. Purchased at Austin Homebrew.

Yeah that's my PBG, but my hydrometer was reading 1.008 at around 135 would brings it up to 1.023 since its calibrated at 60 degrees. I didn't think of mixing a solution that I know its gravity to compare my hydrometer against. Good idea cause I'm sure that's gotta be it! Any know a good hydrometer calibration recipe? Or can I just use water and it should read 1.000?
 
Looks like my hydrometer reads 3 points high and also taking the temp in hot wort I'm sure that puts me around high 80's which sounds about right, On the other hand how good are refractometer? I heard their only really good PBG since they pick up hop oils which will throw off your OG? The ATC is between 80-130? So you still need to cool your samples?
 
Looks like my hydrometer reads 3 points high and also taking the temp in hot wort I'm sure that puts me around high 80's which sounds about right, On the other hand how good are refractometer? I heard their only really good PBG since they pick up hop oils which will throw off your OG? The ATC is between 80-130? So you still need to cool your samples?

In my experience, my refractometer and hydrometer have agreed post-boil - if the hop oils do make a difference, it might take better equipment than I own to tell the difference. And if the oils made a difference, I'd think that same difference would show on the hydrometer as well. As to cooling the samples for an ATC refractometer, yes, you have to cool them, but it's the difference of cooling a pipette's worth of wort vs. a hydrometer flask's worth of wort.
 
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