1st AG = 86% Efficiency --- Am I right?

My first AG was not perfect. I missed temps pretty bad on the mash with the target temp being 152 for 60 minutes but ended up dropping to around 145. Other than the temp issues, which I hope to get worked out on my next run, everything else ran smoothly.

I mash in a 50qt Coleman Cooler and boil in a 7.5 gal kettle and batch sparged.

Keep in mind I'm not even sure if I have the right formula to figure efficiency but here's my calculations:

10.5lbs of Grain
8lbs Pale 2 row - 38ppg
2lbs Vienna - 35ppg
8oz Crystal 10 - 35ppg

Pre-Boil Wort OG - 1.051
Wort collected - 6.5 gallons


8lbs x 38ppg = 296
2lbs x 35ppg = 70
.5lbs x 37 = 17.5
383.5/ 6.5 = 59

51/59 = 86%

What am I missing here? There's now way I got that high of efficiency

Temp issues are the worst. Either you hit your target temps or you don't.

However, as long as you stay between 139-159 for an hour, you'll get fermentables. That high efficiency is not abnormal for a first shot.

Your math is correct, although I thought 2-row was usually 36 ppg.

I have a very similar setup to you and normally get around 75% eff. But on one recent batch I got closer to 85%. I got the grain on that batch from a different shop, so I attribute it to the crush (it was pretty fine) and/or maybe he gave me a little more grain than I asked for.

Try a few more batches and you should be able to zero in on the average efficiency of your system. Make sure to take a hydro reading of the first runnings, which can tell you mash efficiency versus sparge efficiency.

Nice job though, nice to not have one more "1st AG nightmare..." thread.

StarCityBrewMaster said:

What am I missing here? There's now way I got that high of efficiency

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Why not? You only used 10.5 pounds of grain. Usually, the fewer grains you use, the better the efficiency you will get. I used something like 16 pounds of grains on my first AG and got ~79%.

Actually, missing your temp by that much may mean you had too much grain, as 2bluewagons has said, which would also indicate why you had such a high efficiency.

As far as the temp goes, did you preheat your mash tun?
I usually add around a gallon of hot tap water first. (120F or so), and then around 2 qt of boiling water and let it sit for at least 10 minutes to preheat the mash tun.
After that, the only temperature loss I see is when I open up the mash tun to stir.