Efficiency

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Efficiency is the difference between the theoretical maximum amount of gravity points you can get from your grain in a mash and sparge and the actual amount that you actually get.

Most people get somewhere between 50 - 80% efficiency. Your efficiency depends on many factors like the type and crush of the grain, your mash (thickness and temperature) and your sparge.

The link provided above is a good one.
 
yeah, read the wiki...read howtobrew.com

you're probably not ready for all-grain if you don't have the knowledge.

I was partial mashing for months before i did my first all-grain and i still made mistakes. 2nd batch was much better, but i've read several books and even more online resources so i had the info, just not the expertise.
 
sboro33 said:
I am going from partial grain and extract. Also, I am going to attemp my first AG.

awesome. do make sure you have all the equipment first, including a wort chiller if you're going to do a full boil (boiling 6.5 gallons down to 5gallons for primary).

turkey fryers, cooler mash tuns...its not too expensive, unless you want it to be. set the budget first.

I usually suggest getting one or two extract brews, with steeping grains, under your belt. That helps you get all your sanitizing down pat. Then you can add in the complexity of mashing grain for fermentables. Once you can do that, you can do all grain as long as you have the means to boil the entire batch, and then cool it quickly.

brewing from grain...its very gratifying. If I had land, I would grow hops, and if I had a workshop, I'd learn how to roast my own malt.
 
sboro33 said:
I am going from partial grain and extract. Also, I am going to attemp my first AG.

two pointers:

1) start with steep/extract, treat it like a partial mash.

Say you got half a pound of Crystal 40. Try steeping it at exactly 155°. It won't matter if you miss by even 20°F, because there aren't any diastatic enzymes in Crystal 40 to actually convert any sugar. The steep will be fine. Then sparge it, lauter it, taste it, keep an eye on the SG coming out of whatever you are using for a lauter tun. Keep going until your runnings really do taste astringent, just dont put that crap in your real beer.

Once you can run a steep like a partial mash confidently, do a partial mash or two, confidently.

2) You can do all AG in the kitchen with a 5 gallon kettle. It is just a PITA. With a 5 gal brew kettle and a pillow cased sized nylon grain bag I can handle ~about~ 5# of grain comfortably. Sometimes that means I only have a couple gallons in the fermenter to pitch yeast on, but I am practicing my technique and making beer good enough to share with other home brewers, with about $15 in equipment beyond the basic dump and stir starter kit.
 
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