Hey folks! I have been lurking here for about a year now, and I finally have a question that I cannot find answered already. I have a few all-grain batches under my belt, using a 7.5 gallon SS pot and converted 10 gallon igloo cooler MLT. With the two all grain batches I have done, I have gotten very poor efficiency (in the 45-55% range). I think I have nailed down WHY my efficiency was low. During the sparging stage I would just open the ball valve on the tun all the way, and let it run off very quickly. From research I have found out that I should be draining at about 1 qt/minute, and very quick draining will yield a low sugar extraction from the grains.
My question is this - With my next attempt I was planning on taking a very simple IPA recipe and adjusting the grain bill for my low efficiency. Now that I have found a good potential reason for my low efficiency, would you all recommend sticking with a grain bill based on a 75% efficiency? Otherwise, if I do go with the larger grain bill and the slower draining does increase my efficiency dramatically, I will have a much higher OG (and would in turn need to also go with a high attenuating yeast.)
I appreciate the opinions!
My question is this - With my next attempt I was planning on taking a very simple IPA recipe and adjusting the grain bill for my low efficiency. Now that I have found a good potential reason for my low efficiency, would you all recommend sticking with a grain bill based on a 75% efficiency? Otherwise, if I do go with the larger grain bill and the slower draining does increase my efficiency dramatically, I will have a much higher OG (and would in turn need to also go with a high attenuating yeast.)
I appreciate the opinions!