Efficiency up 6%

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Teaman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2010
Messages
155
Reaction score
2
Location
Valley Of The Sun
Just a note on my last batch and of course any responses are appreciated.

My last batch I was shooting for about 151F for mash and after I stirred the grains in I was at 154F. In the end I stirred the mash about 6-8 times during the first 10-12 minutes to bring it down to my target temp. I've never had to do this before. With no further stirring and a 90 minute mash I hit 81.5% efficiency. My norm is 74-75%.

I have read about stirring during mash at 20-30 min intervals but have never read anything about this as a technique. I always do batch sparging with 2 runs of near equal proportions.

I realize that there are many variables but I just thought I'd share my latest experience in case anyone else has done this or wants to try it. I am going to overshoot temp again on my next batch to see if I get similiar results.
 
mashing higher will not effect your efficiency, only your fermentability. the extra stirring probably helped spread the enzymes tho
 
I experienced a bit of the same. I've been stirring with a big spoon, however, and had noticed variation when I move the probe around different areas of the mash. Some suggested I shouldn't see this, so perhaps we are not stirring well enough. I was running a bit high on temp with a new recipe, and I did the same, stirred for the first 10 minutes with the top open to get it down. Got better efficency on a big grain bill as I usually get with smaller grain bill. So the stirring is the only factor I believe would have made the difference.

Best solution really is to get a good mash paddle, I think.....
 
Teaman... I found out the same thing in a different way. I use a cooler for my mash vessel. I now heat my strike water to 11° above what Beersmith tells me to and dump the hot water into the cooler. Put on the lid and let the cooler preheat for 10 minutes. When I add my grains I am able to spend more time stirring without a fear that my mash temp will drop too low. I... IMO wasted too much time with the somewhat conventional wisdom of grain crush as the answer to increasing efficiency. I "crushed till I was scared". The real answer to me was "stir the heck out of the mash" my efficiency had similar results.
 
I noticed a similar jump when I stirred the heck out of each of my batch sparges. I'm going to overshoot my mash temp a few degrees now too so that I don't have to worry about cooling below my target temp as I stir. Thanks for sharing!
 
If you guys have the ability to recirculate, I would suggest that. REALLY helps efficiency imo. I consistently get 93-96% efficiency w/recirculation and a 50-60 min (fly) sparge.

Oh, and I also stir my mash often as well. But I never stir within the last 15-20 min.
 
Back
Top