Low efficiency

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eyalius

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Hi.
Unexpected low efficiency in my last brew.

Stout, grain bill 3.920 kg - 3kg pale ale, 420 gr roasted barley, 250 gr chocolate, 250 Caramel 150, 0.5kg oatmeal.
Tmp 67 c, 60 minutes.

Why???
 
Could be lots of things. Could be crush of grain, could be your brew house isn't dialed in, could be how your mashing. What's your process?
 
Have you done this recipe before with different results?

You have a fair amount of non-base malt so maybe you just needed more time to get the grain to convert.

what kind of oats did you use? I believe you need the instant oats if you dont do a cereal mash.
 
Did you perform an iodine mash conversion test?

Mash conversion is determined by:

Temperatures - conversion occurs from low 140s to low 160s however the extreme ends of the range are only useful to tweak wort not fully convert it.

Enzyme activity - deeply linked to temperatures and the types of grain used. Rarely is to little enzyme an issue.

Time - if your mash is off in one of the other factors, extra time usually helps.

Crush - the ability of enzymes in solution to gain access to carbohydrates in the grain. Stirring helps.

pH - determined by water and grains used, augmented by adding distilled water and/or brewing salts.
 
The same guy who does it every time. The same process exectly

It might be the same process exactly but the adjustment may not have been exactly the same. It may have been adjusted differently or it may have worn to a larger gap. It doesn't take much change there to greatly affect the efficiency of your brew. That's why a bunch of us have our own mills.
 
We need a lot more information.

Recipe, strike volume, sparge volume. Exactly how you sparged, if you did. Measured gravity, measured volume, and what temp it was when you measured. How did you mash. How did you stir. If you sparged, we'll need to get the first runnings gravity and volume as well, in order to calculate the conversion efficiency. Did you use any mash chemistry software? How is your water? (PS: Good is not an adequate answer.)
 
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