6 row malt

[Thejiro]

So in my experiences the higher gravity beers mosylt people go to make the worse the efficiency. My question is would it be possible to increase the efficiency, of an imperial stout or iipa or any other imperial type, by using a percentage of 6 row malt as part of the base malts. Asking due to 6 rows greater diastatic power over 2 row.

Tia
Ken

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

No. Two row typically has a higher extract yield with less protein than 6 row.

The diastatic power of 6 row is best utilized when a high ratio of non diastatic adjuncts are included and need to be converted.

The reduced efficiency many see in connection to bigger beers is due to limitations of their lauterability.

 

[Thejiro]

Ok thank you for the reply i was just considering ways to improve the efficiency of my higher gravity beers.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Ok thank you for the reply i was just considering ways to improve the efficiency of my higher gravity beers.

How are you lautering?

If you are fly sparging, you may be channeling. Maybe try batch sparge.

If you are batch sparging, maybe try a really slow fly sparge.

 

[Thejiro]

I just have a mash screen in the bottom of a converted keg as my mash tun and i fly sparge. I use a pump to drain the wort from the tun to the kettle. There is a ball valve underneath the screen that is used to drain the mash.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Hmm. Maybe you are sparging too quickly.

I have a very similar setup and consistently get 80%+. Even with a Rye stout that came in at 1.130 OG.

I'd typically sparge for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.

 

[sweetcell]

it would depend on what the source of the inefficiency is, but it's likely not a lack of DP. mashing 10 lbs of 2 row into 15 quarts of water, vs. mashing 15 lbs into 22.5 qts, will yield the same DP. for a stout or IIPA you might use darker malts for flavor and color - those don't need to be converted, so you need less DP.

 

[Lennie]

Efficiency typically goes down because more grain holds more water, and that water holds sugar. If you collect a normal preboil amount of wort, theres more sugar left behind when more grain is used. If you can stand a longer boil, you can get just as good of efficiency.

 

[Thejiro]

Yea i just switched to the fly sparge set up so i havent actually done a high gravity brew as of yet im getting ready to do one soon. Also ive noticed a nice increase in efficiency since fly sparging pretty slowly taking about an hour. This was a question i was pondering for a while now and ive got my answer