I've been trying to figure out how to properly calculate my brewhouse efficiency, and am concerned that my system/technique is very inefficient.
So I'm hoping that someone can give me an easy to understand calculation for determining efficiency, and then perhaps point out where, if anywhere, my system/technique is lacking.
I recently brewed the following recipe and expected an OG of at least 1.075, but wound up at 1.066 (it's still going to be a really good beer). But then I ran it through a calculator I found on the BYO website http://byo.com/resources/brewing, and found I should have hit 1.090.
Oatmeal Stout:
Maris Otter -- 15 lbs
Caramel 80 -- 2.5 lbs
Black Malt -- 0.5 lbs
Roasted Barley 0.5 lbs
Chocolate -- 0.5 lbs
Oatmeal -- 1.0 lb
1 tsp gypsum
I mashed in with strike water at 170 F, and hit a mash temp of 156. My mash tun is a rectangular Coleman cooler which is about 15 years old. My false bottom is a system of copper pipes with holes and slots cut into them.
I mashed for 1.5 hours, losing only about 4 degrees during the process. I then recirculated the wort through the grain for 25 minutes (manually, and I don't have sparge arms). I began my run off, adding 180 F sparge water throughout the nearly the entire run off. My first gravity was 1.096. Once I collected about 6 gallons, my last gravity was 1.020.
I boiled to for one hour, down to about 5.5 gallons, adding...
Columbus, AA 13.9%, 1 oz, at the start
US Goldings, AA 4.9%, 1 oz, for the last 15 minutes
Irish Moss, 1 tsp, half way through the boil.
I chilled down to 70F, and transferred not quite 5.25 gallons to my primary.
Again, my OG was 1.066, but I suspect it should be higher.
Suggestions, thoughts?
So I'm hoping that someone can give me an easy to understand calculation for determining efficiency, and then perhaps point out where, if anywhere, my system/technique is lacking.
I recently brewed the following recipe and expected an OG of at least 1.075, but wound up at 1.066 (it's still going to be a really good beer). But then I ran it through a calculator I found on the BYO website http://byo.com/resources/brewing, and found I should have hit 1.090.
Oatmeal Stout:
Maris Otter -- 15 lbs
Caramel 80 -- 2.5 lbs
Black Malt -- 0.5 lbs
Roasted Barley 0.5 lbs
Chocolate -- 0.5 lbs
Oatmeal -- 1.0 lb
1 tsp gypsum
I mashed in with strike water at 170 F, and hit a mash temp of 156. My mash tun is a rectangular Coleman cooler which is about 15 years old. My false bottom is a system of copper pipes with holes and slots cut into them.
I mashed for 1.5 hours, losing only about 4 degrees during the process. I then recirculated the wort through the grain for 25 minutes (manually, and I don't have sparge arms). I began my run off, adding 180 F sparge water throughout the nearly the entire run off. My first gravity was 1.096. Once I collected about 6 gallons, my last gravity was 1.020.
I boiled to for one hour, down to about 5.5 gallons, adding...
Columbus, AA 13.9%, 1 oz, at the start
US Goldings, AA 4.9%, 1 oz, for the last 15 minutes
Irish Moss, 1 tsp, half way through the boil.
I chilled down to 70F, and transferred not quite 5.25 gallons to my primary.
Again, my OG was 1.066, but I suspect it should be higher.
Suggestions, thoughts?