Est. Mash, Brewhouse, and Total Efficiency

[danielofthedale]

I have thinking of switching to all grain to help reduce the cost of ingredients. To see what all is involved in all grain brewing I have watched some videos documenting the process and checked out some of the videos on beersmith to see how that program works too. In the videos and in beersmith I have seen Mash Efficiency, Brewhouse Efficiency, and Total Efficiency.

So my question is, and it might be stupid one, what are these three measurements and are any or all of them important to keep of track of and who do you get the measurements?

 

[mm1473]

If you go to this site and scroll down to the bottom it describes the different efficiencies and you can calculate them all by changing the values you input.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/brewhouse-efficiency/

As to which ever one is the most important I have no idea but I have see a few posts on here that prefer one over the other. I usually just change the values and calculate most of them. They are all usually no more than 5% off of each other so I kinda just average them to see how I did.

 

[chickypad]

This may be more info than you want but this thread from the beersmith forums is very helpful if you can wade through it. In the 3rd post @chiller links a pdf file that IMO is the most helpful. It describes the 2 main ways to set things up. I find the total efficiency very hard to work with, so I like the second method of using mash efficiency - but the way beersmith works you can't input the mash efficiency. The work around is you set the batch size for what you want your post boil volume in the kettle to be, set the loss to trub and chiller to zero, then the total efficiency (which you can input) equals your est. mash efficiency. I find it much easier to plan recipes and hit the numbers that way.

 

[RoundKid]

Best article I have found on understanding efficiency.


http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency

 

[danielofthedale]

Thanks for the great reference material guys! I will be sure to give them all a solid reading.

 

[larrybrewer]

At Brewer's Friend we have defined 4 types of efficiency. By having 4 types, it helps zero in on where the problem is. Throwing out the typical mash temp and pH adjustment 'advice', only addresses conversion efficiency.

Something as simple as leaving behind 2 quarts in the kettle impacts brew house efficiency by as much as 5% on a 5 gallon batch!

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Here is a link to our FAQ with lots more info: http://www.brewersfriend.com/faq/#recipes18

FWIW - Braukaiser has been a huge influence on our approach to efficiency, and he's a technical advisor to Brewer's Friend. His spreadsheet and our brewing tools match up.