First AG, 60% Efficiency... Any tips?

[BrookdaleBrew]

Used the BIAB technique, which I know isn't going to get me 80%, but I was hoping to bring it up to at least 70%.

This was a Kolsch and I used 10lbs of grain. Mashed at 149 for 90 minutes, then sparged in the brew kettle with 170 degree water for about 20 minutes.

The only thing I didn't do was stir during the mash, which I meant to do, but forgot about.

Any other tips for those of us that want to try AG, but don't have the money to invest in more expensive equipment?

 

[Nanobru]

Brew in a bag? Your probably at the best youll get. Stirring should help allittle, but with out the grains freely in suspension, thats about it. Luckily, all you have to do is use more grain, which is cheaper than more equipment.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Yeah, I figured as much. I've heard of people getting close to 80% using that technique though. I was just wondering if I was missing something.

 

[7HockeyDad]

I'm sure that stirring the mash 2-3 times would bump that up a bit. Without stirring, I would be concerned about even temperatures in the mash. If it was mashed in too much or too little water, that will also affect efficiency as the enzymes won't be able to effectively work as well and convert the starches.

Did you have between 1 to 1.5 Qts per pound of grain? I'm not sure how that works out with BIAB as I have never used that method. My comments are based on my experience and reading I have done with AG and insulated mash tun.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Yep, I used approximately 1.2 quarts of water per pound of grain.

 

[motobrewer]

i just got 63% on my last AG batch and I cooler-mash. but, this was using Northern Brewer's crush, which i've noticed isn't so good. BW3's I usually get into the 70's.

i'm thinking using Ice Mountain Spring water is probably my problem. but my ground water (on a well...) is so terrible I can't use it, and the water from my tap (after the softner) has so much sodium its insane. i'm gonna try some mash stabilizer next time.

to answer your question, i believe 60% from BIAB is what you'd expect. I did one BIAB and it was about that.

As far as equipment, you're only a picnic cooler away from a full setup.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Yeah, I may just suck it up and spring for a 10 gallon picnic cooler.

 

[pjk49202]

FWIW, I was getting anywhere from 63-70 the first few ag batches I did. I decided to buy a mill and my next batch was 80. There are obviously many factors that go into your effiency, but mine got a little better w/ being able to mill my own grains. I wouldn't worry too much about 60. Just keep on brewing!

 

[dcp27]

Yeah, I figured as much. I've heard of people getting close to 80% using that technique though. I was just wondering if I was missing something.

You can definitely get 80+% efficiency with BIAB. In the 7 I've done with it, I only got less than 80% once, and that was 74%. I stir it about every 10mins though to make sure my temps are consistent throughout

 

[weirdboy]

I get better efficiency with BIAB than I do in my cooler MLT. The only reason I don't use it all the time is because I only use BIAB for smaller grain bills.

I think 1.2qt/lb is a little on the light side. You didn't really get into your entire procedure, but my guess is you are either not stirring enough when you mash in, or you aren't stirring enough when you sparge, or you aren't getting all the wort out when you sparge (e.g. squeezing the bag, letting it drain into another pot that you recombine with the contents of the BK).

 

[Bobby_M]

Yeah, describe your process in more detail. When you say that you sparged in the kettle, how did you do that exactly?

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

I mashed in a different pot, heated about 5 gallons of sparge water in the brew kettle to 170 and turned off the burner. I picked the bag up out of the makeshift mash tun, let the bag drip for a bit, then transfered it to the sparge water in the brew kettle. I then stirred quite a bit after remembering that I forgot to stir while mashing. I probably stirred once every 5 minutes for the 20 minute sparge. After that I picked the bag up and teabagged it in the sparge water a few times then held it and let it drip until the drops were so far inbetween that I felt satisfied I wasn't getting anymore benefit from holding 10lbs of wet grain over the pot, hahahaha.

Next time I'll up my strike water to 1.5 quarts/pound and make sure and stir every 10 minutes or so during the mash.