woodbutcher
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- Oct 27, 2012
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let me first say i dont want to be beating a dead horse (too late) .... but i have searched up and down and cant figure out why my brewhouse % is so low . i dont have a problem hitting my estimated OG, and i make good beer, i just have to buy a bit more grain .
but i am the type that likes to know 'why and how' things are working how they are....
so i will start from the beginning.
I have been using beersmith 2 for 5 months now and it works great ... but I just can’t figure something out.
My 'mash efficiency' is usually good from the crush I get from the local beer store, 78-82%, but my 'brewhouse efficiency' is consistently at 64%. I know the percentage since this is how I hit my post boil OGs accurately. I adjust it to 64% so I buy enough grain.
I think it has to do with fermenter losses etc, but let me tell you the equipment I have and I will let you decide.
I am an all grain brewer that makes 5.5 gallon batches with a single infusion mash, batch sparge.
My mash tun is a 70 quart stand up cooler with a 3 tube copper manifold in the bottom. Works great and only lose about .10 from deadspace when draining.
Steps are as follows:
Preheat tun with 1/2 gallon of water for about 20 minutes and then dump.
Heat strike water +13 degrees, dump in tun, stir in grain slowly, and mix well until desired mash temp is achieved.
I let it let sit for 60 minutes and I lose maybe 1 degree. I then vorlauf about 1/2 gallon, pour over grain bed nicely, and then full open drain the tun.
While mash water is draining (5-7 minutes), I have heated up sparge water to 170 degrees. I then add the sparge water, stir it up and let it sit for 15 minutes, vorlauf, then drain.
For a brew kettle, I have a 16" diameter 60 qt (15gal) aluminum big pasta pot with a valve and dip tube running along the sidewall.
My runnings from the mash tun cooler are always spot on with my preboil volume estimates. My mash PPG is always 27-31.
of course , beersmith’s 'estimated preboil gravity' is always wrong since the program thinks I will have like 71% mash efficiency due to my low inputted brewhouse efficiency. . .
It takes me about 20 minutes to go to a full boil from let’s say 140 degree mash water. I consistently set the propane knob to a spot where the BTUs coming out make a rolling boil... not too much.
I start the 60 minute timer right when it first boils, and then add my ingredients. My hot break is so short (foams up for a bit, lower burner, stir for 10 seconds, and resume boil as usual), that I start the timer right when I see the first rolling boil.
The pot will boil off 1.45 gallons in 60 minutes. This may this may tell you how low or high my burner is. It’s a big pot though.
I wort chill and its 65 degrees in 30 minutes with my copper chiller, then whirlpool, let sit for 20 minutes, and then drain off into a strainer that sits on top of my primary bucket.
I have about .45-.50 gallons of waste in the bottom of the kettle that’s left. Not too bad for a 16" diameter pot I think.
Midway through draining the kettle I take an OG sample. And that’s it.
Sorry it’s so long I just want to be thorough. Let me know what you think.
Thanks.
but i am the type that likes to know 'why and how' things are working how they are....
so i will start from the beginning.
I have been using beersmith 2 for 5 months now and it works great ... but I just can’t figure something out.
My 'mash efficiency' is usually good from the crush I get from the local beer store, 78-82%, but my 'brewhouse efficiency' is consistently at 64%. I know the percentage since this is how I hit my post boil OGs accurately. I adjust it to 64% so I buy enough grain.
I think it has to do with fermenter losses etc, but let me tell you the equipment I have and I will let you decide.
I am an all grain brewer that makes 5.5 gallon batches with a single infusion mash, batch sparge.
My mash tun is a 70 quart stand up cooler with a 3 tube copper manifold in the bottom. Works great and only lose about .10 from deadspace when draining.
Steps are as follows:
Preheat tun with 1/2 gallon of water for about 20 minutes and then dump.
Heat strike water +13 degrees, dump in tun, stir in grain slowly, and mix well until desired mash temp is achieved.
I let it let sit for 60 minutes and I lose maybe 1 degree. I then vorlauf about 1/2 gallon, pour over grain bed nicely, and then full open drain the tun.
While mash water is draining (5-7 minutes), I have heated up sparge water to 170 degrees. I then add the sparge water, stir it up and let it sit for 15 minutes, vorlauf, then drain.
For a brew kettle, I have a 16" diameter 60 qt (15gal) aluminum big pasta pot with a valve and dip tube running along the sidewall.
My runnings from the mash tun cooler are always spot on with my preboil volume estimates. My mash PPG is always 27-31.
of course , beersmith’s 'estimated preboil gravity' is always wrong since the program thinks I will have like 71% mash efficiency due to my low inputted brewhouse efficiency. . .
It takes me about 20 minutes to go to a full boil from let’s say 140 degree mash water. I consistently set the propane knob to a spot where the BTUs coming out make a rolling boil... not too much.
I start the 60 minute timer right when it first boils, and then add my ingredients. My hot break is so short (foams up for a bit, lower burner, stir for 10 seconds, and resume boil as usual), that I start the timer right when I see the first rolling boil.
The pot will boil off 1.45 gallons in 60 minutes. This may this may tell you how low or high my burner is. It’s a big pot though.
I wort chill and its 65 degrees in 30 minutes with my copper chiller, then whirlpool, let sit for 20 minutes, and then drain off into a strainer that sits on top of my primary bucket.
I have about .45-.50 gallons of waste in the bottom of the kettle that’s left. Not too bad for a 16" diameter pot I think.
Midway through draining the kettle I take an OG sample. And that’s it.
Sorry it’s so long I just want to be thorough. Let me know what you think.
Thanks.