Questions on new equipment for Brewhouse Efficiency

[ross3648]

I use a 10 gal rubbermaid with an SS braid, but replaced it with a SS false Bottom. I also purchased a Barley Crusher grain mill to crush my own grains.
I plan on leaving the grain mill at the factory setting for now.

I usually batch sparge and have a brewhouse Efficiency around 65 to 68 %

How much of an increase am I looking to gain with the mill and new false bottom? I see some members say they hit 75 % and higher

I'm brewing a Westvleteren 12 clone this Friday and don't want to screw this up.


Thanks for any suggestions on what I might get.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Changing both of those things might make it difficult to quantify your efficiency gains. I don't batch sparge so maybe someone who does will chime in but it seems with a braid you have no deadspace but with a FB you usually do so you might actually lose brewhouse efficiency due to the FB (depending on your FB arrangement).

The amount of efficiency gains you get just from the crush will depend on what your old crush was. If you were using HBS-crushed grains then your efficiency will almost certainly increase.

One thing you could do is to plan for a certain ballpark efficiency (say you chose 75%) and shoot for slightly lower OG than your recipe, then use some DME to dial in your exact, true OG. A half-pound or a pound of DME won't hurt anything. Or if you happen to end up with a high OG just dilute with water and reserve some extra wort for starters or something (freeze it to prevent spoilage).

 

[Bensiff]

I would do a test batch to gauge what your efficiency will be with the new components. Screwing up a big beer can be expensive.

 

[rhutter]

I agree with Bensiff...a test batch of a smaller, simpler beer would be a good way to gauge what to expect for efficiency. Also, the note on the false bottom possibly adding to less efficiency is of note.

Depending on the amount of liquid space below the bottom I would think of recirculating constantly during the mash with means of a pump or simply manually with a pitcher. This will help make sure all the water intended to be infused with the grains has contact with them. If you depending on the insulation of the cooler to hold the temp just keep in mind you probably don't want to take the lid off too many times during recirc since it will lose heat.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

That is a good idea to do a test batch but keep in mind that a 1 qt deadspace in a 1 gal batch will yield a way different BHE than that same 1 qt deadspace in a 5 gal batch. But it's a great way to test the effect of your crush.

 

[ross3648]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I wish I had some more time to do a test batch, but the Snow fall we got in Pittsburgh has been crushing. Work keeps calling and the overtime is too good to pass up. I think the suggestion to shoot for a ballpark range and adjust with some DME is the way I'll go.

I can't wait to brew on Friday, This beer is great and took First place in TRASH XIX Competition last year.

 

[Bobby_M]

If you're still batch sparging, you shouldn't see any efficiency gains specifically by switching from a braid to false bottom. More change is possible if your deadspace has changed. If you've got a good siphon tube going right to the bottom, deadspace may have decreased.

 

[ross3648]

Well I set my efficiency percentage at 75 and adjusted the grains for my recipe. My preboil reading after sparging was 1.052. I added my Candi Syrups and decrease the DME by a pound. My OG at the end of brewing was 1.092. If my math is right my new efficiency is 82%

Thanks again eveyone for your input. The beer is looking great and the yeast are happy. I really need to get some photo's on this site.