what's the deal with efficiency

Just curious why there is so much talk of efficiency on these forums?

For my brewing purposes I got into all-grain because it seemed like a slam dunk money saver over buying craft brews. A corona mill pays for itself by allowing to buy barley in bulk. I figure my consumables run the equivalent of $2.50/ 6-pack when I home brew.

So if I'm running at 60% efficiency should I really care (I don't really know what my efficiency is.) To gain another 15 or 20% in efficiency - how much money will that translate to?

I guess I'm just wondering if I should bother worrying about my efficiency and trying to improve it - or if that's just one of those things that concerns the serious homebrewers.

 

Efficiency only matters if you want it to. The higher it is the less you spend on grain. If that is important to you, or you are highly competitive and need to have the best then aim higher. But if you like the beer you get, for the price of ingredients, then don't change a damn thing and just keep brewing!

 

It's not that big of a deal. If' you're happy with where you're at, then don't worry about it. Getting a higher efficiency doesn't make better beer, it just makes cheaper beer. It's mostly dependent on your system and how you sparge. There are ways you could bring it up without spending more money. Just depends on what your goals are.

 

As noted above, efficiency does not matter, but what does matter is consistent efficiency, when you lock in one of your favorite recipes, you want it to turn out the same every time. If your efficiency varies from batch to batch you can't turn out the beer you designed. If 60% works for you, it works for you, good enough.

 

Some people like higher numbers, it's like a video game.

 

That is the best analogy I have heard! I have got to remember that...

 

Constant efficiency @ 60% >>> higher efficiency that varies between ~65-85%

 

My efficiency is always between 68% and 70% never lower than 68 and never higher than 70, but i do carry full volume no sparge hence the lower eff but it makes damn goooood beer.

 

It's an engineer thing.

 

Another reason is equipment constraints. In my BIAB set up, making 5 gallons of 1.080 is pushing what I can do without adding sugar. More efficiency means I can make bigger beers in greater quantity when I want to.

Most of the time I don't worry about this, but if I suddenly started getting 60% efficiency, I'd work to get my numbers back up (usual is high 70s).

 

+1 on the goal of consistent efficiency rather than higher efficiency.

I was getting widely varying efficiency results from the crush at my LHBS. The most extreme example is that in two consecutive purchases, I got 83% on the first batch and 63% on the second.

I bought my own mill not so I could get higher efficiency but so that I could get a more predictable efficiency. After six batches on my mill, they've all been consistently 80-85%.

 

IME, if you have a half decent crush, the efficiency will follow. I do agree, with bulk grain prices what they are. Efficiency isn't really a concern, unless you are silly low!
Cheers

 

Tracking the efficiency for me is just part of the scientific nature that I possess. Part of the addiction.!!

Markstache brought up a point that made me think of another point.
Knowing my setup and how to use it to get consistent numbers allows me to make a bigger beer and I can maximize the grain portion of the sugars and minimize more costly extract additions, and the savings there is more worth it considering the costs.
For me it's just about keeping track of my process and how my equipment works.


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To me, it's another part of the hobby. Tweaking your equipment, process,water, etc. What's great about this hobby is, If you don't want to and ya make good beer, don't.
That being said, I get a consistent 85% on average 10g batches...lol