Ahhhhh my efficiency is WAY higher than I thought...

[jjones17]

Howdy all! I made my second AG batch today, a-la stovetop method (thank you Deathbrewer, you rock!). Anyway, my LAST batch was an IIPA in which I got about a 63% efficiency. So, that was my assumption in Beer Smith for this quick recipe.

Ok, all went well. Very well. Too well. Oh my good lord my OG was supposed to be 1.052 BAsed on 65% efficiency. My OG ended up being a massive 1.078!!!!!

This means, based on my calculations, my efficiency was OVER 90%. What the hell? This was not supposed to happen. I use a barley crusher on default crush size. Here is the recipe, maybe someone can set me straight. It all went as per the plan, the only thing was I ended up with 12L pre-boil instead of 10L... I figured that was because BEERSMITH is assuming a much higher grain absorption rate that it should be. My mash temp was dead on 154, after 1 hour it was 153.7. My Sparge was a hearty 169 for 15 minutes.

For the metric challenged, follow the percentages not the weights.

Final Countdown - American Pale Ale
Type: All Grain
Date: 12/21/2009
Batch Size: 9.00 L
Brewer: Jeremy
Boil Size: 10.00 L
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: Brew Pot (4 Gallon)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.0

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
2000.00 gm Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 87.0 %
200.00 gm Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 8.7 %
100.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 4.3 %
5.00 gm Green Bullet [13.50%] (60 min) Hops 17.7 IBU
10.00 gm Williamette [5.50%] (15 min) Hops 7.2 IBU
10.00 gm Williamette [5.50%] (1 min) Hops 0.6 IBU
10.00 gm Williamette [5.50%] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs Cooper Ale (Coopers #-) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.078 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.2 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 8.5 %
Bitterness: 25.5 IBU Calories: 748 cal/l
Est Color: 9.5 SRM Color: Color

Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 2300.00 gm
Sparge Water: 6.75 L Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 169.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F

Mash In Add 6.50 L of water at 165.0 F 154.0 F 60 min

 

[barleynhops]

Well, there isn't anything in your recipe that would necessarily cause a significant jump in efficiency. Since you just started and this is only your second batch, I think a lot can be chalked up to just you getting better with your process. That is quite a jump however. I though I was doing well with 84%! I would recommend you set your efficiency to about 70-75% for the next batch and see where you land. You will eventually start to zero in on a consistent efficiency as you lock down your process. I just wouldn't ratchet up to 90% based off of one batch. If you end up dropping back down, there could be trouble with your brew. Alternatively, if you end up getting 90% again, that is far less detrimental to the brew. You can either top off with water to achieve your gravity or just run with it. I typically opt for the latter though

 

[DNW]

Are you sure that your weights (of grain), final volume and hydrometer readings were correct? 90% for that type of brewing seems extremely high. Maybe not impossible, but I would question it.

 

[hoppysailor]

I was getting extremely high efficiencies (even greater than 100%) and realized that I had to have a hydrometer problem. I was measuring gravity at approximately 130 degrees and adjusting the reading for temperature. It turns out that doing it this way is extremely inaccurate. Gravity readings should be taken at a temperature that is very close to the calibration temperature of the hydrometer.

 

[jjones17]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

@ DNW & hoppysailor - I was very skeptical when I first looked at it. My temperature was within yeast pitching range when I tested. The only thing that may have gone wonky was that 5 minutes had passed before I stirred my wort. This leads me to believe that the sugars may have gathered?

I have tested my hydrometer very recently, and have not dropped it since... and it all seemed fine. I am inclined to think that it had to do with my wort seperating (I did not filter out my bittering hops), but I have not had this problem before.

 

[RichBenn]

I was getting extremely high efficiencies (even greater than 100%) and realized that I had to have a hydrometer problem. I was measuring gravity at approximately 130 degrees and adjusting the reading for temperature. It turns out that doing it this way is extremely inaccurate. Gravity readings should be taken at a temperature that is very close to the calibration temperature of the hydrometer.

Ahaa! That could explain what has been a mystery to me -- hitting my pre-boil; not hitting my post boil, not explained by boil-off. One reading was at 75; one at 137! I thought the hydrometer temperature adjustment calculator worked!

Now, back to the topic....

 

[DKershner]

My thoughts are, you either have:
- Less than 9L of wort.
- Accidently tipped a bottle of extract into the pan.
- An inaccurate hydrometer reading.

 

[permo]

90+ efficiency is virtually unheard of in small scale homebrewing setups...something is awry.

 

[jjones17]

Thanks guys.

@permo, it is true.... this is why I am suspicious. What I will do next time, is take my worts temperature to ensure I am testing at my calibrated temp... exactly. You see, I am pretty good at knowing if something is room temperature or not. I also have never experienced this in my many batches of extract or PM, so not much changed. In fact, I often would test my extract batch OG while it was about 85F and adjust downwards, so this should have been an accurate reading.

Another possibility is my evaporation rate was MUCH higher than I had though (unlikely given my high humidity climate, correct me if I am wrong).

I will test this on my next batch on Dec 26th or 27th, as my new specialty grains arrived in the mail! I got biscuit, carapils, Carahell, crystal 20l & crystal 40L, and some malto-dex (for occasion). Dying to try my next 9-10L batch.

 

[eggbeater59]

when exactly are you taking your gravity reading?

 

[DNW]

Another possibility is my evaporation rate was MUCH higher than I had though.

So, you didn't actually measure your final volume? You HAVE to if you really want to know your efficiency...

 

[jjones17]

Good point... The way I figured, since I am using an 11.3 L glass carboy, my volume is pretty easy to estimate down to the nearest .5L.

I just thought of something. If I ended up with an extra 10% preboil volume, and boiled down to the correct postboil volume, that would skew my gravity as well given that I would have extracted (and subsequently concentrated) a bit more of the sugars that planned. In addition to that, if my efficiency was around 80ish (as opposed to my assumed 65%), and my post boil was .5L lower than I assumed... that sounds like a perfect storm to end up in a much higher SG territory.

Thoughts? Agree/disagree?

 

[DNW]

Well if your carboy has already been accurately measured then you're all set as far as that goes. In my experience, carboys are notoriously inaccurate according to stated volumes though.

As to pre/post boil etc, we are (I thought) talking about Brewhouse Efficiency. That is, how much fermentable sugar is in the Primary compared to how much potential there was from the grain I started with. While it may be (would be) good to know where your losses come from so you can work on reducing them, knowing what they are doesn't change the Brewhouse Efficiency.

 

[jjones17]

Well if your carboy has already been accurately measured then you're all set as far as that goes. In my experience, carboys are notoriously inaccurate according to stated volumes though.

As to pre/post boil etc, we are (I thought) talking about Brewhouse Efficiency. That is, how much fermentable sugar is in the Primary compared to how much potential there was from the grain I started with. While it may be (would be) good to know where your losses come from so you can work on reducing them, knowing what they are doesn't change the Brewhouse Efficiency.

Good to know about the carboy. I will test it out before my next batch, adding lines for easier measurement later.

As for the efficiency point you have there, I think I understand what you are are saying... I guess the purpose of this thread was to explore why my efficiency went so much higher than expected. So, yes, hopefully I understand efficiency well enough to gain benefit from others comments.

I can only do 1 thing now.... brew another batch! When all else fails, brew another one, thats what I always say! I will do a very simple recipe using my new grains in the next few days, and do super accurate measuring. I will find out my house efficiency once and for all!