(Almost) First All-Grain - Efficiency

[FensterBos]

I did my first All-Grain batch yesterday. Was it fun? Yes. Did I enjoy driving around Boston to find all of the parts? Not so much. Was I way off on efficiency? Most definitely.
I used a calculator online and my efficiency was 60%. I was aiming for 1.060 for a 90 Shilling clone, but hit around 1.050 around flame out. Thankfully I bought 1 lb. of DME just in case I didn't reach my mark.
What was your efficiency for your first all-grain batch?

 

[Hammy71]

Upper 60's I think. There is a learning curve. But I've gone AG and haven't looked back. You'll be fine.

 

[Legin]

Sadly, mine was the only beer I've had to toss (unrelated contamination). Efficiency was in the low 60s, which is not bad at all for a beginner all-grain. Congrats on that and hope it turns out well.

 

[FensterBos]

I'm not surprised by my low efficiency; that is why I purchased the extra 1 lb. of DME just in case. I'm kind of a trial-and-error kind of learner and I've already learned a few things to keep in mind for the next batch I'll do.

 

[flabyboy]

I got lucky and hit higher than 75% efficiency on my first try. I did the single infusion with 2 equal sparges to wash out the sugars. Was easy and worked well

 

[mortox]

Can someone explain the efficiency part how how to achieve it? how do you calculate it?

 

[Hammy71]

Efficiency is basically the percentage of sugars that you are able to obtain from the potential sugars that the grain can provide. There are long hand calculators and BeerSmith will also help you. On line you can go to:

http://www.brewheads.com/efficiency.php

Take a gravity reading pre-boil and compare to what you potentially could have gotten....

 

[FensterBos]

I personally think my efficiency rating is a little off on my batch since I didn't accurately measure out the amount of water I needed for mashing, sparging, and the boil. This is the first thing I learned in my trial and error ways.

 

[eppo]

on my first all grain, my efficiency was horrible... want to know why? i got my grain from my LHBS, they dont crush. they were all like, just beat them with a rolling pin. even after doing my best... of course i was in a hurry, and combined with a too aggressive boil. i wound up with about 4 gallons of wort, right around the OG i was supposed to get. turned my pale ale into an IPA.
The next brew i bought my supplies from Austin Homebrew supply. hit my numbers exactly.

 

[TurkCowan]

I brewed my first AG on Sunday with a half batch (2.5 gallons)

I mashed 4.25 lbs of grain for 90 min in 1.25 gallons, followed by 1.5 gallons of sparge. I hit around 75%, although does anyone know if it's easy to get a falsely high OG? I'm thinking the 90 min mash helped things.

3 lbs pale 2 row
1 lb flaked corn
.25 lb flaked rice

OG - 1.048