Attempting first all grain brew, do I guess at efficiency?

[Marc77]

SWMBO has okay'd the purchase of what I need to finish off my 20 gallon pot, the hoses, camlocks, etc. BTW...thanks Bobby! I had to support a HBT member with a great site and even better prices.

I'm just about to finish building a copper manifold based on this (http://smokedprojects.blogspot.com/2013/02/converted-cooler-mash-tun.html). I've got 4 copper pipes with 22.25 inches in length and I'm going to put cuts every quarter inch for a total of 88 cuts per pipe and 332 cuts for draining. My spacing is per John Palmer's 'x' spacing between pipes and 'x/2' between the pipe and the cooler wall.

With that said onto my question. When I do my first all grain what efficiency do I assume? Do I follow the recipe's grain bill and have some DME available? What did everyone do for their first all grain bill to get their efficiency right?

 

[TheHappyHopper]

It seems like most people on here say they get 70-80% on average - I would assume 70% for your first batch, take good readings, and then tweak as needed for future batches. That way if you end up with a higher efficiency, you will have 2 options:
- Have a higher ABV beer
- Water it down and have a greater quantity of beer

Both fine options.

 

[MikeSkril]

TheHappyHopper gave great advice. I went with 72% in my first AG brew and nailed the target.

 

[GotPushrods]

The crush is magnitudes more predictive of efficiency than anything else.

If you buy your grain pre-crushed or have your LHBS do it, just start at 70.

 

[Frilock]

If its your first ever I would guess between 60 and 70%. I would have some extract on hand to make up if you're below that.

 

[Marc77]

The crush is magnitudes more predictive of efficiency than anything else.

If you buy your grain pre-crushed or have your LHBS do it, just start at 70.

I got a "Cereal Killer" from Adventures in Homebrewing a while back, just need to set that properly for the crush. I've been reading about that too. Ha!

 

[madscientist451]

Start off with established, well proven recipes. There are plenty available right here on HBT and many other sites.. Once you get the process figured out, you can then start with your own recipes. Don't worry about efficiency at all unless you aren't hitting the target OG. Good Luck & Cheers!

 

[Marc77]

Start off with established, well proven recipes. There are plenty available right here on HBT and many other sites.. Once you get the process figured out, you can then start with your own recipes. Don't worry about efficiency at all unless you aren't hitting the target OG. Good Luck & Cheers!

Actually, I'll be doing the Three Floyd's Zombie Dust clone from HBT: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=303478