BIAB weird high efficancies?

[stz]

Hello!

I'm sure this is going to wind up being a problem with my measuring, either ingredients, water, SG or a combination of all of these factors, but I'm getting weirdly high efficacies.

Typically doughing in with a protein rest at 130F for 30 minutes. Mashing at 155F for 60-90 minutes. Letting my bag of grains drip dry over a pot suspended by a hook and then slowing rinsing the grain inside the suspended bag with roughly half of my sparge water at 170F using a jug and then teabagging the bag with the other half and letting it drip dry again.

Brewsmith is telling me I'll get 1.059 at 70%. I end up with something like 1.065 and 83%+. Today I was expecting 1.051 and get 1.062, this is 107%! Obviously I've some variable with my ingredients or water but even adjusting for this, I'm still closing in on a strangely high percentage.

Today I acidified my water using lactic acid in an attempt to limit tanin extraction. Maybe this allowed me to be so thrifty with the sugar, who knows.

 

[afr0byte]

How are you measuring your water volumes? Also, have you calibrated your hydrometer?

 

[JohnSand]

Unlike athletes, I don't think your mash can give 107%. Either the measuring or the math is off.
Of course, my gravities are wildly unpredictable. But I'm working on it.

 

[smyrnaquince]

Is this a pre-boil or post-boil efficiency. You can't get >100% efficiency in extracting sugars from the grain pre-boil. You can boil away enough liquid to run your numbers up to whatever you want.

 

[afr0byte]

Is this a pre-boil or post-boil efficiency. You can't get >100% efficiency in extracting sugars from the grain pre-boil. You can boil away enough liquid to run your numbers up to whatever you want.

Boiling down more won't change the efficiency. It'll just change the concentration/gravity of the liquid.

 

[stz]

You are right, I'm using the wrong kind of terms. These gravities were taken post boil but I also think that beersmith when I enter brewhouse efficiency of 70% or so to recipe plan scales down my extract additions to 70% utilisation throwing it all off.

I'm not sure how to have a working outline. I thought that by taking readings at all points to work out what I'm actually doing, as well as using the ingredients to 'predict' what I should have get when planning, I shouldn't be far off and recipe planning is a cinch. I come from an extract background which is much simpler.

Gravities are just wildly off though, to the point where the beer is a liability. I aim for 5% at best hoping to hit 4%+ for a refreshing summer beer, get 6.5% and something which will ruin me and my friends on a warm day.

Next beer I make is going to be someone else's recipe and I'll test my hydrometer beforehand. I also might fiddle with beersmith and enter others recipes and see if they match up. Also tasted two recently bottled partial grain/steeping brews where they weren't supposed to be more than 4% and I didn't bother to measure because they were basically 25L batches with 1kg DME, 1.5kg LME and about 2-3lb total of grains. I know from experience that the DME and LME in 24L gives me a beer of roughly 4% and I figured the grains wouldn't add THAT much. Both these beers seem very strong, and maybe a bit 'green' but still seem sweet in the bottle, I'd prefer them drier even though they were fermenting for about a month in primary.

 

[stz]

(no beersmith isn't doing this..)

 

[JohnSand]

You're on the right path. I'm still working on it too. Read, study, practice. We'll get there. My beer takes longer in the bottle than I expect. Eight weeks is typical for me.

 

[smyrnaquince]

We're kind of working blind here. Could you post your recipe and your volume+gravity measurements pre-boil and post-boil?