Efficiency not so good, what happened?

[blaster_54738]

I brewed my first AG on Monday and my efficiency was not so good. First off I brewed Edworts House Ale. I entered everything into BeerSmith and followed along.

Got the grains from the LHBS and used their crusher.

Mashed grains for 75 minutes at 152 degrees in 13 quarts of water in a 5 gallon cooler.

Fly sparged with 4.75 gallons at 168 degrees, took a little over a half hour

Boiled like normal adding hops and such.

Cooled with immersion chiller and took reading. It was 1.036 when it should have been about 1.050. Efficiency was about 42% I think

The one thing I can think of is the crush might not have been good enough. Some of the grains didn't appear to be crushed very well but I didn't know for sure as this was my first AG. What else could have caused this.

 

[beerkrump]

Crush is usually the number one issue.

What was the SG of the final runnings of you sparge? Half an hour for almost five gallons sounds a little quick.

 

[blaster_54738]

Crush is usually the number one issue.

What was the SG of the final runnings of you sparge? Half an hour for almost five gallons sounds a little quick.

I did not take a reading then. I thought it was a little quick, I think I may pick up my own adjustable mill so I can fine tune the crush better...and slow down on the sparge

 

[Dok]

Getting your own mill will make a world of difference. It looks like you know what you are doing in your process. I would agree with the crush more than likely being the issue.

 

[blaster_54738]

I purchased a Barley Crusher last night from beersmith's website, total shipped was $130, didn't think that was too bad

 

[KarlHungus76]

Recently got the barley crusher with a 7 lb hopper. If you do not have a CORDED drill with a 3/8 chuck, then I would suggest one. First BC use entailed 3 lbs with a strong cordless drill, then a bunch of handcranking in 90 degree weather. Bought a corded craftsman evolv at Kmart for 25 dollars for the crusher and it works great. Thought Id save you the hassle Happy brewing