efficiency on a recipe

[danomyte]

when they don't specify, should i assume it's mash efficiency or brewhouse efficiency?

side question: is it ok to measure gravity for efficiency at hot wort temps of 170 or should i let it cool to room temps? i know you can use a temperature calculator to adjust, but at 170 degrees, i'm not sure how accurate that reading might be?

 

[stpug]

brewhouse

cool your samples for gravity testing to at least 85°F for reasonably accurate results with temperature correction. Much above that and the results are simply unreliable.

 

[danomyte]

brewhouse

cool your samples for gravity testing to at least 85°F for reasonably accurate results with temperature correction. Much above that and the results are simply unreliable.

much appreciated

 

[danomyte]

on the calculator, it asks to enter the "amount of wort collected". does that mean how much went in to the fermentor, or is that the total volume of what's left after mashing (including trub)?

 

[stpug]

I guess it depends on the "calculator" you're using and the values you're trying to determine.

The mash efficiency will rely on the grain amount, specific gravity and preboil volume of collected wort.

The brewhouse efficiency will rely on grain amount, specific gravity and postboil volume. The problem here is that some programs/calculators use boil kettle volume while others use the fermenter volume. I feel that the more representative efficiency value is boil kettle volume since it doesn't discount your system simply because you prefer clear wort.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any more questions you have on the topic because it can be a variable topic and prone to interpretation/bias.

 

[danomyte]

the calculator i've been using is
http://www.brewersfriend.com/brewhouse-efficiency/
which says that brew house is what goes in to the fermentor

this is all very helpful and i had no idea there were different interpretations.

moving forward, i'll be using boil kettle volume. thanks!

 

[chickypad]

Beersmith does something kinda similar and you can choose to build your recipes using brewhouse efficiency,based on fermenter volume, or the mash efficiency based on post boil volume. I'm with stpug, it's much easier for me to hit my numbers using post boil volume and mash efficiency then mess with brewhouse efficiency. Boil volume is easy to control every time, and since boil off pretty much doesn't change it's therefore easy to control post boil volume. Trub losses on the other hand can vary quite a bit IME, which means brewhouse efficiency can vary quite a bit between recipes. Mash efficiency on the other hand is pretty constant for me on my two systems.

 

[danomyte]

should i care about efficiency if i can hit my gravity numbers?

 

[max384]

the calculator i've been using is
http://www.brewersfriend.com/brewhouse-efficiency/
which says that brew house is what goes in to the fermentor

this is all very helpful and i had no idea there were different interpretations.

moving forward, i'll be using boil kettle volume. thanks!

This is the same calculator I use. You can input whichever value that you like.

If you're trying to determine mash efficiency, input the pre-boil wort volume and pre-boil wort specific gravity.

If you're trying to determine brewhouse efficiency, input the post-boil wort volume and specific gravity.

should i care about efficiency if i can hit my gravity numbers?

Yes. The only way that you'll hit your numbers is by pure luck if you don't know your efficiency. Your recipe depends upon your efficiency. If you design a recipe, you'll need to design it based upon your brewhouse efficiency. If you use an established recipe, you'll need to adjust it in accordance with your brewhouse efficiency. Even if you use a kit, you'll need to adjust the sparge in order to hit the efficiency on the kit, if you want to hit your numbers.