Efficiency

[NorsemenRugby58]

So my system isn't real dialed in, nor do I overly care that much about efficiency, but for the past couple brews my efficiency has been abyssmal. 57% is unacceptable. My brother dumped the grains into the mash tun today and I saw a large mound of dust there....is my crush from my LHBS to blame?

Danke.

 

[dcHokie]

A lot of dust would likely indicate a fine crush, which should usually increase your efficiency.

How thoroughly did you mix your grains after doughing in? Perhaps some dough balls were the culprit for lower efficiency...

 

[dezman]

So my system isn't real dialed in, nor do I overly care that much about efficiency, but for the past couple brews my efficiency has been abyssmal. 57% is unacceptable. My brother dumped the grains into the mash tun today and I saw a large mound of dust there....is my crush from my LHBS to blame?

Danke.

Could be a number of things including the crush.
-Mash PH
-sparge process
-mash temps/time
-Thickness of mash (1.25Qt/lb is good)

Try changing one of these and see if it helps. If not try another untill it works!
Make sure to test for conversion before starting sparge. GL

 

[g-star]

What is your mash temp, thickness, rest period?
How do you sparge?
What temp. do you get the grain bed to during sparging?
Are your thermometers calibrated?
Are your volumes into boiler/fermentor known accurately?
What is the size of your typical grain bill?
How are your grains crushed?

Low efficiency could be related to any or all of the above. 57% is very low, something is wrong in your process. I batch sparge and get about 78% efficiency for standard gravity beers (~ 10lbs grain) and about 72% for higher gravity beers (~ 15lbs of grain).

Your pre-boil gravity number should help narrow things down. If it is OK, I'd suspect your boil-off rate is less than you think. If the pre-boil gravity is low, then it could be a number of things related to the mash process.