Efficiency

[NicoleBrewer]

It seems that brew software defaults at 75% efficiency. Plus in threads on here I see everyone striving for that. Is it bad to get above 75%


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[Denny]

Nope.

 

[Oginme]

75% is typical of how many publications scale their recipes, as most brewers are in that range. I recommend measuring your water volume and specific gravity following your mash and then figuring your efficiency. You can then target that in your brewing software to make it more predictable for your process.

 

[NicoleBrewer]

Thanks for the reply, that's helpful. So why would you do the efficiency calculating before the boil! Since you haven't boiled off the excess water wouldn't the efficiency be lower than if you did it after boil?

I brewed a batch today and took the measurements and readings after the boil, and my efficiency was in the 73-74% range. Does that mean it'd be lower pre boil?


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[RM-MN]

There are two efficiencies that people calculate. The extraction efficiency is how well you got the sugars converted and extracted from the grains and made it into the boil pot. Using a mash tun there is usually a little dead space so that a little wort is left behind while draining. That is calculated pre-boil. The second is brewhouse efficiency which calculates how much sugars you actually got into the fermenter as some people like to whirlpool to leave break material and hop debris in the boiling pot and some wort remains behind and that loss has to be accounted for.