Entering your mash eff into Beersmith

[linusstick]

So I'm doing my fourth BIAB brew next week (small one gallon batch) and am starting to dial in my equipment with beersmith. My boil off rate seems to fluctuate between .5-.8 gallons per hour but each time I end up with more wort, I'm pretty close to my targets so that's ok. My question is should I keep updating my equipment profile's mash efficiency after each new beer I do? My first batch I ended up at only 60%. The last couple I went to 69 then to 70.5. Each time I brew I open my equipment profile and change this value so I use the right amount of grains and water each time. Being that my eff has gone up each time I'm hoping this is narrowing down my process and honing it. Am I thinking correctly?

 

[day_trippr]

Yes, you do want BeerSmith to have the best data to work with.
Pre-boil volume and SG determine mash efficiency, by accounting for percent of potential extraction and lautering losses.

Anything post-boil contributes to brew house efficiency, so dialing in your boil-off and kettle, pump and plumbing losses (net "to the fermenter") will tune that metric...

Cheers!

 

[pricelessbrewing]

So I'm doing my fourth BIAB brew next week (small one gallon batch) and am starting to dial in my equipment with beersmith. My boil off rate seems to fluctuate between .5-.8 gallons per hour but each time I end up with more wort, I'm pretty close to my targets so that's ok. My question is should I keep updating my equipment profile's mash efficiency after each new beer I do? My first batch I ended up at only 60%. The last couple I went to 69 then to 70.5. Each time I brew I open my equipment profile and change this value so I use the right amount of grains and water each time. Being that my eff has gone up each time I'm hoping this is narrowing down my process and honing it. Am I thinking correctly?

Efficiency isn't a constant value. It will vary depending on how much water you use, if/how much you sparge, how much grain you're using, and how much your boil off rate is.

What I would do is enter your efficiencies into a spreadsheet, along with the boil off rate and grain bill. After a couple more brews, you should see a trend forming that lines up with an average mash efficiency for the grain bill and water volume.

The smaller the batch, the more important careful measurements are for consistency. A steady boil off rate, and measuring your water carefully will help you nail it down some more.