Feeling ready to give up on BIAB.

[brew703]

I brew BIAB and my efficiency is in the 75% range. I do crush my own grain and that did help some with efficiency. MY LHBS used to frown when I asked for them to double crush my grains so I just bought my own.
A Corona mill can be had for cheap so I would save up for one.

If you have a blender or food processor, try adding grain and grinding it down to almost flour. If you have a good bag you should not have any issues crushing fine.

I brew 3 gallon batches (into fermentor). I calculate my grains for 3.5 gallons. I mainly brew APA's and use approx. 5.8 gallons of strike water. My system boils off .9-1 gallon per hour. I usually have approx. .5 gal or less in my kettle after draining. I brewed this past Friday and added about 10% more of my base malt to see if my efficiency would increase. I gained a small percentage more in efficiency but not sure if it was enough to make a difference.

My next batch I'll cut back on the water to 5.5 gallons to see how that works.

Also, if you are using tap water try adding a campden tablet to your water then add your salt additions. 3.7ML of Lactic seems high as when I use it I add less then 1ml (usually .5) to get my ph around 5.4. You can also try using acid malt (3%) to your grain bill. I've done that and most times I don't need to add any Lactic.

What are the temps in your basement? if it's 24 degrees outside I would think your basement would be in the 50's or low 60's? Low 60's would be good for most ale yeasts. Anything lower than that maybe switch to using lager yeast.

Temp control and water were the two most important factors for me in getting better beer. Try using only distilled water and use Bru N Water for additions. I use 50% filtered and 50% distilled and that has worked good for me.

Good luck and keep brewing.

 

[hezagenius]

December, today: NE IPA. For one, I screwed up my hop amounts I think - I bittered at 60 and added 2 oz each of Galaxy and Citra, at 10 and at flameout. My wort came out a nasty green color, and I'm regretting not adding whirlfloc. As for gravity, Beersmith projected 1.053, but I hit 1.04 or even lower - couldn't get a great reading, I forgot to take gravity until I had already shaken up my fermenter to aerate it a bit so there was some foam.

All my NEIPAs have a pea soup color when they go into the fermenter, but they come out with a nice golden glow. That green is all the suspended hop matter. It will settle out during fermentation.

 

[BowAholic]

I aimed a bit high on kettle loss and fermenter loss this time, since I've undershot recently and I was brewing a NE IPA with tons of hops. I had a little over 7 at the end of the boil, with about 6 into my bucket.

I was just playing with a specific gravity calculator... here's what I found out... if you are suppose to put 5.5 gallons of 1.050 wort into your fermentor but instead you have 7 gallons post boil wort, it will only be 1.039 due to being deluted.... which explains your low numbers...? It would also be watered down flavor and not balanced.

 

[vance]

Ok so after reading this whole thread I'll pitch in my $.02. Some of it is redundant, so I apologize for piling on. I have BIAB since my first all grain brew, and my mash efficiency has balanced out around 75%. I even just did a barleywine where I hit 69%. So the problem isn't BIAB, it's something in your process.

1: Ask the LHBS to double crush your grain. It will help a ton!
2: You are using way too much water. If you're making 5 gallon batches, you should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 7.5-8 gallons, this seems like the most likely reason you are missing your gravity numbers. I have a 15 gallon pot with a 1.2 gallon/hour boil-off rate and I usually use about 7.5 gallons to start with. I end up with about 1/4 gallon of trub in my kettle, and 1/2 gallon of loss in my fermentor, so I aim for 5.5 gallons post boil.
3: as far as measuring your volume, do you own a blender with graduated markings on it? or use a 2L soda bottle, or any other container of a known size to measure your volume into the kettle. Pour in 1 gallon, Use a piece of copper pipe, and place it vertically in your kettle and make a mark on it at the water line. Then one more mark for each gallon of water you add. Take a hack saw and cut a line into the copper at each mark. Then you have a permanently marked dipstick.
4: Beersmith is worth the money, but even brewersfriend should steer you pretty well. Make sure you are putting in your ingredients and volumes accurately. These programs are garbage-in-garbage-out
5: Try a dunk back into your wort after your grains have drained. You can gain a few points of gravity that way too.
6: No offense, but it sounds like you are sort of just trying stuff without a real plan... slow down man... you have time. Be methodical, analyze your batches, try to identify the problem.
7: Follow a recipe. I don't know if you are already doing this, but it always helps to know you are making a beer that was good for someone else first.
8: Pay attention to the details. Missing your volume by 0.5 gallons can have a fairly large effect on your gravity readings.
9: Simplify as much as possible. Don't try to fiddle with every variable. It doesn't matter if your mash temp drifts from 154 to 147. People mash overnight without issues. Just ignore the temperature drift and focus on getting your initial temperature and volume correct. Keep your mineral additions basic. Try 100% RO water with only lactic acid to control mash pH. Don't try to outsmart your equipment by changing your volume drastically (1 gallon more water) between brews. Small changes, refine the process, relax, don't try too hard.
10: Mash for 90 minutes

It's always frustrating when nothing seems to be working, but that's ALWAYS because you haven't tried the right thing yet. The answer exists, you just have to work the problem and find it. Be methodical, change 1 thing at a time, stick to the recipe. Good luck!

1. This is on the list for next time.

2. I used priceless' BIAB calc to get the 9.27 strike volume figure. I estimated 1 gallon of fermenter loss, since I was brewing a NE IPA with a ton of hops, and 1 gallon kettle loss as well. I don't usually use this much, but I've been only getting about 4.5 gallons into my keg before hitting trub so I overshot this time to see what happens.

3. No, I bought a 1 gallon measuring cup off Amazon. I double checked with weighting quarts of water and it's accurate as far as I can tell. I made markings on my plastic dip stick, but I did them off lengths, not pouring a gallon each time, and it was a last minute thing. A more accurate dipstick is on the list before next time I brew, just need to figure out how to properly differentiate 1, .25, and .5 increments.

4. Been using Beersmith for every batch since the second

5. Never heard of this one. Straight back into the wort? Seems like I'd just reabsorb a ton of liquid I squeezed out.

6. Probably. I really didn't change much from my last batch to the one I brewed last night, my only major difference was switching the homebrew store I went to. I had hoped going to a dedicated LHBS with a nicer mill would fix my OG issues. Part of the problem is I have absolutely no good sense of taste - so while I can tell when I don't like the flavor of my beer, I have no clue what that flavor is or where it comes from, or even how to describe it.

7. I usually base my recipes off something, often from here, but a SMaSH wouldn't be the worst thing to do. It's pretty hard to make a bad beer with Citra and Galaxy, I feel.

8. I agree, this is why I need to figure out how to get pin-point volume measurements (although it changes with temperature, so now I'm realizing my dip stick done at room temperature won't work at wort temps...)

9. Yeah I'm not worried about mash temps, it was all within conversion range and only dropped so much since it's so damn cold in Ohio. I only used CaCl, gypsum, and lactic this time which I feel is pretty simple. I'm conflicted on going back to my tap water - on one hand, all of the beers I liked were made with it, but on the other hand I don't even like to drink it without running it through a Brita pitcher, so why would it make good beer?

 

[vance]

I brew BIAB and my efficiency is in the 75% range. I do crush my own grain and that did help some with efficiency. MY LHBS used to frown when I asked for them to double crush my grains so I just bought my own.
A Corona mill can be had for cheap so I would save up for one.

If you have a blender or food processor, try adding grain and grinding it down to almost flour. If you have a good bag you should not have any issues crushing fine.

I brew 3 gallon batches (into fermentor). I calculate my grains for 3.5 gallons. I mainly brew APA's and use approx. 5.8 gallons of strike water. My system boils off .9-1 gallon per hour. I usually have approx. .5 gal or less in my kettle after draining. I brewed this past Friday and added about 10% more of my base malt to see if my efficiency would increase. I gained a small percentage more in efficiency but not sure if it was enough to make a difference.

My next batch I'll cut back on the water to 5.5 gallons to see how that works.

Also, if you are using tap water try adding a campden tablet to your water then add your salt additions. 3.7ML of Lactic seems high as when I use it I add less then 1ml (usually .5) to get my ph around 5.4. You can also try using acid malt (3%) to your grain bill. I've done that and most times I don't need to add any Lactic.

What are the temps in your basement? if it's 24 degrees outside I would think your basement would be in the 50's or low 60's? Low 60's would be good for most ale yeasts. Anything lower than that maybe switch to using lager yeast.

Temp control and water were the two most important factors for me in getting better beer. Try using only distilled water and use Bru N Water for additions. I use 50% filtered and 50% distilled and that has worked good for me.

Good luck and keep brewing.

Right now, basement temps are in the mid 60s I'd guess. Still a little high for ales. When I was brewing the two batches in kegs, though, Ohio had a bit of a warm streak going and it was probably close to 70 or a few degrees above. I've used RO + additions for my last two batches now, we'll see how this one tastes. Still trying to figure out how the hell bru'n water works but I think I worked out my additions for this batch.

 

[vance]

All my NEIPAs have a pea soup color when they go into the fermenter, but they come out with a nice golden glow. That green is all the suspended hop matter. It will settle out during fermentation.

That's my hope, only done one of these before and I don't recall the wort color. It smelled great when I checked it a little while ago though! (Although no krausen yet :/)

 

[vance]

I was just playing with a specific gravity calculator... here's what I found out... if you are suppose to put 5.5 gallons of 1.050 wort into your fermentor but instead you have 7 gallons post boil wort, it will only be 1.039 due to being deluted.... which explains your low numbers...? It would also be watered down flavor and not balanced.

Huh, that might be my issue actually. I'm checking my Beersmith recipe again - 1.053 expected OG, 5.75 batch volume, .5 gallon kettle loss. I must not have adjusted these when I was using priceless' BIAB calculator for my volumes. Man, BIAB volumes are a pain in the ass sometimes.

 

[brew703]

Right now, basement temps are in the mid 60s I'd guess. Still a little high for ales. When I was brewing the two batches in kegs, though, Ohio had a bit of a warm streak going and it was probably close to 70 or a few degrees above. I've used RO + additions for my last two batches now, we'll see how this one tastes. Still trying to figure out how the hell bru'n water works but I think I worked out my additions for this batch.

I ferment ales 62-64 degrees for the first week then up to 67 to finish. As for bru n water, it's still confusing to me. I usually do 2:1 Calcium Chloride to Gypsum for my pales and reverse for IPA's. Next batch will go for 1:1 on the additions.

I've got 36 brews under my belt and most are pretty darn good. Still have a couple that are not want I was looking for but still drinkable. Have not yet dumped a batch

I quit doing IPA's until I can get a keg system set up. Had issues with oxidation, mainly with NE IPA's. I'm now focusing on APA's and Ambers as those are what I mostly drink.

Hope it all works out for you.

 

[vance]

This one ended up at almost exactly 2:1 gypsum to CaCl, so at least we're on the same page even if it's wrong! Last night's batch was 10 or 11, and the blonde in my keg right now is the only one so far I've wanted to dump, so I guess that's not a bad success rate. I just need to get back into brewing beer I am proud to share, not just grudgingly drink myself.

 

[xCSx]

I brew BIAB and my efficiency is in the 75% range. I do crush my own grain and that did help some with efficiency. MY LHBS used to frown when I asked for them to double crush my grains so I just bought my own.
A Corona mill can be had for cheap so I would save up for one.

If you have a blender or food processor, try adding grain and grinding it down to almost flour. If you have a good bag you should not have any issues crushing fine.

I brew 3 gallon batches (into fermentor). I calculate my grains for 3.5 gallons. I mainly brew APA's and use approx. 5.8 gallons of strike water. My system boils off .9-1 gallon per hour. I usually have approx. .5 gal or less in my kettle after draining. I brewed this past Friday and added about 10% more of my base malt to see if my efficiency would increase. I gained a small percentage more in efficiency but not sure if it was enough to make a difference.

My next batch I'll cut back on the water to 5.5 gallons to see how that works.

Also, if you are using tap water try adding a campden tablet to your water then add your salt additions. 3.7ML of Lactic seems high as when I use it I add less then 1ml (usually .5) to get my ph around 5.4. You can also try using acid malt (3%) to your grain bill. I've done that and most times I don't need to add any Lactic.

What are the temps in your basement? if it's 24 degrees outside I would think your basement would be in the 50's or low 60's? Low 60's would be good for most ale yeasts. Anything lower than that maybe switch to using lager yeast.

Temp control and water were the two most important factors for me in getting better beer. Try using only distilled water and use Bru N Water for additions. I use 50% filtered and 50% distilled and that has worked good for me.

Good luck and keep brewing.

I also do 3 gallon BIAB, I usually start with 5.25 gallons. .28 Setting on my Cereal Crusher.
I usually end up with around 3.5 gallons left in the kettle FWIW...

 

[doug293cz]

..

5. Never heard of this one. Straight back into the wort? Seems like I'd just reabsorb a ton of liquid I squeezed out.

...

You are correct. This one is pretty much nonsense. You can't rinse out additional sugar by using wort that is the same SG (or higher) than the wort you just drained. You need to rinse with lower SG wort (best is water) to reduce the retained sugar in the grain.

Brew on

 

[brew703]

I also do 3 gallon BIAB, I usually start with 5.25 gallons. .28 Setting on my Cereal Crusher.
I usually end up with around 3.5 gallons left in the kettle FWIW...

Just got a new burner and used it two times so far. Going to cut back on the water next brew. I set my mill using a credit card. I had it tighter but when I use terrified wheat the gap was too tight and would not crush the grain. I have since switched to white wheat and the grain is not as thick so I can tighten up the gap a bit more. Hopefully that will increase my efficiency to the upper 70's to 80%.

 

[RM-MN]

Just got a new burner and used it two times so far. Going to cut back on the water next brew. I set my mill using a credit card. I had it tighter but when I use terrified wheat the gap was too tight and would not crush the grain. I have since switched to white wheat and the grain is not as thick so I can tighten up the gap a bit more. Hopefully that will increase my efficiency to the upper 70's to 80%.

Are you willing to throw a few bucks at this to get the efficiency up and end the problem with torricied wheat? I use a Corona mill (around $30) and haven't found a grain that it wouldn't grind up. I set it as tight as I can and haven't had a batch with less than 80% efficiency.

 

[TheMadKing]

You are correct. This one is pretty much nonsense. You can't rinse out additional sugar by using wort that is the same SG (or higher) than the wort you just drained. You need to rinse with lower SG wort (best is water) to reduce the retained sugar in the grain.



Brew on

I thought so too when it was suggested to me, but I tried it on my last batch and saw a jump from 1.035 to 1.040. I figured it was worth a shot to a desperate man.

I drained and squeezed my bag as normal. I took 4 refractomter readings before dunking my bag and averaged them, and 4 after and after averaged them. I double checked the calibration of my refractometer, and the waited for the temperature to equalize with the air with each sample. I stirred my wort vigorously between samples to ensure no stratification.

Maybe it was just coincidence, but I'm fairly certain that it was a real effect, though I agree that I don't understand the precise mechanism of what happened.

 

[brew703]

Are you willing to throw a few bucks at this to get the efficiency up and end the problem with torricied wheat? I use a Corona mill (around $30) and haven't found a grain that it wouldn't grind up. I set it as tight as I can and haven't had a batch with less than 80% efficiency.

I no longer use torrified wheat. But have considered getting a Corona Mill.
next batch will tighten up the gap to see if I can get any more efficiency. I usually average 75% so I am satisfied with that.

 

[TorMag]

You seriously need to go for the Corona Mill in the bucket like many have suggested. So easy to do and fairly cheap. $20-$30 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2hVwXM3

 

[Morrey]

You seriously need to go for the Corona Mill in the bucket like many have suggested. So easy to do and fairly cheap. $20-$30 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2hVwXM3

This looks like a great way to mount a Corona Mill.

Is the bottom board holding the mill's clamp bolted/screwed into the bucket?

I assume the mill stays in place when you dump out the grain you have milled?

 

[TorMag]

This looks like a great way to mount a Corona Mill.

Is the bottom board holding the mill's clamp bolted/screwed into the bucket?

I assume the mill stays in place when you dump out the grain you have milled?

It is screwed in. Yes, the mill stays in place when you dump out the grain. I have a second bucket that I pour the grain into after grinding. A socket fits perfectly on the handle post and I use a power drill. Goes through 15+ lbs of grain in less than 2 minutes. The first time I used it, without the drill took about 45 minutes to crush the grain.

 

[Morrey]

I thought so too when it was suggested to me, but I tried it on my last batch and saw a jump from 1.035 to 1.040. I figured it was worth a shot to a desperate man.

I drained and squeezed my bag as normal. I took 4 refractomter readings before dunking my bag and averaged them, and 4 after and after averaged them. I double checked the calibration of my refractometer, and the waited for the temperature to equalize with the air with each sample. I stirred my wort vigorously between samples to ensure no stratification.

Maybe it was just coincidence, but I'm fairly certain that it was a real effect, though I agree that I don't understand the precise mechanism of what happened.

I suppose my method is called dunk sparging? I have an Arbor Fab BIAB basket. I lift the basket out of the wort with a pulley until the basket clears the wort. I use my spoon to disturb the grain bed, then dunk and lift several times while working the grains with my spoon. I figured I may be simply wasting my time but I never have done a sparge with heated water as I full volume mash.

 

[Morrey]

It is screwed in. Yes, the mill stays in place when you dump out the grain. I have a second bucket that I pour the grain into after grinding. A socket fits perfectly on the handle post and I use a power drill. Goes through 15+ lbs of grain in less than 2 minutes. The first time I used it, without the drill took about 45 minutes to crush the grain.

OMG talk about a workout from hand grinding. I use a drill powered 3 roller mill for standard malts and grains, but have a Corona Mill for grinding dried, shelled corn for some (other) products I make..lol. Talk about a workout!!

So you say I can take off the hand crank and use a socket powered by my drill? I am going to do this project right away....so do you know of any pictures (besides yours) that I can use to follow the plans?

 

[vance]

I suppose I could if I can't figure out a way to get a good crush from my LHBS store, but crushing 12 pounds of grain by hand sounds awful. I still feel like it can't just be the crush, I have to have some part of my process I'm doing wrong.

 

[ruascott]

I know it's been mentioned.....but missing your gravity numbers shouldn't make a bad tasting beer....that's something else entirely.

If it was just missing your numbers, you could just up the grain bill a bit and be done with it.

Also...you should be able to hold your temps better. Are you wrapping your kettle with blankets/coats/towels?

 

[bucfan1234]

As others have suggested, if you were aiming for 6 gallons post boil and you wound up with 7 gallons post boil, it is your volumes.

The other likely possibility based on the temps is incomplete conversion. Combine that with the volume issue and it seems like a double whammy.

 

[Redlantern]

one simple check if you have the numbers - check your gravity units.

gravity units = (Specific Gravity -1.000) * 1000

Say you were supposed to have an FG of 1.050 for 5 gallons, that is (1.050-1.000) x 1000 =50 GU/Gal, multiplied by number of gallons (5) = 250 gravity units

If you wound up with an FG of 1.040, but finished with 7 gallons, then (1.040-1.000) x 1000 = 40 GU/Gal, multiplied by number of gallons (7) = 280 gravity units, you would have actually done really well. Extract was fantastic.

In that case, the volumes were off.

Sometimes a different angle on the problem can help out.

 

[vance]

7 gallons was what I wanted post boil. I went for 1 gallon each of kettle and fermenter loss, partly because I was brewing a NE IPA with lots of hop matter and partly because I've only been getting about 4.5 gallons into my keg, lately. I know I can up the grain bill, but I'd rather figure out why I'm only getting 60% efficiency and not hitting a predictable OG. Only guess I have for my off flavors is fermentstion temp, which I'm hoping this Hothead yeast takes care of.

I wrap my kettle in an old comforter. I usually only drop about 2 degrees over a 60 minute mash, if that, but it was in the low 20s when I brewed on Sunday - I started brewing in July so all my precious batches it had been in the 60s or higher.

 

[ruascott]

7 gallons was what I wanted post boil. I went for 1 gallon each of kettle and fermenter loss, partly because I was brewing a NE IPA with lots of hop matter and partly because I've only been getting about 4.5 gallons into my keg, lately. I know I can up the grain bill, but I'd rather figure out why I'm only getting 60% efficiency and not hitting a predictable OG. Only guess I have for my off flavors is fermentstion temp, which I'm hoping this Hothead yeast takes care of.

I wrap my kettle in an old comforter. I usually only drop about 2 degrees over a 60 minute mash, if that, but it was in the low 20s when I brewed on Sunday - I started brewing in July so all my precious batches it had been in the 60s or higher.

What was the grain bill you actually used in this NE IPA?

 

[TorMag]

OMG talk about a workout from hand grinding. I use a drill powered 3 roller mill for standard malts and grains, but have a Corona Mill for grinding dried, shelled corn for some (other) products I make..lol. Talk about a workout!!

So you say I can take off the hand crank and use a socket powered by my drill? I am going to do this project right away....so do you know of any pictures (besides yours) that I can use to follow the plans?

The Mill in a Bucket idea goes to Mike of Wilser Bags. He has a whole thread on the subject, you can find it here

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=1308996&postcount=144

 

[TorMag]

I suppose I could if I can't figure out a way to get a good crush from my LHBS store, but crushing 12 pounds of grain by hand sounds awful. I still feel like it can't just be the crush, I have to have some part of my process I'm doing wrong.

You don't have to crush by hand, look at my post two or three above with the mill in the bucket.

 

[vance]

What was the grain bill you actually used in this NE IPA?

9# 2-row
1# flaked wheat
1# flaked oats
.5# crystal 10L
.5# cara-pils

 

[FruityHops]

What mash thickness are you using? I've found that if I do a full volume mash, especially with a low gravity beer, I get horrible efficiency. If you keep your mash thickness within 1.25 - 1.5 qt/lb then you should be able to get at least 60% efficiency even with a single crush.

After the mash measure your volume and gravity and make a plan from there. If your pre-boil gravity is too low you could add/sparge with less water if you didn't do full volume mash, you could boil longer and harder, or you could add some malt extract.

I've found a full volume mash gets worse efficiency and leaves me with less options for correction after the mash.

 

[Morrey]

What mash thickness are you using? I've found that if I do a full volume mash, especially with a low gravity beer, I get horrible efficiency. If you keep your mash thickness within 1.25 - 1.5 qt/lb then you should be able to get at least 60% efficiency even with a single crush.

After the mash measure your volume and gravity and make a plan from there. If your pre-boil gravity is too low you could add/sparge with less water if you didn't do full volume mash, you could boil longer and harder, or you could add some malt extract.

I've found a full volume mash gets worse efficiency and leaves me with less options for correction after the mash.

What is an example of the efficiency numbers you are getting from full vol mashes that is horrible?

 

[FruityHops]

What is an example of the efficiency numbers you are getting from full vol mashes that is horrible?

Like 45%-50%

 

[chickypad]

9# 2-row
1# flaked wheat
1# flaked oats
.5# crystal 10L
.5# cara-pils

And you expected 7 gals of 1.053 wort? Looks like that would be about 86% efficiency. You said you got a little over 7 gals of 1.040, so around 65%. With a LHBS crush that doesn't sound too bad. You can't up your batch volume to account for losses and then not up your grainbill. If you're set on using the LHBS crush then I'd say throw in the extra couple bucks for a few more lbs of grain and set your recipe for 65% efficiency.

 

[eadavis80]

I do 5-gallon BIAB batches and most of my beers are 1.045-1.060 OG - usually between 9-12 pounds of grain. I get my grain from NB or AIH pre-crushed or from my LHBS. I start with 6 gallons of water in my kettle. I always add PH stabilizer and do an iodine test after 60 minutes. If it passes, I then squeeze the bag after the mash. After squeezing, I pour 170-degree water over the bag which I rest in a steel crate over my kettle until I get 6 gallons of pre-boil wort. Seems to work pretty well for me.

 

[vance]

Eh, I'd be happy with a predictable 70% efficiency, if I wanted to mess around with sparging I wouldn't be doing BIAB. I tried a sparge once and trying to heat up a few gallons on my stove while also worrying about my mash was too much to deal with.

In this instance though, with full volume mash, I used 12 pounds of grain and 9.27 gallons as calculated through priceless BIAB, so my thickness was 3.08 qts/lb

 

[vance]

And you expected 7 gals of 1.053 wort? Looks like that would be about 86% efficiency. You said you got a little over 7 gals of 1.040, so around 65%. With a LHBS crush that doesn't sound too bad. You can't up your batch volume to account for losses and then not up your grainbill. If you're set on using the LHBS crush then I'd say throw in the extra couple bucks for a few more lbs of grain and set your recipe for 65% efficiency.

It was actually for 6.25 - I screwed up between Beersmith and priceless' BIAB calc. I think beersmith was still set for 5.75 batch size and .5 kettle loss. That accounts for some of my efficiency, but not all of it. I really think I can do better than 65%, without crushing my own grain, and buying extra instead of improving my process just feels like a bandaid.

 

[TorMag]

Are you stirring your grains during mash? I stir my grains every 15 minutes during the mash.

 

[vance]

Are you stirring your grains during mash? I stir my grains every 15 minutes during the mash.

Yep, give it a good stir and a quick temperature check every 10-15 minutes.

 

[chickypad]

It was actually for 6.25 - I screwed up between Beersmith and priceless' BIAB calc. I think beersmith was still set for 5.75 batch size and .5 kettle loss. That accounts for some of my efficiency, but not all of it. I really think I can do better than 65%, without crushing my own grain, and buying extra instead of improving my process just feels like a bandaid.

While trying to dial this in if I were you I'd set your kettle losses in BS to zero and try to aim for a consistent mash efficiency, forgetting about brewhouse efficiency for now. That is a hard number to chase as losses can vary so much depending on hops, etc.

Targeting crush is not a bandaid, it is the first step in troubleshooting efficiency as almost everyone will tell you. If you eliminate that from the equation you're only going to get so far. You might pick up a bit with a better squeeze - right now looks like you're hitting about .1 gal per lb absoprtion so you could get that down to .07-.08.

 

[Murphys_Law]

Eh, I'd be happy with a predictable 70% efficiency, if I wanted to mess around with sparging I wouldn't be doing BIAB. I tried a sparge once and trying to heat up a few gallons on my stove while also worrying about my mash was too much to deal with.

In this instance though, with full volume mash, I used 12 pounds of grain and 9.27 gallons as calculated through priceless BIAB, so my thickness was 3.08 qts/lb

Try holding a gallon back and gently pour over the grain bag.

I fill my kettle with full volume and start heating the strike water. When my water is around 120 or so I drain a gallon into my pitcher and sit it aside for my "spare". I really don't give much thought to the temp of this gallon.