Full volume expected results

[pretzelb]

I have a few brews under my belt with my new single vessel electric system and it seems like others with the same system are getting better results. For my last brew I told BeerSmith to expect a 60% efficiency and after I ended up at 55%. My rig has a solid sided mash basket with a pump for mash re-circulation. I've calibrated the temp sensor and made sure to use a Thermapen during the process to double check.

Here is the grain bill for this 10g batch:
22 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 85.4 %
1 lbs Caramel Wheat Malt (46.0 SRM) Grain 2 3.9 %
1 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 3 3.9 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.9 %
12.0 oz Peat Smoked Malt (2.8 SRM) Grain 5 2.9 %

And here are some stats and notes:

• Crushed myself at .049 gap
• 16.5 gallons of water - full volume mash at 150 for 60 minutes.
• Measured pH 5.51
• 10 minute mash out at 168
• Estimated preboil volume 13.58
• Measured preboil volume 14.10 (I can't get the grain absorption setting in BS right)
• Estimated preboil gravity at 60% 1045
• Measured preboil gravity 1043
• 60 minute boil
• Estimate OG at 60% 1053
• Measured OG 1050
• Post boil vol 12.56
• Collected wort vol 10.5
• Left over trub 1g

I just realized that from post boil to finish I'm missing 1.24g. My guess is one of my measurements is off because I don't think I lost that much in the hoses or chill plate. To be fair the volume measurements during the process are done with a ruler so the math is a bit fuzzy.

Anyway, can anyone look at this data and tell me if it seems about right for my setup or if maybe I'm doing something wrong? I'm trying to not get obsessed with the numbers but my old 5g setup used a single batch sparge with a bag and cooler and my recipes were in the 73% range. My beers are coming out OK but if I'm to expect 55% at best I need to adjust my grain bills to get back the expected ABV. This will be really bad if I try some high gravity recipes without adjusting accordingly.

 

[Bobby_M]

The mill gap is huge for one thing. Run a little grain through and post a picture of the result. I can't get a baby's fart to make it through my mill gap.

You're using a LOT of water. I understand that baskets will hold more wort than a bag and you can't really squeeze, but I'd be suspending the basket above the pot and putting some downforce on it with something to squeeze out an extra quart or so. I typically start with 14 gallons with a bag. You may need 14.5 to maybe 15.


I'll go right back to the crush.. You'll see at least a 10% improvement just by closing down the gap to .035.

For $25, buy my flex sight glass and install that for more accurate volume measurements so there's less guessing.

 

[jekeane]

Are you squeezing or rinsing at all? what is the batch size supposed to be? I see what you collected but is that what you were aiming for? Your mill gap seems huge.

I dont ebiab but do smaller batch biab my eherms profile has this as a 1.075 OG beer on my system
: p I have never had luck with beer smith and BIAB I always used biabacus.

 

[pretzelb]

The mill gap is huge for one thing. Run a little grain through and post a picture of the result. I can't get a baby's fart to make it through my mill gap.

You're using a LOT of water. I understand that baskets will hold more wort than a bag and you can't really squeeze, but I'd be suspending the basket above the pot and putting some downforce on it with something to squeeze out an extra quart or so. I typically start with 14 gallons with a bag. You may need 14.5 to maybe 15.


I'll go right back to the crush.. You'll see at least a 10% improvement just by closing down the gap to .035.

For $25, buy my flex sight glass and install that for more accurate volume measurements so there's less guessing.

I think mill gap is necessary for re-circulation. Even with that large gap I need to have rice hulls on hand for any grains that might result in too much powder like with a stout or porter. I'll upload some pics from the last brew session. One includes the crush results. I use the Barley Crusher and I have thought of upgrading to a Monster Mill but before I do that I'd like to know it will help.

I can squeeze a bit but it isn't what I would call a safe process. The pics don't show it but my rig has a pulley so I can let it drip while suspended. I will press down a bit with a plastic lid I have around but I'm afraid to press too hard.

I don't think a new sight glass will help (I have one installed). In fact, I think I get more accurate results with the SS ruler I use. The problem is the formula you use for the kettle dimensions aren't 100% because of the ports. Plus it isn't always easy to read the ruler when you have steam in your face. But I think using the ruler and noting the temperature so I can adjust the volume for that is about as accurate as I can get.

I will agree that crush (and sparge) are the biggest differences but with a re-circ system I don't think I can change the crush.

 

[pretzelb]

Are you squeezing or rinsing at all? what is the batch size supposed to be? I see what you collected but is that what you were aiming for? Your mill gap seems huge.

I dont ebiab but do smaller batch biab my eherms profile has this as a 1.075 OG beer on my system
: p I have never had luck with beer smith and BIAB I always used biabacus.

It is a full volume so no rinsing. I do squeeze a bit but not excessively since I don't want to risk having the basket crash into the hot wort. This is a 10g batch so I wanted to collect 10.5 (5.25 into each carboy). Mill gap is huge because I re-circulate during the mash.

I have all my history in BS but I'm frustrated with trying to get it to work with my new setup.

 

[Yooper]

The mill gap is huge for one thing. Run a little grain through and post a picture of the result. I can't get a baby's fart to make it through my mill gap.

You're using a LOT of water. I understand that baskets will hold more wort than a bag and you can't really squeeze, but I'd be suspending the basket above the pot and putting some downforce on it with something to squeeze out an extra quart or so. I typically start with 14 gallons with a bag. You may need 14.5 to maybe 15.


I'll go right back to the crush.. You'll see at least a 10% improvement just by closing down the gap to .035.

For $25, buy my flex sight glass and install that for more accurate volume measurements so there's less guessing.

I agree. That gap is about twice most peoples, and those who BIAB can go so fine as to make flour. You don't want a stuck mash for sure, but I'd be concerned if the finest crush you could get is .049". I use a bag for my mash, although it's not a traditional BIAB, and routinely crush at .028". I brewed today, and I didn't think to take a photo but the old saying is "crush 'till you're scared"! You shouldn't have any concerns about crushing lower than .030" with a BIAB set up.

I have a HERMS and I recirculate the whole time.

 

[pretzelb]

I agree. That gap is about twice most peoples, and those who BIAB can go so fine as to make flour. You don't want a stuck mash for sure, but I'd be concerned if the finest crush you could get is .049". I use a bag for my mash, although it's not a traditional BIAB, and routinely crush at .028". I brewed today, and I didn't think to take a photo but the old saying is "crush 'till you're scared"! You shouldn't have any concerns about crushing lower than .030" with a BIAB set up.

I have a HERMS and I recirculate the whole time.

I've followed the re-circ BIAB posts for a while and many seem to come to the conclusion that when you re-circ you can't do the flour crush anymore. Plus my basket is solid side so I think that makes a difference. I don't have a picture of my exact basket but here is
a quick image of what the basket is like from the maker. I think when the wort can only flow down it makes a big difference in what crush will work. As far as I can tell, this is the one factor that most do NOT face. If your mash basket has a solid side then all that flour will clog the bottom mesh and severely reduce the flow of wort.

I did start with a .035 crush and found that I could not re-circ. That is when I started to adjust the crush. The only other possible option I can think of that I didn't try is the narrow crush with a planned amount of 1/2 cup of rice hulls per 1 lb of grain for every batch.

 

[jekeane]

Looking at that grain crush picture it looks like you've just broken the grains in half. I would consider gradually walking the gap down batch to batch and add rice hulls as necessary.

it might be that with a 10 gallon batches in that basket you need to do a pour over Sparge to bump your efficiency. I know the Colorado Brew systems which look similar to yours recommend pour over sparging on their larger systems to get better efficiency.

 

[pretzelb]

Looking at that grain crush picture it looks like you've just broken the grains in half. I would consider gradually walking the gap down batch to batch and add rice hulls as necessary.

it might be that with a 10 gallon batches in that basket you need to do a pour over Sparge to bump your efficiency. I know the Colorado Brew systems which look similar to yours recommend pour over sparging on their larger systems to get better efficiency.

Actually, this is the Nano from Colorado Brewing. I was going to try and hold water back to pour over but then I worried the extra thickness in the mash would cause more issues with recirculation.

 

[Homercidal]

I don't think there should be a problem with recirc, even with a fine crush. Theoretically (meaning I haven't tried it yet) there should be plenty of access for the wort to travel during the mash, unlike the limited access wort would have with a manifold, or even a false bottom.

That said, you may consider using a grant between the pump and the mash tun. A grant will collect a certain amount of wort as it drains itself. You adjust the pump speed to leave this certain amount of wort in the grant. Basically it's just to prevent the pump from creating a suction on the mash.

I almost hate focusing just on the crush, but I think mine is set to .036 or something like that. And I don't usually do BIAB, so it's set to be used with a batch sparge in a rectangular cooler. I'd probably go much finer if I regularly did BIAB.

 

[TexasWine]

I have a few brews under my belt with my new single vessel electric system and it seems like others with the same system are getting better results. For my last brew I told BeerSmith to expect a 60% efficiency and after I ended up at 55%. My rig has a solid sided mash basket with a pump for mash re-circulation. I've calibrated the temp sensor and made sure to use a Thermapen during the process to double check.

Here is the grain bill for this 10g batch:
22 lbsPale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)Grain185.4 %
1 lbsCaramel Wheat Malt (46.0 SRM)Grain23.9 %
1 lbsMunich Malt (9.0 SRM)Grain33.9 %
1 lbsVictory Malt (25.0 SRM)Grain43.9 %
12.0 ozPeat Smoked Malt (2.8 SRM)Grain52.9 %

And here are some stats and notes:

• Crushed myself at .049 gap
• 16.5 gallons of water - full volume mash at 150 for 60 minutes.
• Measured pH 5.51
• 10 minute mash out at 168
• Estimated preboil volume 13.58
• Measured preboil volume 14.10 (I can't get the grain absorption setting in BS right)
• Estimated preboil gravity at 60% 1045
• Measured preboil gravity 1043
• 60 minute boil
• Estimate OG at 60% 1053
• Measured OG 1050
• Post boil vol 12.56
• Collected wort vol 10.5
• Left over trub 1g

I just realized that from post boil to finish I'm missing 1.24g. My guess is one of my measurements is off because I don't think I lost that much in the hoses or chill plate. To be fair the volume measurements during the process are done with a ruler so the math is a bit fuzzy.

Anyway, can anyone look at this data and tell me if it seems about right for my setup or if maybe I'm doing something wrong? I'm trying to not get obsessed with the numbers but my old 5g setup used a single batch sparge with a bag and cooler and my recipes were in the 73% range. My beers are coming out OK but if I'm to expect 55% at best I need to adjust my grain bills to get back the expected ABV. This will be really bad if I try some high gravity recipes without adjusting accordingly.

At a quick glance, your math isn't making sense. Let's take your pre boil numbers.

[*]Estimated preboil volume 13.58
[*]Measured preboil volume 14.10
[*]Estimated preboil gravity at 60% 1045
[*]Measured preboil gravity 1043

You were estimating 60% and it looks like that's exactly what you got.

13.58/14.1x45=43.3, which is the gravity you measure of 1.043!!!

To take 14.1 gallons from 1.043 to 1.050 you would need to boil off about 2 gallons.

43/50x14.1= 12.1 gallons post boil

So something looks weird

Concerning crush, I recirc eBIAB, no basket. This type of set up closely mimics a solid sided basket as there is one direction for the wort to flow, down. Conditioning my grain, I use a 0.035 crush with no issue and have been considering going tighter. No rice hulls either.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[PsychoBiter]

Can you adjust the flow and the angle of the recirculation arm to keep the grains in suspension while recirculating? How far does the arm extend into the grain? I think that keeping the grains in suspension is a key to getting that basket with solid sides to recirc properly and not get stuck.

Is that the 20gallon pot? If so, I have the same pot from Colorado Brewing.
For comparison...we did a 10 gallon batch of 1.078 beer this past weekend. 42lbs of grain and 17.1 gallons of water total. I had to hold out 3 gallons just because it wouldn't all fit in the 20 gallon pot. I took out the grain back out after squeezing (one guys holds the top of the bag and the other guy spins the bag until it tightens up and squeezes) and put them in a big bucket and poured the 3 gallons of 160 degree water over the bag and squeezed again. I just have the 20 gallon pot and use a bag without any recirculation. We got 67% efficiency, which is pretty good for that OG for our system.
The grains were crushed at the LHBS on their finer crush (Not sure of the mill gap).

I think that the crush and the lack of squeezing is causing your low efficiency numbers.

 

[pretzelb]

Can you adjust the flow and the angle of the recirculation arm to keep the grains in suspension while recirculating? How far does the arm extend into the grain? I think that keeping the grains in suspension is a key to getting that basket with solid sides to recirc properly and not get stuck.

Is that the 20gallon pot? If so, I have the same pot from Colorado Brewing.
For comparison...we did a 10 gallon batch of 1.078 beer this past weekend. 42lbs of grain and 17.1 gallons of water total. I had to hold out 3 gallons just because it wouldn't all fit in the 20 gallon pot. I took out the grain back out after squeezing (one guys holds the top of the bag and the other guy spins the bag until it tightens up and squeezes) and put them in a big bucket and poured the 3 gallons of 160 degree water over the bag and squeezed again. I just have the 20 gallon pot and use a bag without any recirculation. We got 67% efficiency, which is pretty good for that OG for our system.
The grains were crushed at the LHBS on their finer crush (Not sure of the mill gap).

I think that the crush and the lack of squeezing is causing your low efficiency numbers.

The sparge arm can be rotated but I can't see any way to keep the entire grain bed moving. I'm not an engineer but I would think you'd need the ability to push the grain from top to bottom - something like a vertical sparge arm that had holes all the way up that could push along the sides. For example, even with my hefty mash paddle I find it hard to keep the entire bed moving unless I vary the depth of the paddle while spinning. Maybe if the sparge arm reached the bottom of the basket and pointed upwards with enough force it might work.

Your numbers sound similar to what I would expect when I had a cooler and a bag for a recipe with that gravity. Being able to squeeze and go whatever crush you wanted had it's advantages. It could be I'm expecting too much but every so often I hear about someone with a similar setup who has no issues so I'm trying to debug things.

 

[pretzelb]

At a quick glance, your math isn't making sense. Let's take your pre boil numbers.

[*]Estimated preboil volume 13.58
[*]Measured preboil volume 14.10
[*]Estimated preboil gravity at 60% 1045
[*]Measured preboil gravity 1043

You were estimating 60% and it looks like that's exactly what you got.

13.58/14.1x45=43.3, which is the gravity you measure of 1.043!!!

To take 14.1 gallons from 1.043 to 1.050 you would need to boil off about 2 gallons.

43/50x14.1= 12.1 gallons post boil

So something looks weird

Concerning crush, I recirc eBIAB, no basket. This type of set up closely mimics a solid sided basket as there is one direction for the wort to flow, down. Conditioning my grain, I use a 0.035 crush with no issue and have been considering going tighter. No rice hulls either.

Hope some of this helps.

I thought you had drilled holes in your basket to fix recirc issues. Maybe that was someone else.

As far as the numbers go, I am not sure what to say. I did some searching to find the formulas on how to do the calculations but I gave up quickly. I am trying to keep all the needed stats so I can do it after the fact. Besides BeerSmith I now have a spreadsheet with a billion columns to track all kinds of stats. BeerSmith doesn't allow for adjustments based on the actual volume (except collected wort), only gravity readings so it reports me at 55%. I am using a ruler to measure the volume and a formula to adjust based on the temperature so I should be fairly close.

 

[TexasWine]

I thought you had drilled holes in your basket to fix recirc issues. Maybe that was someone else.

Yup, that's exactly what I did. But drilling holes was just one of the things I had to do to solve recirc issues.

I've since upsized my kettle to a 62 quart and now do no sparge.

 

[pretzelb]

Yup, that's exactly what I did. But drilling holes was just one of the things I had to do to solve recirc issues.

I've since upsized my kettle to a 62 quart and now do no sparge.

Oh OK, so you must have a shelf at the bottom to protect the bag. I still think you will get much better flow than a solid side basket. Seems like it should be the same but my gut says it will be different. Reality probably says that you are right.

Full volume mash? How are your numbers? How are you recirculating the wort? My system attempts to keep it all moving and rinse by pushing full speed. Others seem to spray the wort like a traditional fly sparge at a slower rate.

 

[TexasWine]

Oh OK, so you must have a shelf at the bottom to protect the bag. I still think you will get much better flow than a solid side basket. Seems like it should be the same but my gut says it will be different. Reality probably says that you are right.

Full volume mash? How are your numbers? How are you recirculating the wort? My system attempts to keep it all moving and rinse by pushing full speed. Others seem to spray the wort like a traditional fly sparge at a slower rate.

I got a BIAB false bottom from @Bobby_m . Works great.

I've been hitting 70-75% ending kettle efficiency. Don't really care about brew house efficiency as that doesn't tell me much unless I'm leaving a whole lot of wort in the kettle.

Recirculating through a mash cap and some loc line, which means the return is submerged in the grain bed. The pump discharge valve is gradually opened up to a little less than half way at max. Takes a few minutes to ramp up flow to prevent compacting the bed.

From a flow rate stand point, all you really need to do is keep enough flow going to maintain temps. Turns out, that's not much flow. No need to keep the grains in suspension.

 

[pretzelb]

I got a BIAB false bottom from @Bobby_m . Works great.

I've been hitting 70-75% ending kettle efficiency. Don't really care about brew house efficiency as that doesn't tell me much unless I'm leaving a whole lot of wort in the kettle.

Recirculating through a mash cap and some loc line, which means the return is submerged in the grain bed. The pump discharge valve is gradually opened up to a little less than half way at max. Takes a few minutes to ramp up flow to prevent compacting the bed.

From a flow rate stand point, all you really need to do is keep enough flow going to maintain temps. Turns out, that's not much flow. No need to keep the grains in suspension.

Hmm. Maybe I should change my approach. Instead of trying to rinse the grains during mash, I can just try to equalize the temps. That can be done with very little flow rate. And if I just need a low flow rate I can crush finer.

I could test next batch by sticking with full volume and adjusting the crush to maybe 039 and keeping the flow rate slow.

 

[1MadScientist]

What would happen if you set your software to 81% ?

Based on 3 of your parameters, 10.53 OG, collected 10.5 gallons and trub was 1 gallon, I come up with using 20 pounds of grain using the BIABacus. 81% would be the norm for a full volume BIAB for a 1.053 OG wort.

 

[1MadScientist]

You and I have barley crushers. Wilserbrewer posted a nice link the other day (see here; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7705845&postcount=43 )

I have read were pro brewers use those sieves and within this link they referenced the barley crusher (factory gap is .039") retaining 80% of the crush in a #14 sieve. To achieve 50-60%, my best guess would be to set the gap between .027" to .032" ?

 

[1MadScientist]

http://hoppedupbrewer.com/rebel-mill-review/


Kinda looks like the same rollers as the Barley Crusher

 

[stever1000]

If you can't crush finer due to recirc issues, why not mash longer so there is ample time to reach inside of the partly crushed grains?

 

[pretzelb]

What would happen if you set your software to 81% ?

Based on 3 of your parameters, 10.53 OG, collected 10.5 gallons and trub was 1 gallon, I come up with using 20 pounds of grain using the BIABacus. 81% would be the norm for a full volume BIAB for a 1.053 OG wort.

I just spent an hour trying to figure out if I could get BeerSmith to help me with mash efficiency and I'm ready to scream. If I set the brew house efficiency to 100% then the mash efficiency goes to over 100%. OK, so after fiddling around I found a value of 91.3% brew house efficiency results in a 100% mash efficiency. For the recipe it then thinks the pre-boil gravity for 13.58 gallons would be 1.068. But if I look up all the values for potential SG in the grains and multiple by pounds then divide by the gallons of water, I end up with a potential max of 1.066. It isn't much but the math should be simple.

 

[1MadScientist]

I've followed the re-circ BIAB posts for a while and many seem to come to the conclusion that when you re-circ you can't do the flour crush anymore. Plus my basket is solid side so I think that makes a difference. I don't have a picture of my exact basket but here is
a quick image of what the basket is like from the maker. I think when the wort can only flow down it makes a big difference in what crush will work. As far as I can tell, this is the one factor that most do NOT face. If your mash basket has a solid side then all that flour will clog the bottom mesh and severely reduce the flow of wort.

I did start with a .035 crush and found that I could not re-circ. That is when I started to adjust the crush. The only other possible option I can think of that I didn't try is the narrow crush with a planned amount of 1/2 cup of rice hulls per 1 lb of grain for every batch.

I watched the CO brewing 20 gallon nano demo video with the solid sided basket. What mill gap do they recommend ? ... he said 80% efficiency. Mash time?

 

[stpug]

I just spent an hour trying to figure out if I could get BeerSmith to help me with mash efficiency and I'm ready to scream. If I set the brew house efficiency to 100% then the mash efficiency goes to over 100%. OK, so after fiddling around I found a value of 91.3% brew house efficiency results in a 100% mash efficiency. For the recipe it then thinks the pre-boil gravity for 13.58 gallons would be 1.068. But if I look up all the values for potential SG in the grains and multiple by pounds then divide by the gallons of water, I end up with a potential max of 1.066. It isn't much but the math should be simple.

IIRC, in order to get BS to use your mash efficiency as your brewhouse then you need to set all losses to zero since your losses have direct impact on your brewhouse.

 

[doug293cz]

I have a few brews under my belt with my new single vessel electric system and it seems like others with the same system are getting better results. For my last brew I told BeerSmith to expect a 60% efficiency and after I ended up at 55%. My rig has a solid sided mash basket with a pump for mash re-circulation. I've calibrated the temp sensor and made sure to use a Thermapen during the process to double check.

Here is the grain bill for this 10g batch:
22 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 85.4 %
1 lbs Caramel Wheat Malt (46.0 SRM) Grain 2 3.9 %
1 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 3 3.9 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.9 %
12.0 oz Peat Smoked Malt (2.8 SRM) Grain 5 2.9 %

And here are some stats and notes:

• Crushed myself at .049 gap
• 16.5 gallons of water - full volume mash at 150 for 60 minutes.
• Measured pH 5.51
• 10 minute mash out at 168
• Estimated preboil volume 13.58
• Measured preboil volume 14.10 (I can't get the grain absorption setting in BS right)
• Estimated preboil gravity at 60% 1045
• Measured preboil gravity 1043
• 60 minute boil
• Estimate OG at 60% 1053
• Measured OG 1050
• Post boil vol 12.56
• Collected wort vol 10.5
• Left over trub 1g

I just realized that from post boil to finish I'm missing 1.24g. My guess is one of my measurements is off because I don't think I lost that much in the hoses or chill plate. To be fair the volume measurements during the process are done with a ruler so the math is a bit fuzzy.

Anyway, can anyone look at this data and tell me if it seems about right for my setup or if maybe I'm doing something wrong? I'm trying to not get obsessed with the numbers but my old 5g setup used a single batch sparge with a bag and cooler and my recipes were in the 73% range. My beers are coming out OK but if I'm to expect 55% at best I need to adjust my grain bills to get back the expected ABV. This will be really bad if I try some high gravity recipes without adjusting accordingly.

I'm a little behind on my forum following, so this is a bit delayed.

Putting your grain bill, strike and pre-boil volumes, and pre-boil SG into my mash/lauter simulator, I get the following results:

Conversion Efficiency: 84%
Lauter Efficiency: 79%
Mash Efficiency: 66%
Grain Absorption: 0.093 gal/lb​

Conversion Efficiency is the percentage of the maximum potential sugar that you create during the mash. A good mash result is 95% or better efficiency, so your results are disappointing. As others have already pointed out, this is largely due to the coarseness of your crush. You can improve conversion with your current crush by extending your mash time. Finer crushes will speed up conversion since the diffusion limited processes have shorter diffusion distances to deal with (smaller grits convert faster than larger grits, since the limiting process proceeds from the surface towards the center of the grit.)

Lauter Efficiency is the percentage of the sugar actually created in the mash that makes into the boil kettle. This is primarily determined by the pre-boil volume to grain weight ratio, and whether you sparge or not. Grain absorption also affects lauter efficiency, with lower absorption leading to higher efficiency. A grain absorption of ~0.09 gal/lb is about right for a minimal squeeze process.

Mash Efficiency (BrewersFriend's Pre-boil Efficiency) is equal to Conversion Efficiency times Lauter Efficiency.

Any difference between your mash efficiency and brewhouse efficiency is all due to volume losses between your boil kettle and fermenter.

Your biggest issue is your conversion efficiency.

Brew on

 

[pretzelb]

I watched the CO brewing 20 gallon nano demo video with the solid sided basket. What mill gap do they recommend ? ... he said 80% efficiency. Mash time?

They recommend 045 so at 049 I'm not far off. I typically go with 60 minute mash myself. Part of me is wondering if the Barley Crusher is part of the issue. I can adjust the crush to whatever i want but if the mill itself isn't doing a decent job it probably won't matter much.

As far as I can tell the re-circ in the system should try to be as strong as possible to promote movement and rinsing with the grains. But most other re-circ systems jut try to promote heat exchange and so they are fine with running the re-circ at slow rate. With a slow rate a finer crush is possible. I think I need to decide which I want to try between crush size and fast/slow rate. Alternately I could try smaller crush and a fast rate by just adding 1/2 lb of rice hulls per 5g.

I was debating a 5g wheat wine for my next batch but the combo of tons of wheat and a high gravity probably isn't a good choice for trying to nail down a system.

 

[1MadScientist]

I just realized that from post boil to finish I'm missing 1.24g. My guess is one of my measurements is off because I don't think I lost that much in the hoses or chill plate. To be fair the volume measurements during the process are done with a ruler so the math is a bit fuzzy.

How are you coming up with your volumes of 14.10 and 12.56 gallons? How can we help you with this?