I have been brewing with a Brewzilla 65L for about 1.5 years and used to getting ~75% mash efficiency. I use a three roller mill, double crush, but mill at a relatively coarse setting to keep lautering from being a pain. I bought Cali Glucabuster, mostly because I was curious to try it and I needed a few extra $$$$ to get to free shipping. Since then, I have used it three times with interesting results.
The first time I was not very careful in the measuring step and ended up putting about double the 0.25 TSP per 5-gallon amount in, which resulted in the worst mash experience I have ever had. The grist essentially collapsed and there was nearly no run off--horrible. No recirc level worked. Lautering took a couple hours instead of the usual 15-30 minutes. The OG was as expected, but the worst mash experience ever. DO NOT add too much of this stuff!!
The last two times I used it were very different. Instead of trying to measure such a small amount, and really trying to not overdo the amount ever again, I tried one drop per gallon in the mash after dough-in. The results could not have been more different from the first use. With normal barley grist composition, I had zero problems, was able to push a higher recirc rate than ever before and lautering took single digit minutes! With no other changes to my process, Batch #2 came in at 83% mash efficiency, and batch #3 at 85%! That's a big jump, and really starts to overcome some of the cons for (essentially) the BIAB kind of process as opposed to three-vessel. I am very intrigued with this cheap mash aid!
Just curious if anyone else has used it and what your experience has been. Have you used Glucabuster? Did you see a large efficiency jump?
The first time I was not very careful in the measuring step and ended up putting about double the 0.25 TSP per 5-gallon amount in, which resulted in the worst mash experience I have ever had. The grist essentially collapsed and there was nearly no run off--horrible. No recirc level worked. Lautering took a couple hours instead of the usual 15-30 minutes. The OG was as expected, but the worst mash experience ever. DO NOT add too much of this stuff!!
The last two times I used it were very different. Instead of trying to measure such a small amount, and really trying to not overdo the amount ever again, I tried one drop per gallon in the mash after dough-in. The results could not have been more different from the first use. With normal barley grist composition, I had zero problems, was able to push a higher recirc rate than ever before and lautering took single digit minutes! With no other changes to my process, Batch #2 came in at 83% mash efficiency, and batch #3 at 85%! That's a big jump, and really starts to overcome some of the cons for (essentially) the BIAB kind of process as opposed to three-vessel. I am very intrigued with this cheap mash aid!
Just curious if anyone else has used it and what your experience has been. Have you used Glucabuster? Did you see a large efficiency jump?
