Is this efficiency even possible?

[Chipster27]

I recently started brewing AG again. I built a brew sculpture and have done two batches already, both with VERY high efficiency (or so the calculator tells me).

One recipe included unsweetened cocoa and I suspect that might have thrown the efficiency off so I didn't think much of it. Here's the second efficiency calculator and recipe. The sugar is added at the last 15 minutes of the boil and I'm using a HERMS set up to recirculate the mash/wort while it's resting. In both cases the mash temp is about 150-155.

Here are the SG readings after the 90 minute boil:
5.5 gallons 1.070
6.5 gallons 1.059 (I added water after the boil to give me a total volume of 6.5 G to compensate for the dead space in the conical and purging during fermentation.

Could it really be possible that I'm getting 90-95% efficiency?

 

[JonK331]

Looks like you're including the sugar in the calc. So no. Even lab based efficiency tests with a flour type crush don't get that high.

 

[Frodo]

Looks like you're including the sugar in the calc. So no. Even lab based efficiency tests with a flour type crush don't get that high.

I disagree about the sugar causing a bad calculation. It looks to me like the sugar is factored into the efficiency calculator with a 100% extract efficiency.

I thought the extract potential for any particular grain was based on the maximum you could get out of said grain... therefore wouldn't a perfect lab test show 100% extract efficiency for a mash?

On the other hand 90-95% seems out of this realm high... OP are you positive your volume measurements were dead on?

 

[JonK331]

Yeah okay but it's hard to tell if the 100% for the sugar doesn't affect the average of the whole thing. 100% doesn't happen with grain, not possible. Even if, hypothetically, you could sparge a flour type crush/grind.

 

[Chipster27]

OP are you positive your volume measurements were dead on?

I used a calibrated refractometer and I would say the volume is within a quart of what I posted. Later this week I'm going to do an AG that calls for nothing but grain and see how that comes out.

It just doesn't seem possible to get that high an efficiency...especially with something I'm involved in :-0

 

[bullinachinashop]

I just got 87% +/- on an AG blond ale I brewed. I was not expecting that high of an percentage but numbers don't lie.

8# 2 row
8# MO
.63# C10
.63# Honey
1.046 pre boil OG in 12.25 gal.

Bull