Jumped to 79% efficiency...some tips

[Shoemaker]

Hi!

I'm new to all grain brewing, brewed about 4 so far, first was 56% efficiency and the one I just brewed, an Oatmeal Stout, jumped to 79%. I thought I would give those who are just starting out like me some tips I have learned from homebrewtalk that have helped my all-grain brewing.

1.) I saw improvements in efficiency when I increased the amount of strike water. Try 1.5 qts per pound of grain.

2.) Get that strike water real hot, (185-90 degrees), pour in mash tun, let it cool down for 15 mins to your desired strike temp.

3.) Same goes for sparge water. People recommend 190 degrees but for me, I have to get the water to around 200 to get the temperature up in my mash tun.

4.) vorlauf well, use tinfoil when pouring wort back in to prevent disturbance of grain bed.

5.) Crush your own grain. I have a corona style mill, I don't know why people knock these things, it works great for me. I get milled grain from the brew store and crush it again.

6.) Make sure to stir like crazy (10 mins) after each addition of sparge water and let sit for another 10 mins before sparging.

 

[scone]

4.) vorlauf well, use tinfoil when pouring wort back in to prevent disturbance of grain bed.

Awesome idea. Thanks for the tips. I've wondered about how I would vorlauf without pouring too hard...

 

[WaynesWorld]

Hi!

I'm new to all grain brewing, brewed about 4 so far, first was 56% efficiency and the one I just brewed, an Oatmeal Stout, jumped to 79%. I thought I would give those who are just starting out like me some tips I have learned from homebrewtalk that have helped my all-grain brewing.

1.) I saw improvements in efficiency when I increased the amount of strike water. Try 1.5 qts per pound of grain.

2.) Get that strike water real hot, (185-90 degrees), pour in mash tun, let it cool down for 15 mins to your desired strike temp.

3.) Same goes for sparge water. People recommend 190 degrees but for me, I have to get the water to around 200 to get the temperature up in my mash tun.

4.) vorlauf well, use tinfoil when pouring wort back in to prevent disturbance of grain bed.

5.) Crush your own grain. I have a corona style mill, I don't know why people knock these things, it works great for me. I get milled grain from the brew store and crush it again.

6.) Make sure to stir like crazy (10 mins) after each addition of sparge water and let sit for another 10 mins before sparging.

this is a great post....item #4 with the tin foil was superb.... I had been using plastic plates inverted in my mash tun... this tin foil idea is better than that....I also vorlauf at least 2 to 3 gallons before collecting...why? It increases my efficiency into the mid 80's...cheers!!

 

[WaynesWorld]

a double crush will definitely give you better efficiency. The finer your crush the better your efficiency will become. The only limit to your fine crushes is the possibiity of stuck sparges which you must be cognizant of....cheers!!

 

[kanzimonson]

Why should we be concerned with disturbing the grain bed during recirculation? I understand why during sparging - you want to "push" the sugary wort downward and if you pour big glugs of sparge water on top it might plunge down into the grain bed, rather than rinsing the upper grains.

But during recirculation, you're just trying to clear the wort up a bit. I know you don't want to mess up the nice bed of husks on the bottom of the mash tun, but I hardly believe that pouring over tin foil is necessary to avoid disturbing the very bottom of the mash.

 

[TeufelBrew]

What were you using for intial grist ratios? I started with 1.5qts/lb and went to 2qts/lbs fairly rapidly.

 

[WaynesWorld]

Why should we be concerned with disturbing the grain bed during recirculation? I understand why during sparging - you want to "push" the sugary wort downward and if you pour big glugs of sparge water on top it might plunge down into the grain bed, rather than rinsing the upper grains.

But during recirculation, you're just trying to clear the wort up a bit. I know you don't want to mess up the nice bed of husks on the bottom of the mash tun, but I hardly believe that pouring over tin foil is necessary to avoid disturbing the very bottom of the mash.

good question....my only thought was to prevent wort channeling through the grain bed. But as you stated....As batch spargers, why should we be concerned about this during the initial runnings (unless some of the batch spargers out there add some of their sparge to the mash prior to collecting)?...Personally, I think I will try vorlaufing without my customary "recirculation catcher" and just try a soft pour over the mash next time.. It will be interesting to compare refractometer readings with earlier batches when I was concerned about that..... Hmmmmm...again, good point, good question....cheers!!