mid 90's brewhouse efficeincy is this bad or good

[GySgtLynn]

From what I have read most people seem to be in the mid 70's to low 80's. I have made 3 AG batches so far. My first attempt I was way under my OG pre boil. On my last two I have hit my OG pre boil, when i ran the numbers through the calculator i was about 94% on both of them. I don't know if this is bad or good. I have not been able to taste any of the two yet because they are still in carboys. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ajf]

I'd be surprised if you really got 94% efficiency, unless it was a partial mash with a substantial % of extract.
Have you calibrated your hydrometer? They can ofter read a few degrees off.
How did you measure the volume? If you use the markings on an ale pail, these are quite often a work of fiction.
Then the calculator could be inaccurate, or not set up properly. (I once got about 110% efficiency according to Promash after setting it up incorrectly).
Can you post details of the fermentables you used, and the volume of wort you collected when you measured the gravity. I'll be happy to run the calculations, and see if your calculator agrees with my calculations.

-a.

 

[GySgtLynn]

I did use my bucket to measure my volume. The hydrometer is new.
my grain bill was 11.2 lbs 2 row and .5 lb 10L Caramel malt. Pre boil OG was 1.066

 

[Yooper]

I did use my bucket to measure my volume. The hydrometer is new.
my grain bill was 11.2 lbs 2 row and .5 lb 10L Caramel malt. Pre boil OG was 1.066

What was the post boil OG and the batch size into the fermenter? We need the volume.....................

 

[GySgtLynn]

Yooper I am cooling the wort now... I will post my post boil volume and and OG as soon as it's done.

 

[GySgtLynn]

I used brewers friend calculator.

 

[GySgtLynn]

post boil volume is 4.75

 

[Bizoune]

Congrats on 94%. But consistency is where it's really at.

 

[GySgtLynn]

post boil og was 1.054

 

[ajf]

OK,
11.2 lbs 2 row at 36 pppg = 403.2 points
0.5 lb crystal 10 at 35 pppg = 17.5 points
Total fermentables - 420.7 points
Divide by volume (4.75g) would give you 88.57 points per gallon
You got 54 points per gallon, and 54 * 100 / 88.57 = 61% efficiency.
I suspect your friends calculator is either wrong, or is set up for a very different system than you are using.
61% is a bit low, but if your hydrometer is a bit off, and you are relying on the ale pail markings, this could increase to a respectable figure once those factors are corrected for

-a.

 

[GySgtLynn]

Ummm... I just ran it through a different on line calculator and it again came out to 94 %. Am I just missing something? The only things these calculators are asking me for is pre boil volume pre boil OG and the grain bill.

 

[ajf]

Yes, you are missing something. The calculations I did were for brewhouse efficiency, (i.e. the gravity of the wort ending up in the fermenter, expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible gravity, assuming zero losses), while the calculators you are using are for mash/lauter efficiency. (i.e. the the gravity of the wort ending up in the kettle expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible gravity, assuming zero losses.)
The mash/lauter efficiency will always be greater than the brewhouse efficiency, because you will lose a certain amount of wort to hop absorption, dead space in your equipment, trub, and wort trapped in the equipment.
With my setup, this accounts for about a 5% difference.
What was your pre-boil volume, pre-boil OG, and at what temperature did you measure the pre-boil OG?

 

[martinworswick]

OK,
11.2 lbs 2 row at 36 pppg = 403.2 points
0.5 lb crystal 10 at 35 pppg = 17.5 points
Total fermentables - 420.7 points
Divide by volume (4.75g) would give you 88.57 points per gallon
You got 54 points per gallon, and 54 * 100 / 88.57 = 61% efficiency.
I suspect your friends calculator is either wrong, or is set up for a very different system than you are using.
61% is a bit low, but if your hydrometer is a bit off, and you are relying on the ale pail markings, this could increase to a respectable figure once those factors are corrected for

-a.

not sure what i'm missing but where does the 54 ppg come from?

 

[devilishprune]

post boil og was 1.054

Right there.