OHH Hell YEAH!!! 77.78% Efficiency!!!

[RLinNH]

Reason I am so Psyched about that Low Number!?!?!? Well, i have been getting 60-62% prior to today's Brew session. Things I did different from my other 2 prior 2 AG Batches...

1- Used a Thicker Mash. Instead of going with 1.33 quarts per pound of Grain, I went with 1 quart per pound of Water to 1 pound of Grain.

2- Used my BRANDEE NEW JSP Malt Mill, AA Adjudtsble (set to 0.045 from the factory), and I Was PSYCHED to use my own Mill. My Buddy gets 83% out of his factory set Model A Non Adjustabe with an gear Drive.

3- I batch Sparged EXCRUTIANTLY SLOWLY this time. I went with 1 quart per 5 minues this time. For the prior 2 Mashes I have been letting her RIP at 1 quart per minute, and then some. This time though, I slowed her down.


4- I GOT 78% Efficiancy!!! NAKED snowmen in the snow. HELL YEEAH!!! 90 MPH runs off the Back Yard Jump with the wife's new Artic Cat!!! I came up with an OG of 1.070 with a targeted OG f 1.059. Actual eff. of 77.72% from BeerSmith. A few more good things. I actually had a starter going. So the bigger OG is not worrying me as i have the Yeast Cells to go with it. AGAIN. HELL YEAH. Of, and my wife is kissing my neck like She wants to go a round tonight. HELL YEAH!!! Some one Call Jerry Garcia cause this Train IS just goin to DAMNED GOOOOOOOODAAAH!!!

 

[ajf]

Do I understand from this that you are pleased?

-a.

Edit 78% with an OG of 1.070 is impressive.

 

[RLinNH]

Do I understand from this that you are pleased?

-a.

Edit 78% with an OG of 1.070 is impressive.

I am Walking on Cloud Nine over Here in NH!!!

 

[Bobby_M]

Congrats. I wouldn't put too much weight on the slow sparge. There's absolutely no theory to support this as helping efficiency. I certainly havn't seen any change based on how fast I drain. As long as you have the water and grain well mixed, I open the valve full and rip it.

I think you gained from the crush and the thicker mash.

 

[shafferpilot]

It's the crush, no doubt.

 

[S0meB0dy]

I would go with the crush as the main factor too. After purchasing my barley crusher my efficiency jumped from low 70s to low 80s.

 

[Brew-boy]

Same thing happened to me, its the crush.

 

[FlyGuy]

Yep, it is probably the better crush. Congrats, by the way! That's an awesome improvement.

Mash thickness won't have a huge impact on efficiency, and draining your sparge slowly won't really matter (in fact, some claim that a FAST drain will do better than a slow one!).

Next things to tweak are your temp and pH, if you haven't already. You can also try experimenting with a finer crush. For batch sparging, crush 'til you are scared!

 

[RLinNH]

For this Mash I started using a PH Balancer. The same folks that make Star San also make this Stuff. I is supposedly supposed to automatically adjust your PH to 5.2.

 

[Chriso]

I use PH 5.2 for anything lighter than a Porter. Great stuff - the first time I brewed, one of my buddies showed me it, and threw a Tbsp into my mash, and I saw the price tag and thought "Chaaaaa, like I'll ever use that."

Bought it a week later. <3 PH 5.2. It is great stuff.

 

[njnear76]

I use PH 5.2 for anything lighter than a Porter. Great stuff - the first time I brewed, one of my buddies showed me it, and threw a Tbsp into my mash, and I saw the price tag and thought "Chaaaaa, like I'll ever use that."

Bought it a week later. <3 PH 5.2. It is great stuff.

Hahahaha... Anything lighter than a Porter. I used that stuff yesterday for my blond ale. All that talk about tannins scared the crap out of me.

 

[GrantLee63]

Alright .... another satisfied JSP Maltmill user !!! It seems that most people have - or talk about getting - Barley Crushers. I bought a standard, non-adjustable JSP Maltmill, and I routinely get 80-85% efficiencies. It's a great piece of equipment from a great guy - not that there's anything wrong with BC's, it just seems the JSP stuff doesn't get as much 'press' .....

Congratulations !!!

- GL63

 

[Chriso]

Yep, I'm JSP Maltmill non-adjust, and I'm routinely 78-84%