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

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RLinNH

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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!!!
 
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.
 
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.

:mug:
 
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
chriso said:
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.
 
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
 
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