Protien Rest....

[FxdGrMind]

Ok 2nd AG and efficiency is only in the 60's.... Mash Temp 148-154 (60 min)

I did a PM (Belgian with Grains and Candie Suggar, no DME/LME) sudo AG I guess, it had me do a Protien Rest and with that recipe I got 84% efficiency!

Since then I did 2 AG's (nearly identical recipe, only differenc is spice) where the recipe does not indicate a Protien Rest... so I didn't.

I think this is the Grain bill:

9lb 2-row
1 Crystal 80L
1 Munich
1 Cara-Pils


Should I have done a Protien rest, to gain efficiency? If so, I'll either have to get a 10gal MLT or 40Qt Brew Pot.. as my 5 gal MLT just doesn't have the room to add the needed hot water to bring it up from 120's to 155 after the Protien rest.

So what do you think? Would a protien rest have helped? Should I invest in the new equipment just to try or is it something else?

Cheers

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

What was the mash schedule for starters? And, how long or what method of sparge did you use?

 

[kanzimonson]

I suspect the reason the protein rest helped you is because it hydrated the grains more. With more starches available for conversion, you get a higher yield.

I firmly believe a protein rest is unnecessary, but if you want to keep doing it, go ahead. However, with only a few mashes under your belt, you're still working out your system. I'd say it took me about 7 batches until I felt I had a good AG system. Now I get 75% efficiency plus/minus 1 every time.

Work on ways to make your process smoother before you begin making drastic changes.

 

[FxdGrMind]

Mash was 60 min for all 3, no difference in sparge process (batch in bag) same amount of sparge water every time.

I guess I'll have to try a protien rest... some how with what I have and see if that makes a difference.

 

[pjj2ba]

A protein rest might boost your efficiency a little, but not that much. The #1 culprit for low efficiency is a poor crush. One way to compensate for a poor crush is to mash longer - it takes longer for the bigger chunks to get broken down.

 

[flananuts]

Are you testing the wort with iodine to confirm your mash is complete? Of the last 4 AG batches I did, my mash was closer to 75-90 minutes, because all of them were still showing unconverted starches at 60 min.(1.057-1.069 OG) I use a HERMS and temps are solid with little fluctuation and my efficiency went up from the 60% to the 70-75% range. Crushing your own grain is also a huge improvement as well, at least for me.

 

[CharlosCarlies]

I suspect the reason the protein rest helped you is because it hydrated the grains more.

I'm thinking this as well. Did you infuse up from the protein to sach rest? If so, I'm guessing the mash was thinner than your other batches which led to better conversion efficiency. IME poor efficiency is generally a conversion issue (from doughballs, bad crush, etc..), not a lautering one. I just recently tried out brew in a bag and hit ~70% efficiency w/o sparging at all (75-80% is "normal" for me).

 

[Denny]

Did your overall mash take longer when you did the p rest? If so, it might indicate that the higher efficiency was due to an increased conversion efficiency.

 

[FxdGrMind]

Denny, you are right, I forgot about the added time that PR added. It was an additional 20min to the process, before the 60 min at 150.

So that's where the difference in efficiency comes to play.

The mashes were very close to the same consistency 1.75QT per LB grain.

I'll have to try the addition of 20/30 min to my hold temp and see what happens to my efficiency.

Thanks for all the help!!!:rockin:

Cheers