Random Question About Pre-Boil Water Volume

[JeffoC6]

Is it a good thing or a bad thing that I can pretty much nail my pre-measured water, accounting for grain/hop absorption, boil off, etc., and have my wort pretty much be just at 1 gallon at the time I pour it into my 1 gallon fermenter? I rarely need top off water, and usually hit my SG with 70% efficiency. Not sure why I think this might be a "bad" thing, but who knows haha...I'm guessing that if it's a GOOD thing that I've got it dialed in so accurately?

Thanks...

 

[sputnam]

accuracy/repeatability is the key. I used to concern myself with better efficiency (and did increase 5% after milling my own grains - so I'm around 75% now). That's good enough for me.

 

[Qhrumphf]

accuracy/repeatability is the key. I used to concern myself with better efficiency (and did increase 5% after milling my own grains - so I'm around 75% now). That's good enough for me.

This. If you're getting consistent efficiency and have your process dialed in to know exactly what you're going to get, that's a good thing.

Where I've got my equipment set currently, it's 85% efficiency for your average gravity beer. If I'm doing a session beer, it'll go about 88%, and if I'm doing a very high gravity beer, it'll be closer to 80%. But every single time, 6.5 gallons pre-boil for a 60 minute boil (or 7 for a 90 minute boil) nets me 5.5 gallons in the fermenter almost on the money (some minor variation depending on trub and hop matter), and then 5 gallons (again with minor variation) finished beer, where I usually split it 60/40 between cask and bottle.

Point is, if you're getting good tasting results consistently, then that's all you need. At the scale we're brewing as homebrewers, there's no real benefit to chasing higher efficiency, and 70% is just fine in that regard. If you were brewing for profit on a large scale, that can be a different story. But still, consistency is the name of the game. Unless you're making alterations to make brewdays faster or easier (automation and the like) or change up your batch size, I'd say you're good where you are.

 

[C-Rider]

If you are doing small 1 gallon batches, switch to BIAB and grind your flour in a blender in to powder. Your mash eff will go up to the mid 80's/