The (soon to be) great "How's my crush?" Thread!

[doug293cz]

Thanks Doug, all great intel. Will have to dial in my crush for the next brew. I’ve narrowed the gap and will run just a handful of grain and check it before milling the entire amount. As for the sparge (with my 2 kettle RIMS setup), holding back the sparge water would reduce the total fluid volume for the mash recirculation and create a situation where my boil kettle (heat source) would not have enough fluid to cover the element as most of the fluid is in the MT to cover the top of the mash. I’ve just learned to live with less efficiency. I do a mash out and squeeze the brew bag to get the most I can out of the process. I don’t have the space for a 3 vessel setup.

I didn't mean to suggest changing your process, just inquiring if something else might have changed. If the lauter process is the same as always, then a reduction in mash efficiency is almost always due to a reduction in conversion efficiency - which is often due to crush. Just trying to look at all the possibilities, so we don't come to a false conclusion by overlooking something.

Brew on