Efficiency help please..

[peteplus1]

Can anyone point me in the direction of a thread if this has been explained on here before? If not, can anyone kindly break it down and tell me how I should be working this out to stop me head scratching!
Cheers :)

 

[Covrich]

I assume you're referring to AG mash efficiency? It is basically the amount of sugars you manage to extract from the mashing and sparging process.

To help you calculate this I woudl suggest using brewing software like brewmate or beer smith ect.. most recipes will be based on about 70-75% so if you find with the correct water volume you're about bang on the OG you have pretty much got the 70% efficiency.. if lower you can adjust the % down to see what you're getting...


Improving efficiency is good, but ultimatley you will want to get pretty much the same consistent efficiency every time..

 

[peteplus1]

I have used Brewers Friend for my last brew (and the first time I've used any such thing).

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/edit/346327

I put in all my ingredient details, set the efficiency at 70 as had no idea about it. The OG came out at 1068 but the figures in there suggest it should have been 1054. (The actual recipe from Mikkellers book says it should be 1076). Gosh, think I need to read up somewhere about this as I've still no idea!

 

[stuart_A]

I'm struggling with this too.

I have a recipe which states an OG and ABV. When I add the measurements, ingredients and timings to Brewers Friend it seems the value for Efficiency is critical and alters both OG and ABV significantly.

So in the end I used the Efficiency value to calibrate the OG and ABV to the stated values in the recipe. Ended up with an effiencecy of 71 in that cell.

My worry would be, if that turns out to be lower than the efficiency on the day (not sure how this is measured) the the ABV could jump to say 8.5% when it should be 6.5, or more likely go then other way and I end up with a lower ABV

How do I ensure efficiency hits the 71% required to achieve the correct ABV?

Am I missunderstanding ?

 

[HisDudeness]

Its not very easy to target a specific efficiency as such, as Covrich says you basically want to work out what your efficiency is consistently hitting and then adjust recipe quantities to fit the numbers. This might mean a couple of brews don't quite match the recipe numbers when you are working this out but shouldn't be by too much.

 

[geetee]

Don't get fixated on efficiency per se it is not a directly controllable parameter, it is a result of a consistent process and will improve (or stabilse) with practice and understanding of your method and system.

As far as controlling your ABV you can do this by monitoring the OG and FG and taking steps accordingly:

If your efficiency is lower than expected then you may not reach target OG so one way around this is to boil slightly longer for evaportation and get a lower volume BUT hit your OG target and therefore with a full fermentation your ABV. ( you could add fermentable DME or sugar if you want to make up the shortfall, but I wouldnt)

If your efficiency is higher than expected then you may get a higher OG then simply add more water after the boil (liquor back)

If you know your efficiency is consistently low and you are following stated recipes then simply add extra grain to allow for the shortfall in extraction ( or allow for this in your software). This may help until your efficiency improves.

 

[Covrich]

Yeah totally agree there, for the price of a handful of grain to get your gravity I wouldn'ty worry about it.. If you're getting consistently say 70% in a system which works for you then I would stick with it, keep track of what your getting and play it from there..

The gravity of the wort does affect a few things so if you're getting even say higher than expected it can throw the balance out a little with hop extractions ect..

So yes getting a good efficiency is nice but consistency is where you aim for..

To sumarise ,if you are getting an efficiency you're happy with and are getting it consistently do not go on a quest for a super high efficiency and get up and down numbers..

 

[stuart_A]

That's really helpful thanks guys