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Figuring the Efficiency
As I am trying to figure my efficiency of my brew. I had some questions.
1. I didn't know I had to measure the OG prior to the boil. I have not read that anywhere.
OG into Boiler - The original gravity of the wort as measured prior to the start of the boil. Note that this measurement should be corrected for temperature effects prior to entering it here, as the wort is often hot at this point.
My efficiency is coming out to be 56% but that is without measuring my OG before the boil. My estimated OG was a 1.046. It came out to about a 1.042. Thats why the efficiency is down?
Then when you select your equipment and go to detail it gets even more confusing but I'm learning. Should I worry to much?
Thoughts or help.
From previous posts i am assuming you are doing extract with specialty grains? If so, efficiency is somewhat of a moot point. It is a ratio we use in all grain calculations to balance a recipes sugar yield from a specific volume of grain.
Extract is already predetermined for the yield of sugar. (Most dry malt extract is 42 units per gallon) Most of your specialty grains will give a small contribution of sugar, but the majority is coming from the base malt- or in this case extract.
Curious as to how you came up with an efficiency of 56%.
Your preboil gravity is only somewhat important. If you are prepared to adjust your postboil gravity to match a predetermined number by either adding some fermentables or diluting with water, then it is important. If not, it is just a checkpoint to tell if you are on the right track. If your postboil or OG was supposed to be .046, and it is only 4 points off, that is not bad. If you are doing full volume boils, this could be due to a slightly lower boiloff rate, or if partial boils- too much topoff water or insufficient mixing.
BK wrote:
Then when you select your equipment and go to detail it gets even more confusing but I'm learning. Should I worry to much?
Thoughts or help.
Are there any specific examples we can help with?
There is a famous saying by Mr. Papazian...Relax Don't Worry Have a Homebrew.
Taking a gravity reading before your boil is done for one main reason; if you're below your desired gravity you can then correct it by adding more fermentables or dilute it with more water if you're too high. Personally I take this reading after it has been boiling for five minutes. This ensures that everything is mixed together very well and I'm not sampling the lower gravity wort on top or the higher gravity wort on the bottom. After taking the sample cool it to approximately 60 degrees or wherever your hydrometer/refractometer is calibrated at.
thirsty wrote:
From previous posts i am assuming you are doing extract with specialty grains? If so, efficiency is somewhat of a moot point. It is a ratio we use in all grain calculations to balance a recipes sugar yield from a specific volume of grain.
Extract is already predetermined for the yield of sugar. (Most dry malt extract is 42 units per gallon) Most of your specialty grains will give a small contribution of sugar, but the majority is coming from the base malt- or in this case extract.
Curious as to how you came up with an efficiency of 56%.
Your preboil gravity is only somewhat important. If you are prepared to adjust your postboil gravity to match a predetermined number by either adding some fermentables or diluting with water, then it is important. If not, it is just a checkpoint to tell if you are on the right track. If your postboil or OG was supposed to be .046, and it is only 4 points off, that is not bad. If you are doing full volume boils, this could be due to a slightly lower boiloff rate, or if partial boils- too much topoff water or insufficient mixing.
Posting at the same time, haha, not trying to step on toes.
I'm doing a partial mash. Beersmith came up with efficiency.
You don't have to do it pre boil. As long as you know your OG AND total volume post boil we can calculate efficiency. Keep in mind whether pre or post boil getting the volume measurement (to the closest quart) is vital for efficiency determinations.
Post those #s and your exact recipe (I don't need the hop portion). And I'll work you though the calculation.
I have a AG example you could use.
Grain bill
11.5 lbs 2 row base
1/2 lbs crystal 60L
1/4 lbs chocolate
1/8 lbs peated
hops
1 oz kent goldings 60 min
1 oz kent goldings 2 min
I usually try to hit 70 percent but am wondering how my calculations are.
OG was 1.037 with 7.25 gallons in pot
SG was 1.049 with 5 gallons in bucket
FG was 1.011
so what is my efficiency other than sub par? LOL
I come up with around 59 percent 
i hope i'm wrong a lot of wasted potential
If you have 5 gallons in the bucket, then you are looking for brewhouse efficiency, which will always be lower than mash efficiency. tastybrew's calculations say 53%. Your potential OG would be 1.091 IF it is for a 5 gallon finish. However was there leftover loss in the kettle, chiller, lines? If you finished at 6 gallons in the kettle, but racked only 5 of it to primary, then you get a mash efficiency of 65%.
This second part seems much more likely, because if you started with 7.25, you would have had to boil 2-2.5 hours on most systems to reduce that much. If you did a standard 60-75 minute boil, it should reduce to 6 gallons.
Question about the water you start out with. I use 1.25 to steep/mash my grains. I then use 2 gallons to sparge. Thoughts on how much water to use. I usually top it off with cold water to 5.25 in the fermentor. Should I use more water during the boil? Less or more sparging water?
I usually use a grain bag for the mash/steeping. If I can not because the amount of grains can I not use a grain bag and mash/steep without one?
BK wrote:
I usually use a grain bag for the mash/steeping. If I can not because the amount of grains can I not use a grain bag and mash/steep without one?
Not using a grain bag is fine, as long as you have a way to filter the sparge water through. A large collander or sieve strainer would be fine, essentially you are using this as a mashtun, just with grains that only need to be steeped. Typically in a 5 gallon batch, these specialty grains are not a huge volume, if you are using any grains that need to be mashed (meaning they must need a rest at a saccharification temp for a duration to convert starches to sugar) then just steeping alone will not be too effective. A full mash in a tun, or a partial mash in a pot in a warm oven may be necessary.
To answer your first question, the amount of sparge water can be as much as you want to include in your boil. As long as your initial rinse pulls all the sugar away, this will vary with how much grain you are steeping. The ideal situation is a full volume boil with no top off water.
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