I'll take sanity anytime...just finished mashing a porter/stout that I will add some New Mexico Hatch chilis in the secondary/keg. I ordered some base malt from an on-line retailer that apparently thinks I'm making bread (it's pretty much flour). My mash efficiency went from mid-sixties to high-eighties, but it was the longest, most grueling lauter ever. Thank God I over-hop usually and this was not a hop-focused beer. I used a lot of rice hulls and a thin mash, but the shit at the bottom after vourlafing was like cement. Time for a grain mill : )
I wish cement made beer. $4 for 80 pounds? But yes, between some shops that think milling means just threatening the grains with the rollers and others who think their malt is more Gold Medal than Briess or Fawcett, it's tough to get a quality, consistent crush without your own mill.
I think I start to consider efficiency when I make a beer over 1.065. I batch sparge and my efficnency begins to drop a bit with bigger beers. Using MO or another expensive grain, I'd like to eak out every drop I can. That said I know it's only a few bucks one way or the other. If I'm going to make a really big beer I plan a parti-gyle and get 2 beers out if it.
Before I got my mill efficiencies were all over the place from batch to batch, sometimes 60s, sometimes 80s. Now I'm a consistent 75% every single batch, without fail, and never get a stuck sparge. Yeah, I could be a bit higher, but the simplicity of the sparge and the consistency from batch to batch are what's most important. Go out and get a mill, it is worth it.
I used to aim for uber efficiencies - but I find it doesn't make better beer and I've definitly relaxed and turned my focus elsewhere. My last 1/2 dozen batches or so are no worse for it. In the 60's does seem a bit low - maybe your own custom crush is the way to go. A crusher is definitly a big investment but it will allow you to buy grain in larger amounts and store it for longer, and that will save you money.
