So, I recently posted here asking about recirculation hoping to invreincmy efficiency. I have been struggling with efficiency since starting all grain brewing and can't seem to nail down the problem. I did a batch to try and get a boost from some potential recirculation. Here are the results. Recipe: 10lbs two row 3lbs Munich 2lbs red wheat 1lb victory (I buy my grain from my LHBS they crush it for me) 1 oz fuggle @ 60 1 oz fuggle @30 Mashed at 148°f for 60 minutes at a thickness of 1.25 qts/gallon (5 gallons) After finishing the sparge I did a vorlof with a pump. Slowly pulled wort from the grain bed and pumped it into a sparge arm. After a fifteen minutes vorlof I drained the entire first running to the kettle. I lost a gallon of wort to grain absorbtion (4 gallons into kettle) Next I reflooded the grain bed with 3.75 gallons 170° water and let it sit for 15 minutes. Following that I recirculated with the pump again for fifteen minutes. After that I ran it off again slowly. I collected a total 7.25 (roughly) gallons of wort. Boiled it down to 5 gallons after an hour. The og came out to 1.062. by my math I'm getting an efficiency of 53%. I've tried alot of different things to try and increase my efficiency but ultimately the best I e done is about 63% and TBH I'm not exactly sure what caused the bump in the efficiency. I tried to give all the info I could. Ask as questions for whatever I left out and thank you for any help you can give.
I just posted some things that may help you. I also read that adjuncts may lower efficiency. https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/brewhouse-in-efficiency.591315/
Do you mill your grain or at the homebrew store? Bad milling can have an effect on efficiency. Check your tolerances on the rollers and if the sides of the mill (next to rollers) are flexing. Some mill sides are made of masonite and can flex letting unmilled grain by and into your bucket.
That or mash PH. @Abk542 Are you measuring the PH of the mash? Are you using RO/distilled water (with additions I hope) or tap water?
You would not be the first person to misuse a hydrometer. Are you certain of accurate calibration, temperature corrections, correct reading of the proper scale.
@dmtaylor would buying grain crushed at my LHBS effect efficiency as much as it is? I know that shops use crush to lower efficiency and increase grain sales but I feel like at most the crush would only change efficiency by 10% max either way. I am experiencing a loss of 20% @Eggman20 I use tap water unfortunately
Why do you feel a bad crush could only change efficiency by 10%? There's almost no limit to how bad a crush (and resulting efficiency) could be. Could you post a pic (maybe next time) of the crush?
Do you test the mash PH? Some tap water is perfect for brewing but my tap water only works for dark beers. Otherwise my PH would be way too high so I end up using at least some distilled water for lighter colored beers.
I used to ask my homebrew store to mill my grain twice before I got a mill. Getting a mill was less hassle.
Taste the mashed grains after the sparge. Does it taste sweet? If so ... you're leaving money on the table.
I did some reading to figure out my problem and it looks like you have a double whammy. Read grist composition and mash schedule. I would also go to 1.5 qts/gal. https://beerandbrewing.com/how-efficient-is-your-beer/
