See anything particularly off? Any tips on things to try? Getting tired of consistently getting 10 point variances in mash and brewhouse efficiency from batch to batch and don’t know what else to do.
Batch sparging
Double mill grains and use bag filter with 10 gallon round cooler
Adjust water using Bru’n water
Mash pH = 5.2 - 5.6 (depending on style)
Normally mash around 150F for 60 minutes
Sparge water pH = 6.0 and normally around 185F
collect close to equal amounts from first and second runnings
collecting wort with valve about 1/2 open
consistently hitting temps and volumes
Good to know. I actually did not double mill my last batch and my efficiency seemed to take a hit however it’s so inconsistent now it’s hard to tell if that had anything to do with it.
Sounds to me like inconsistent crush. Mill it yourself and tighten up. I wouldn’t loosen. I’d tighten, unless the variance you’re seeing is efficiencies ranging from 85-95% or something wacky like that. I assume you’re more concerned over a variance of like 60-70%, am I right?
Should be pretty consistent. Crush from LHBS looks good then I mill it again at home pretty tight. You are correct in that I am usually anywhere between 65%-75% brewhouse
I’ve always had inconsistencies. I was hoping that milling the grain fine and adjusting my water would fix it but I haven’t really seem a difference a couple years down the road.
Stuck Sparging should not be an issue. Until today I though a slower sparge was beneficial…
Grain bed looks compacted. Not sure about wort running down the sides instead of through.
With batch sparge the guru says there’s no adbpvantage to slow runoff.
http://www.dennybrew.com/. Edit: “I only open the valve partially at first, then as the runoff clears I open it up fully. With the hose braid, I usually only have to drain about a quart or so until it’s clear. Keep draining and recirculating until the runnings are clear and free from pieces of grain.
4.) Once the runnings clear, direct the runoff to your kettle, and slowly pour the contents of the pitcher back over the top of your mash.
5.) Completely drain the mash tun as fast as your system will allow.”
If the OP is batch sparging, channeling should be irrelevant, and the degree of compaction after draining too. In a batch sparge, you’re getting all the extract you’re going to get just by diffusing it when you stir in each batch of water, no? Therefore batch sparging, it seems to me, while it may be less efficient, should in fact be more consistent than a less than perfectly executed continuous sparge system. Real head scratcher here.
Edit: good point. It shouldn’t matter. You’re just draining wort.
Do you stir when you add sparge water?
I agree.
If your crush is so fine that you’re making flour from the grain I have to disagree with others who say tighter is better and instead say open the gap until you get cracked grain “nuggets” with no ‘old maids’ (uncracked kernels). This allows permeability of the grain bed. Now, having said that, there’s a fine line between too much and too little. <<for recirculating or fly sparging
Since we’re talking Brewhouse efficiency, how dry do you drain your grainbed? How do you treat the kettle trub? Dump it in or drain it to a consistent level each brewday? How consistent is your boil off rate?
So, you are struggling with mash efficiency. Not getting consistent gravity points from brew to brew. How are you measuring your efficiency? Brewing software or formula?
Hmmmm. I use BeerSmith and find once I ensured my equipment setup was correct, it’s been spot on predicting my OG. This took some dialing in over a few brews to get it right.
If Denny is the batch sparge guru, BrewBama is the permeability guru!
I’m thinking that since the problem seemingly starts with conversion efficiency, there is something to this. If the bed is too compacted or the grist too fine, the lack of permeability means enzymes don’t get full access to the starch, and sugar can’t be diffused out into the liquor – and the concentration of sugar that is there within the dough inhibits further enzyme activity. I would try a coarser crush as BrewBama described, and frequent stirring during conversion (you didn’t mention whether you stir the mash at all.) See if this aids mash efficiency. Lauter efficiency then will be what it is with a batch sparge.
I stir the mash well about every 15 minutes. An unchanged recipe and process yielded a 6 point efficiency difference on two different occasions. The higher efficiency batch was re milled at home.
“Don’t be afraid of thinning out the mash… enzymes and gelatinization also work better in a thinner mash.
If direct heat is used aim for a mash thickness of 3.5 – 4.5 l/kg (1.75 – 2.25 qt/lb). This is the mash thickness that is commonly used in Germany and it makes stirring the mash during the heating phases much easier…” Kai Troester
Hence my ‘grits vs flour’ mill setting. I start at 1.5 qts/lb and go thinner as required.
