My last 4-5 brews have had low efficiency, like 60%? Fly Sparge w/ 168*, 152* Mash temp. No mash out. Briess 2row. WTH? Was getting 75% - 80% like 6-7 months ago?
First thought, how recently have you calibrated your thermometer and hydrometer/refractometer? Second, have you changed grain mills, or could the mill gap have slipped? Third, has your mash pH or water supply changed?
Basically, it’s either a measurement error or a change in mash crush/temperature/pH.
Ok my mash PH might have changed. I started using 1/4" 10% Phos acid in my water. I use RO water so it helps get my mash ph right. Maybe its to low?
Im not sure what the 1/4" means but if you switched to 10% phosphoric acid from 88% lactic acid or some other concentration of phosphoric acid than that may be your problem as certainly the pH will not come out the same as before.
checked my PH last weekend. 4.8 @ mash. I am still getting horrible efficiency? Grain crush looks good. Ph is a little low but? Maybe the 10 gallon mash tun don’t work for 15 pounds of grain?
Your mash had a pH of 4.8? I think that is a major issue right there…
Really? Please explain?
optimal enzymatic activity with proper PH in mash…starch converting to sugar.
check this out as reference : Mash pH control - German brewing and more
Definitely recommend downloading Brunwater. It will help you predict your pH in the good range. Excellent software :
+1 to Bru’NWater
4.8 at mash temperature is ~5.1 at room temp, so not too far off.
I didn’t catch that. My bad. I thought he was simply stating that his mash pH was 4.8…
Ok so here it is.
15 pds 2 row
0.5 pds carapils
.5 pds 20L
Mash at 147* for 75 minutes
Used RO water from grocery. Added 1 tsp of Calcium Chloride and 1/4 tsp of 10% phosphoric per 5 gallons. Read in a book. Checked Mash PH after cooling and had a reading of 4.8. I used litmus paper? Might make a difference. However it does appear low. I plugged in my numbers to Bruinwater and the predicted ph would have been 5.5? I re calibrated all my equip? 55% efficiency is crap!
Can you post all your measurements? Have you calculated conversion/lauter efficiencies? Troubleshooting Brewhouse Efficiency - German brewing and more
Edit: Cheap litmus paper doesn’t work well for checking mash pH. The ColorpHast strips do pretty well but read ~0.3 pH low.
Your low mash pH would definitely affect your efficiency. How is your sparging technique? Maybe it’s the low pH coupled with a deficiency in your sparging technique.
5 gallon @ mash
4 Gallon gravity fly sparge @ 170*
1/4 tsp 10% Phosphoric added to RO