Your equipment profile makes a lot of difference!
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And my equipment is loaded into the brewer profile at Brewer’s Friend.
Per recommendations, I adjusted the brewhouse efficiency up to 90% in my recipe calculator. After making this adjustment, it did show an OG of 1.071.
Not saying my system is that efficient, because it is not. But thought it is interesting.
What are normal efficiency ranges for those of us here? 75, 80, or 85%?
The other factor is my mash time can easily run 2 1/2 or more hours. Triple step infusion mash.
High efficiency happens. My last 5 batches since I last re-adjusted my mill:
94%
90%
86%
83%
90%
Average 89%
Not bragging, just stating a fact that it can be higher than 80-something.
In my experience, the crush has the most to do with it.
Secondly, collection of every last drop of wort and not wasting any in the bottom of the mash tun.
Thirdly, in my particular case, I think another big part of it is because I am usually a small batch brewer, so for instance if I am trying to make 2 gallons of beer, I really need to sparge enough to get 3 gallons, because I’ll then boil off about 1 whole gallon, which is like 33% boiloff rate by volume. Most people aren’t doing that. So since I need to sparge with a greater volume percentage-wise than the average brewer, I am collecting a greater amount of sugars then too, so I can easily achieve efficiencies >90% on a regular basis.
On the other hand… those last two batches at 83% and 90% were about 6 gallons each. 
Other than that… any gump can get lucky every once in a while.
Cheers all. 
i dont know how you guys do it.
my efficiency is almost always between 60 to 70% (most recent 69%). i estimate OG on software for 60%, with the expected OG calcs on the low end, so if its higher it’s relatively alright.
i don’t find it to be excessively costly at this rate, so i dont want to change it.
I’m normally somewhere between 75 and 85% depending on what og I’m going for
I get ~73% +/- on my setup. A bit more on lighter beers and a bit less on all malt stronger beers.
If you want better efficiency you can probably mill your grain finer.
i might address it some day. but not today.
(Quick note to anyone who might still be milling at their local homebrew shop… it’s time to get your own mill.)
lol. you got me.
100% agree! You will get a much better crush on the grain. Our goal is to get as little “flour” as possible, but still crack open each piece of grain. And keeping the husks mostly intact.
This last brew was probably close to 90% efficiency. The sparge was stopped at 1.024 runoff gravity. If that means anything.
That made a big difference for me
Brewing on the G70, I get around 85% for beers up to about 1.075. Goes down a bit for bigger beers.
I used to get around 70% efficiency until I got my own mill. Now I get around 90% efficiency when I fly sparge and about 80% when I batch sparge. I just made a Mexican lager with 25% corn in the grist and got 95% efficiency, a new record for me. I have never been one to chase high efficiency but I do brew a LOT, and 90% vs 70% efficiency has saved me a meaningful amount of money.
Sparge method is also important. Even with a good crush, batch sparging has a ceiling of around 80% efficiency (IME). With a slow fly sparge, you can get into the 90s with even a coarse crush.
For me as well. And worth paying money for a good quality mill too. First mill I bought was a cheapo one (not specifically for brewing but primarily for baking, I am guessing); I was trying to pinch pennies, and it had a horribly inconsistent crush, and took forever to do the job badly. But it made me appreciate the quality of the 2nd mill I bought, which was explicitly for malted grains.
I started out my homebrewing by ordering pre-milled grains from the suppliers, and the crush was all over the place. Efficiencies were often disappointing. I am so glad to not deal with that anymore. I suppose the coarsest grind possible was safest for them, but I BIAB anyway so I like the ability to get a finer crush than I was getting with pre-milled.
Assuming we are talking about pre-boil here, I get between 70-75% like clockwork, BIAB, using my Kitchen Aid grain mill. More of a shred than a crush I suppose, but all I care about is consistency and I’m getting that. I chased efficiency for a good while until I realized my time was best spent elsewhere. I did learn a lot of information about my “system” though, some of it was even useful.
Forgot to mention, the mash is fly sparged. I guess that impacts efficiency?
Yes, but it’s hard to say whether it would make it higher or lower. When I was using my batch sparge cooler system, my efficiency was often higher than those who fly sparged. There are a number of variables involved.
It is certainly possible to have higher efficiency with batch sparging than with fly sparging if you have a finer crush than the fly sparger. All else being equal, though (e.g. same crush), fly sparging will always extract more sugar than batch sparging.
No, that’s not the case. A less than perfect lauter system will reduce fly sparging efficiency. And I know few people who have a perfect lauter system. Batch sparging eliminates that from the equation.
I suppose if you run enough water through the fly sparging approach, you are bound to extract a greater amount of sugars eventually, but then again, it may have the potential to create a less than ideal pH and also increase necessary boil time to get to intended finished wort volume levels post-boil. I never really liked fly sparging, because of the extra water needed to maintain a level of water above the grain bed (I used RO and didn’t like to use unnecessary extra amounts for a batch - it seemed like such a waste - but I suppose for those able to use tap water straight away or tap water only modestly treated, the wasted water isn’t an issue). Batch sparging just seemed easier - adding the second amount based on volume runoff of the first runnings to get to a set pre-boil volume became second nature to me. But as always - YMMV. Cheers.