42 percent BH efficiency, really?

[user 264271]

It seems I can't extract sugar out of those grains.

This is a short recap of my brew session today.

These are the ingredients used:

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
2,50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5,9 EBC) Grain 1 100,0 % 1,63 L
15,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 60,0 min Hop 2 64,7 IBUs -
15,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 15,0 min Hop 3 32,1 IBUs -
10,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 5,0 min Hop 4 8,6 IBUs -
1,0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50,28 m Yeast 5 - -
10,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Dry Hop 14,0 Days Hop 6 0,0 IBUs -



The brewhouse efficiency is set to 72% in BeerSmith, yielding a potential 1081 SG.

I mashed the grains for 60 minutes at 68,9C and mashed ut for 10 minutes at 75,6C.

During the process, I stirred those grains really well several times; I was feeling like a pro.

The estimated pre-boil gravity was 1064 SG, but in reality, these were my readings:

130 SG @ 55C = (Adjusted for 20C) 131,6

135 SG @ 43,7C = (Adjusted for 20C) 136

142 SG @ 24C = (Adjusted for 20C) 142,1

After the boil the OG was 148 SG @ 23,5C = (Adjusted for 20C) 148,1

According to these numbers, the estimated ABV will be about 4,6%, far from the original estimated ABV of 8%.

Also, according to my calculations (Beersmith really), the brewhouse efficiency is 42%?

Grains seemed crushed well enough.

What could've gone wrong?

Thanks!


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 10,16 L
Post Boil Volume: 8,27 L
Batch Size (fermenter): 7,00 L
Bottling Volume: 5,11 L
Estimated OG: 1,048 SG
Estimated Color: 12,1 EBC
Estimated IBU: 105,4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 42,00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 47,6 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
2,50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5,9 EBC) Grain 1 100,0 % 1,63 L
15,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 60,0 min Hop 2 64,7 IBUs -
15,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 15,0 min Hop 3 32,1 IBUs -
10,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 5,0 min Hop 4 8,6 IBUs -
1,0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50,28 m Yeast 5 - -
10,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Dry Hop 14,0 Days Hop 6 0,0 IBUs -


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 2,50 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 14,52 L of water at 74,5 C 68,9 C 60 min
Mash Out Heat to 75,6 C over 7 min 75,6 C 10 min

 

[rburrelli]

2.5kg of Morris Otter come nowhere near that estimated gravity. Were there other grains?

 

[user 264271]

@rburrelli - even for a 7L brew?

 

[rburrelli]

@rburrelli - even for a 7L brew?

Oops! My bad. 58% efficiency for a gravity of 1.064. That is quite low as well.

 

[user 264271]

The estimated OG was suposed to be 1081 with a BH efficiency of 72%.
The actual OG was 148, wich I think translates to a BH efficiency of 42%, if I am not mistaken?

The only process I couldn't control was grain crush.

I don't understand why I wasn't able to extract more sugar.

 

[rburrelli]

The estimated OG was suposed to be 1081 with a BH efficiency of 72%.
The actual OG was 148, wich I think translates to a BH efficiency of 42%, if I am not mistaken?

The only process I couldn't control was grain crush.

I don't understand why I wasn't able to extract more sugar.

And grain crush is the most likely reason for not meeting efficiency targets. But you were way low. Could your gravity measurements be off. Correct me if I am wrong.

1.030 @ 55C (133F) is 1.043 gravity

Is that what one of your measurements were?

 

[doug293cz]

It seems I can't extract sugar out of those grains.

This is a short recap of my brew session today.

These are the ingredients used:

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
2,50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5,9 EBC) Grain 1 100,0 % 1,63 L
15,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 60,0 min Hop 2 64,7 IBUs -
15,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 15,0 min Hop 3 32,1 IBUs -
10,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 5,0 min Hop 4 8,6 IBUs -
1,0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50,28 m Yeast 5 - -
10,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Dry Hop 14,0 Days Hop 6 0,0 IBUs -



The brewhouse efficiency is set to 72% in BeerSmith, yielding a potential 1081 SG.

I mashed the grains for 60 minutes at 68,9C and mashed ut for 10 minutes at 75,6C.

During the process, I stirred those grains really well several times; I was feeling like a pro.

The estimated pre-boil gravity was 1064 SG, but in reality, these were my readings:

130 SG @ 55C = (Adjusted for 20C) 131,6

135 SG @ 43,7C = (Adjusted for 20C) 136

142 SG @ 24C = (Adjusted for 20C) 142,1

After the boil the OG was 148 SG @ 23,5C = (Adjusted for 20C) 148,1

According to these numbers, the estimated ABV will be about 4,6%, far from the original estimated ABV of 8%.

Also, according to my calculations (Beersmith really), the brewhouse efficiency is 42%?

Grains seemed crushed well enough.

What could've gone wrong?

Thanks!


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 10,16 L
Post Boil Volume: 8,27 L
Batch Size (fermenter): 7,00 L
Bottling Volume: 5,11 L
Estimated OG: 1,048 SG
Estimated Color: 12,1 EBC
Estimated IBU: 105,4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 42,00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 47,6 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
2,50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5,9 EBC) Grain 1 100,0 % 1,63 L
15,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 60,0 min Hop 2 64,7 IBUs -
15,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 15,0 min Hop 3 32,1 IBUs -
10,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Boil 5,0 min Hop 4 8,6 IBUs -
1,0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50,28 m Yeast 5 - -
10,00 g Citra [12,00 %] - Dry Hop 14,0 Days Hop 6 0,0 IBUs -


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 2,50 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 14,52 L of water at 74,5 C 68,9 C 60 min
Mash Out Heat to 75,6 C over 7 min 75,6 C 10 min

Using your numbers of 2.5 kg grain, 14.52 L of strike water, 10.16 L pre-boil volume, 8.27 L post boil, and 7 L to the fermenter, I come up with the following:

Estimated post-mash/pre-boil SG: 1.047 (based on 100% conversion efficiency)
Grain absorption rate: 1.774 L/kg
Boil off: 1.89 L
Estimated Post-boil SG (OG): 1.058
Estimated Mash & Lauter Efficiency: 64.6%
​

Based on your observed OG of 1.048, I get the following calculated efficiencies:

Conversion efficiency: 82%
Lauter efficiency: 65.4%
Mash efficiency: 53.7%
Brewhouse efficiency: 45.4% (transfer eff = 84.6%)
​

Your conversion efficiency is quite low. Doing BIAB with a fine grind should allow conversion efficiency of 95% - 100%. Your grain absorption rate is about 2X higher than would be expected for a well drained, but not squeezed, BIAB bag. And you left ~15% of your wort in the BK making you brewhouse efficiency lower than it could be.

Recommendations: grind finer or mash longer to increase conversion efficiency. Drain the bag longer, and maybe look into squeezing, to increase lauter efficiency. Estimate you volumes more accurately, so that you don't have to leave so much wort out of the fermenter, to increase your transfer efficiency.

Brew on

 

[Gulo_gulo]

130 SG

This confused me, I've never seen specific gravity written like this so had no idea what you were talking about, until I saw a reference to the correct way to state this SG, as 1.030.
I've also seen reference to this as "30 points" of specific gravity, and believe that to be a commonly accepted way, but never have seen it as 130 SG.

 

[Bobby_M]

Without a picture of the crush, we are speculating on the one aspect with the most efficiency impact.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Efficiency calculations are based on accurate gravity AND volume measurements. I see lots of (rather confusing) gravity readings but I don't see your actual volume measurements. How are you measuring volume at various points in the process? Are you sure these volume measurements are accurate?

 

[brewdude88]

Did you make any water adjustments? Do you know what your estimated or actual PH was? Where was the grain milled? Do you know the gap of the mill rollers? What was the total volume of wort in the kettle after boiling and cooling? Are your volume measurements accurate?

For what it's worth, I hit 72% exactly on the few no-sparge batches I do with home-crushed grain and careful consideration to mash PH and water volumes (these beers tend to be lodo lagers in the 1.050 OG range)

 

[user 264271]

I think I found the reason of my "low efficiency", and it was related to my equipment profile not being set up propery in BeerSmith.
I hit my numbers almost perfectly in my last homebrew.
Thanks everyone!