I just wanted to take a moment and say thanks to all you forum gurus for the various tips and tricks posted in various stickies and other threads throughout these forums.
I've been AG brewing for several years but I only brew about 30-60 gallons a year, 5.25 at a time. Slowly adding to my equipment and processes, I had noticed that my pre-boil gravity readings were falling short of the targets by a pretty consistent 8-10%... I had done better before starting to crush my own grain (Barley Crusher) and switching from fly to batch sparging. Efficiency Calculators told me I was at about 65% going into the pot. I got lazy and just adjusted my grain bill to compensate.
But, after following advice from the forums, I've been tweaking my processes and saw some improvements. I tightened my grain crusher's roller gap, conditioned my malt, slowed my runoff, altered my sparge process to a slower hybrid batch-fly, adjusted my water chemistry, etc. The last three batches all showed improvement: an APA @ 75%, a Belgian Blond @ 78%, a wheat at 80%.
Today I'm brewing a Rye Saison recipe I found in here. It's a simple grain bill. I used all my new steps and took my time. I just measured my gravity into the pot. I hit 89%!
I am thrilled at the improvement and wanted to say thanks again for everyone who contributes in here... I have learned a TON and keep finding new information all the time.
I've been AG brewing for several years but I only brew about 30-60 gallons a year, 5.25 at a time. Slowly adding to my equipment and processes, I had noticed that my pre-boil gravity readings were falling short of the targets by a pretty consistent 8-10%... I had done better before starting to crush my own grain (Barley Crusher) and switching from fly to batch sparging. Efficiency Calculators told me I was at about 65% going into the pot. I got lazy and just adjusted my grain bill to compensate.
But, after following advice from the forums, I've been tweaking my processes and saw some improvements. I tightened my grain crusher's roller gap, conditioned my malt, slowed my runoff, altered my sparge process to a slower hybrid batch-fly, adjusted my water chemistry, etc. The last three batches all showed improvement: an APA @ 75%, a Belgian Blond @ 78%, a wheat at 80%.
Today I'm brewing a Rye Saison recipe I found in here. It's a simple grain bill. I used all my new steps and took my time. I just measured my gravity into the pot. I hit 89%!
I am thrilled at the improvement and wanted to say thanks again for everyone who contributes in here... I have learned a TON and keep finding new information all the time.