Recipe Efficiency

[humpadilo]

I have been brewing a while but I have been going off LHBS recipes. I am trying to learn about efficiency and all that good stuff. I usually hit my OG/FG pretty well. I do BIAB. My question is; do i not need to worry about efficiency until I start making my own recipes or is efficiency used to help your technique? Since I have never really worried about it and I hit my numbers I figure it's mainly for recipe creation, right? (I'm not sure if I phrased this question correctly.)

 

[k_mcarthur]

Some people get too caught up with achieving a higher efficiency when in fact if its too high you can extract things from the grains you don't necessarily want. A low % can indicate a problem with your system, but as long as you're somewhere around 70% you'll be ok. Knowing your number will help to determine how much grain is needed to reach your target original gravity.

 

[KiwiBruce]

K, Very Good response! Spot-on! Kiwi.

 

[ajf]

There's only two things to worry about concerning efficiency.

1. Is your efficiency unacceptably low? like less than about 70%. If so, you need to determine what is wrong with your process, and correct it.
2. Does your efficiency vary significantly from batch to batch? If so you need to determine the reason for this inconsistency, and correct it.

In your case, you seem to be achieving reasonable efficiency consistently, so I wouldn't worry about it; but take notes so if you change your process or equipment (both of which can effect your efficiency) you can adjust your recipes to take these changes into account.


-a.