Low OG ( again I know)

[Jack of all biers]

Hitting the numbers is not really what you should be aiming for. It is a thing we all strive for, but really uping the grain bill by 100-200 gms will get you there with a lower efficiency and still keep a good taste. In saying that, good luck in improving your efficiency , it is something we all keep at to be honest. Keeping up with the Joneses may be part of it, but knowing you did a recipe that someone else wrote and that you nailed is a good feeling also. :beer: Just remember that if the beer tastes superior, 100-200 gms of grain is about 75c to$1.50 worth so keep it in perspective.

 

[Beamer]

Hey all,

Just an update and thankyou,

Thanks to all on their advice with this thread.

I ended up trying almost everything over the last two months. I have done smaller mash volumes with mash outs and sparges. Full volumes with no sparge but a mash out, I have tried salt additions and checked the water profile.

And the last few brews I changed a few things, I boosted my batch size 1L on brewmate, bought myself a grain mill set it to .6mm, I now mash and boil for 90 and consistently hit 68-70%, no mash out .It has improved from 55%- 58% Which I am very happy with.

I also read a post that better efficiency doesn't make better beer. Made me feel good on the inside

all there is to do now is taste the difference.

Thankyou all once again

Cheers,
Beamer

 

[MHB]

Just glanced through the thread rather than read every post in detail, so if I've missed a couple of things - sorry in advance.
In your first brew I get a mash efficiency of about 75%, there really isn't much reason why that shouldn't be up around 90%.
There really are four things that will knock your mash efficiency that badly, in roughly likelihood order
1/ Your mash temperature isn't what you think it is. Get a decent laboratory thermometer you can trust
2/ Some other measurement is very wrong. Hydrometer, grain scales, liquor volumes. Check and calibrate everything.
3/ Your grind is really bad. Looks like you have addressed that.
4/ Water chemistry is seriously askew. From your water report it could stand a bit of work, but it isn't far enough out of bounds to cause the problems you are having.

Based on experience I will bet you that your mash temperature is out.
Mark

 

[Beamer]

Just glanced through the thread rather than read every post in detail, so if I've missed a couple of things - sorry in advance.
In your first brew I get a mash efficiency of about 75%, there really isn't much reason why that shouldn't be up around 90%.
There really are four things that will knock your mash efficiency that badly, in roughly likelihood order
1/ Your mash temperature isn't what you think it is. Get a decent laboratory thermometer you can trust
2/ Some other measurement is very wrong. Hydrometer, grain scales, liquor volumes. Check and calibrate everything.
3/ Your grind is really bad. Looks like you have addressed that.
4/ Water chemistry is seriously askew. From your water report it could stand a bit of work, but it isn't far enough out of bounds to cause the problems you are having.

Based on experience I will bet you that your mash temperature is out.
Mark

Thanks Mark,

Im brewing tomorrow do ill double check water levels, I get my grain pre packed, I do have a digital kitchen thermometer, but will pick up a new one tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Rocker1986]

I brew BIAB as well and I found a coarser grain crush improved my efficiency. Last batch I hit 89.7% mash efficiency which is about the highest I've ever had I think. Should have been 79.7% brewhouse but I missed my batch volume by a litre which dropped it to 76.5%. But yeah, might be worth experimenting with and see what happens.

Originally I used to get around 75% brewhouse efficiency, which then dropped for a period of time, partly due to my hydrometer reading 2 points low, which I wasn't aware of but there were other things affecting it too. Once I started using the coarser crush on the grains and factoring in the hydrometer error it improved back to that number. And now it seems to be going higher; I haven't changed any of my process.

 

[Beamer]

Just incase anyone ia following or comes across the thread.

I remeasured all my levels and bought a digital thermometer, I was a few litres over my pre boil amount, evaporation rate was out and my thermometer was 2 degress under. So lesson learnt and thanks to all for their advice.

Cheers,
Beamer