Vienna lager - better efficiency

[Bribie G]

I get consistent conversion but I wouldn't mind betting that a better ratio of husk and flour, hopefully with the new mill, will result in better drainage, less wort trapped in the spent grains, and better eff. I think with my current equipment I'm getting good extraction but still a lot of wort hanging around despite squeezing. That's particularly an issue in BIAB, being no sparge

 

[Chris79]

Well, I was away for the morning and the boys have provided you some great insight. Between them there is a wealth of brewing knowledge there.

Wow, that photo shows a lot of un-crushed corns. I stopped counting at 15! Considering the small amount you have there that percentage is terrible indeed. Maybe show your home brew store that photo when you explain your issue. It must have slipped through when they milled it. We all make mistakes and don't be too hard on them.

Still it's a good learning experience and it would still be good for you to test your equipment and review your processes as you have said you will. At least you'll know for any future issues. As Lyrebird said, you have lots of unmodified starch there and there is also likely to be mix of issues (ie a process issue like mixing or dough balls going on too).

Great learning curve this hobby isn't it.

EDIT - grammar and general poor English used!

Yep, some great insights from those who replied.

I agree, I'll just pass on the information, without being an ass about it. Then I'll just ask for a finer crush.

Yes, testing my hydro, that's part of the issue (and my issue). Yes, I'll look to mix my grains better when starting the mash!

Yep, enjoying the learning curve, and understanding what factors need attention at each step.

 

[RdeVjun]

This is tending a bit OT. @Bribie G, perhaps you mean its more of a problem with the full volume BIAB variant, no such hassle with MaxiBIAB and similar variants which incorporate a sparge step. Your point though is of course well made and is indeed acknowledged, mate.

 

[Bribie G]

Yes full volume as opposed to a sparge step. With full volume we need the best-draining mash possible. It's still possible to do a sparge, of course, to get at that trapped wort, which can be quite a bit of wort in a big grain bill, but then you end up with an excessive amount of wort + spargings that needs extra boiling. Keen to see what my eff is with the new mill.

 

[Deanboy]

I'm only a novice, but i used to get the supplier of my grains to crush them and never really had good conversion and thought it was just how BIAB worked with the amount of grains I was using. I then got into a group that does group buys of whole grains so I had to buy a mill. I set it to the recommended size and noticed the grains came out more crushed with alot more powdery substance. I have done at least 5 brews with the same grain bills as before and now am producing alot heavier beers. I put it down to the previous supplier not having the grains crushed enough for me, I methodically done each brew with the same of everything. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Chris79]

thanks Dean. I'm of the opinion too in this situation, if you saw the pic, that the grains were way too course and should have had better efficiency. Going to try one of the site sponsors, who has the size of crush desired as part of his ordering system, on his site. That way I'll feel clear on this part of the process.

But, as mentioned in a previous post, got some aspects of technique to improve.

All I can saw is at least I added some zinc to the end of the boil for the yeast (WLP838) and had some good yeast attenuation of about 74%.

 

[Jack of all biers]

Yes upon "discovering" zinc for mash and boil additions, I too noticed mash efficiency (slight) and attenuation increases. Thanks MHB for pointing me in the right direction on that.

 

[Bribie G]

So do you just crush up one of those Blackmores Zinc boost tablets that you take to increase your sperm count or give you more shiny hair or whatever they are intended for?

 

[MHB]

Like lots of things Zinc is important, but be careful not to over do it, you really only want about 0.1ppm in the mash and ferment. Adding more can be used post fermentation to improve head retention, but again not too much or you can get a metallic off flavour.

I have been talking to Brewman about making up a Zn solution for adding to a chamber bottle (like the ones used for StarSan/Acid Sanitiser) so you can get the right dose for most any size batch. We will see if I can twist his arm; the Chamber Bottle is the dearest part; so making a refill available would have to be on the books to.
Mark

 

[Jack of all biers]

So do you just crush up one of those Blackmores Zinc boost tablets that you take to increase your sperm count or give you more shiny hair or whatever they are intended for?

I got some zinc sulphate and made up a solution (see below) adding X mls depending on batch size. I add to the mash at 0.4ppm as some gets used up in the mash then there are some losses in the boil, so I hope that I get 0.1-0.15ppm into the fermentor.

A little OT, but zinc was raised by the original poster, so I feel ok by posting the below here. For more, troll through this thread beginning somewhere at MHB's post or better yet this thread

ZnSO4.7H20
Make a solution of 35 grams of ZnSO4 per litre of deionised or distilled water.
This solution contains 8 mg of zinc per mL.
So for 20L wort you add 1ml to get 0.4 ppm Zn in the wort/mash/liquor

EDIT - Hey Bribie, I see you posted in the Zinc thread linked above? Forgotten?

 

[Bribie G]

Hey I've just hit 20,000 posts! Now tell me what you had for breakfast on 21/11/2012

Actually the brown yeasty nutrient is something I've been meaning to order for a while now.

 

[Jack of all biers]

Hey I've just hit 20,000 posts! Now tell me what you had for breakfast on 21/11/2012

Toast with jam.

Congrats on the 20,000th post. Was it memorable?

 

[Bribie G]

The Earth moved.

 

[Chris79]

So I have a new hydro and I’ve tested it’s calibrated properly.

Also got my last grain crushed by Brewman (with a finer crush). Used Brewbuilder, it did help me especially dialing a more accurate OG of each grain.

As brewbuilder anticipated, I hit my numbers of brew house efficiency of 65% and a mash efficiency of about 69-70%! Yay.

Looking forward to drinking this Belgian pale ale in a bit.

Cheers especially to @MHB @manticle @Bribie G and @JOB for the help in improving my processes & the importance of checking equipment is calibrated.