Another Efficiency Question

Hello eveyone!  
I'm a very experienced extract brewer and finally made the leap into AG. I have a question regarding efficiency. I did a batch of Belgian White yesterday and the calculated efficiency only worked out to 56.3%. I noticed a problem when the O.G. came up to 1.042 when it should have been 1.056. I easily corrected the problem with the batch by adding 1.5 lbs of light syrup but that's not my goal in fact it ruined my color objective. How do I improve my efficiency? This was a single infusion mash and the step temp was right on at 154. The sparge lasted only about 45 minutes. Will stretching out the sparge time help? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

It could be several things.

What was the PH? I use 5.2 stablizer now and it works great.

Were the grains crushed properly?  The crush can make all the diff.


You might have sparged to fast.  I batch sparge now and don't worry about fly sparging anymore.

Don

Thanks for the relpy Shakey_Dog!

PH...no clue. I used bottle spring water. Would the PH be far enough off with bottled water to make a big diffence?

Grain Crush...Yes, I believe it was crushed well. Kernel broken into very small pieces with the hulls left intact.

Sparging...Please explain the difference between "batch" and "fly" sparging.

Thanks again, got a lot of friends countin on me to get this right ;D

PH can have a big effect. I don't know about bottled water I have never brewed with it.  I use 5.2 now.  Just add 1 tablespoon in the mash and will keep the ph around 5.2.

Batch sparging is when you add you sparge water in batches.  I do 2 equal additons.  After the mash is complete you recirculate until clear then drain the tun.  Add half of your sparge water stir, wait 10 min and do it all over again.  It is usually quicker and I started getting better efficiency.

Fly sparging is when sprinkle the water over the grain to rinse the sugars keeping about 2 inches of water above the bed.  Should take 60-90 min.

I just got my own grain mill and cranked it down until I thought it was to much.  My efficiency went way up.  Make sure you have a good crush.  

With my own mill and the 5.2 I got 90% efficiency on my last brew.  And I batch sparge.

I hope this helps,

Don

Thanks for the info.

I'm running down to the brew shop now!
Also gonna try cranking down that mill a little and the batch sparge as well.

Thanks again!