Maine Homebrewer
Grandmaster Brewer
From the posts and replies that I read I see most people here tent to relate efficiency with the grind.
I'm not so sure, though that's not to say that grind has no bearing.
I usually use the same grind because I usually get my supplies from the same guy, and I let him grind it for me.
So in my case grind is a constant in the equation, not a variable.
And I've increased my efficiency from 60% to 80%+ by mashing out.
I chatted with my local guy after getting some lousy yields, and he suggested I raise my mash to the same temp as my sparge water before I wash the sugars off the grains. The books implied that the purpose of this was to achieve complete conversion, but my iodine tests already assured my that conversion was complete.
Then I thought about washing candy off my hands with cold, warm or hot water.
I'm washing sugar off grain, and temperature matters.
So by raising my mash up to my sparge temperature (I do it by dicoction) I've gone from needing 12lbs base grain to get a 1.050 S.G, to just needing just 9lbs.
I'm not so sure, though that's not to say that grind has no bearing.
I usually use the same grind because I usually get my supplies from the same guy, and I let him grind it for me.
So in my case grind is a constant in the equation, not a variable.
And I've increased my efficiency from 60% to 80%+ by mashing out.
I chatted with my local guy after getting some lousy yields, and he suggested I raise my mash to the same temp as my sparge water before I wash the sugars off the grains. The books implied that the purpose of this was to achieve complete conversion, but my iodine tests already assured my that conversion was complete.
Then I thought about washing candy off my hands with cold, warm or hot water.
I'm washing sugar off grain, and temperature matters.
So by raising my mash up to my sparge temperature (I do it by dicoction) I've gone from needing 12lbs base grain to get a 1.050 S.G, to just needing just 9lbs.