As we all know, there is always something new to learn. My last few brews have been very frustrating as the efficiencies I achieved were much lower than planned, so they negatively impacted the quality of my brews. With that there were a couple of lessons I feel I have learned from this experience.
1. Test Pre-Boil Gravity
Had I been testing the Pre-Boil Gravity, I would have caught the issue before going into the boil and could have corrected. As to how to correct, I am still learning what options that may be. The easiest would be to compensate with some DME or LME. I also wonder though if there are options related to doing another small mash? That of course would result in potentially too much liquid in my boil pot. I think another option is to boil longer to evaporate more of the water, however this may lead to issues with bitterness if not done properly. As I stated, I have some more exploration here. I suspect if in the same position I will simply throw in a little DME to save the batch.
2. All grains are not equal
I have not run the tests I previously outlined, but I am very confident this is where my issue was. My batch of Cargill 2-Row was not producing the sugar that my Canadian 2-Row was. I still have some of the Cargill to test, but I just brewed this weekend (post to come next), and my efficiency was right back spot on.
3. This was a good opportunity to explore all reasons associated with poor efficiency and double check my process.
One of the first areas people should focus on is the quality of the crush. If you have a poor crush, it will be an issue and impact extraction. I checked my crusher and it was set at the proper distance still, so it was good to confirm it hadn't adjusted over use. Another area to check is pH levels. I always check my mash pH and insure I am around 5.4. I've not always checked my sparge pH, but I have now started also checking my boil pH. Taking readings at each step helps identify issues and the process. Lastly the sparge itself is something I am paying more attention to. My system uses a continuous sparge, which means the grain bed should have an inch or two of water on top during the whole process where water is moved into the boil kettle at the same pace as HLT water coming into the mash tun. I believe you want to target a sparge at around the rate of 1qt per min, so for a 15 gallon boil you want to sparge over 60 minutes.
Most of these steps I have been following properly, but it is still good to review. The last area I have left to complete is how I use my software. The software I use is iBrewmaster. I like the software, and it works well. However as with any software you need to dial into the software your system configuration so it can give you the best results. I have everything properly identified with exception of identifying proper shrinkage from boil to fermenter, as well as wort lost in hoses and the bottom of the kettle. I plan to focus on this over the next few brews to get this dialed in properly.
Key here more than anything though is consistency. If my software says use 20lbs of grain, and I should have an OG of 1.055, then if I hit 1.055 then I'm happy and as far as I'm concerned the software is dialed-in. These setting associated with shrinkage, etc.., are only relevant to a degree. I regularly hit my targeted numbers prior to the Cargill grain, but as part of my review I took a closer look at the software which was good to do. I learned more about the software this way.
Lastly, I have decided to brew more often. I am going to try to brew at least once a week for a while. I will most likely dial down the size of the batches to 5 gallons, as I plan to do more experimental brewing, and with that frequency I would end up with way too much beer (some may argue there is no such thing!). With that said I am working on developing a true brew schedule so I can coordinate ingredients, what needs time in the fermenter, conditioning, etc.. Later my next growth area will be using yeast starters. When brewing high gravity 10 gallon batches, the yeast gets expensive (like $25). It would be great to start with a $6 batch, and grow it into the amount I need. That comes later though, but I'm looking forward to learning about it!
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