Just completed my second Partial Mash and have some questions on efficiency. I am doing single infusion full body mash with a two step batch sparge with an intended full boil for 5 gal. batches.
With our first recipe our gravity wound up quite low and our efficiency came in at a paltry 58.9 percent. The second recipe, after adding 1lb of DME came in at 93% but I really had no idea if it was even necessary. That is what I am trying to figure out is how to evaluate its need. We just added it to be sure as we were not sure how to take the pre-boil reading, ie. with or without the LME, with or without the top off amount.
After running through the two step batch sparge I am just getting up to 5 gallon pre-boil volume. Is it best to run a third step to get to my boil volume of 6.25 gallons or is it best to top off with water?
In measuring the pre-boil gravity I am assuming I need to add the required amount of extract prior to taking the reading for it to be accurate. I am trying to clarify this as with extract brewing the extract is added after the water comes to it's initial boil and taking a pre-boil reading is not really necessary.
If the pre-boil is lower than expected I have been told the easiest way to resolve this is by adding some DME at the boil. Generally as a rule of thumb I am curious to know how many points a pound of DME would raise the gravity?
I am trying to resolve all these issues so I can get them down as I move to all grain as I understand from speaking with many all grain brewers that efficiency is always a concern and an issue for many.
Thanks for the help!
With our first recipe our gravity wound up quite low and our efficiency came in at a paltry 58.9 percent. The second recipe, after adding 1lb of DME came in at 93% but I really had no idea if it was even necessary. That is what I am trying to figure out is how to evaluate its need. We just added it to be sure as we were not sure how to take the pre-boil reading, ie. with or without the LME, with or without the top off amount.
After running through the two step batch sparge I am just getting up to 5 gallon pre-boil volume. Is it best to run a third step to get to my boil volume of 6.25 gallons or is it best to top off with water?
In measuring the pre-boil gravity I am assuming I need to add the required amount of extract prior to taking the reading for it to be accurate. I am trying to clarify this as with extract brewing the extract is added after the water comes to it's initial boil and taking a pre-boil reading is not really necessary.
If the pre-boil is lower than expected I have been told the easiest way to resolve this is by adding some DME at the boil. Generally as a rule of thumb I am curious to know how many points a pound of DME would raise the gravity?
I am trying to resolve all these issues so I can get them down as I move to all grain as I understand from speaking with many all grain brewers that efficiency is always a concern and an issue for many.
Thanks for the help!