Help with increasing mash efficiency

[CRBrewHound]

BTW, a courser crush can increase mash efficiency. There, I said it.

Tasty

BLASPHEMER!!!

Tasty shall go forth into the wasteland being stricken from our heart and minds. His name to be erased from mentions in all places of honor. Let him be know from this day forth as "He whose name shall not be spoken"!

[kevindalyus]

Just a quick update, i'll be brewing tomorrow (indian brown ale) with an OG of 1.070 (may as well shoot high). I just talked with my LHBS and we're dialing the grinder down, increasing the amount of sparge water and doing a batch sparge. I did listen to that BN episode about missing my numbers, and so will be doing a pre-boil OG and will take gravity readings throughout the boil.
Thanks again to everyone, and I will let you know how everything turns out.

[Jbug]

Good luck sir! Go forth and mash with confidence!


Josh

[TastyMcD]

Excellent. One last question: am I supposed to check the OG before the boil, ie take a sample of wort, try to cool it down quickly, and then check the OG? I read a couple articles saying that should be a step before boiling, with an OG target of 1.008

I dont check it until it comes out after the boil. I think checking it before is more of a way to track proper extraction, I think a refractometer would be helpful for this. I just check it after it is done, so I know what I am dealing with.

If you don't care if your beer is under/over hopped or your ABV is 5.5/6.0% then yes, skip the preboil gravity. You'll never get control of your process and you'll struggle to clone commercial beer recipes or make the same recipe twice. 2010 North American two-row is all over the board in terms of extract potential and your LHBS has better things to do than tell you what they are selling you.

If you want a repeatable process where you control the outcome not the dude at the LHBS, the maltser, or the farmer in Canada, then always take a preboil gravity. Your brewing software should tell you what it should be given your efficiency once you get that established for your grist, grist to water ratio, mash Ph, etc.. If you're higher than the recipe calls for you can add water until you get down to the target preboil while adjusting the hops for the higher volume of wort. If you're under the target preboil gravity, either boil until you get to the target preboil and adjust the hops for the lower volume of wort or add DME/LME until you get your target gravity. Don't be a victim.

Okay? Got that DME and a way to chill a wort sample?

Tasty

[snowcapt]

Excellent. One last question: am I supposed to check the OG before the boil, ie take a sample of wort, try to cool it down quickly, and then check the OG? I read a couple articles saying that should be a step before boiling, with an OG target of 1.008

I dont check it until it comes out after the boil. I think checking it before is more of a way to track proper extraction, I think a refractometer would be helpful for this. I just check it after it is done, so I know what I am dealing with.

If you don't care if your beer is under/over hopped or your ABV is 5.5/6.0% then yes, skip the preboil gravity. You'll never get control of your process and you'll struggle to clone commercial beer recipes or make the same recipe twice. 2010 North American two-row is all over the board in terms of extract potential and your LHBS has better things to do than tell you what they are selling you.

If you want a repeatable process where you control the outcome not the dude at the LHBS, the maltser, or the farmer in Canada, then always take a preboil gravity. Your brewing software should tell you what it should be given your efficiency once you get that established for your grist, grist to water ratio, mash Ph, etc.. If you're higher than the recipe calls for you can add water until you get down to the target preboil while adjusting the hops for the higher volume of wort. If you're under the target preboil gravity, either boil until you get to the target preboil and adjust the hops for the lower volume of wort or add DME/LME until you get your target gravity. Don't be a victim.

Okay? Got that DME and a way to chill a wort sample?

Tasty

Well, since ya put it that way....

[kevindalyus]

Success at last. I had to make some adjustments to my recipe (Dog Fish Head Indian Brown Ale clone) but crushing the grains at a lower setting seemed to make a huge difference. Batch sparge was super easy and got me to exactly the right pre-boil volume that I needed. I used the holder that my hydrometer came in and filled it with the wort using a turkey baster and had it submerged in a bottle with ice water. At 70 degrees I held my breath and did my first hydrometer reading and came in dead on at 1.058 (75% efficiency). I checked twice more during the boil and stopped at 1.070 (about 90 min boil).
I just checked on it and as of now (16 hours since completion) I'm not getting any fermentation activity. I used only one packet of the Wyeast (british ale) and I'm wondering if I should've used two with the higher OG? Also, I don't know if it was a problem that I pitched it only two hours after activating it? I did use some yeast nutrient at the end of the boil which the guy at the LHBS said would help.
Do I go back and get another yeast pack today and pitch, or just watch it for today?

Thanks again to everyone for all the help.

[snowcapt]

Yep, shoulve used 2. Better yet, you should begin making starters. I think a single smack-pack is good for 1.060. It is underpitched, but it should be okay. Yeast are probably a bit stressed out, but that's life, right? At least now you know to not do it again.
What temp are you fermenting at?
Also, did you get some o2 in it?

[Kbar]

Excellent. One last question: am I supposed to check the OG before the boil, ie take a sample of wort, try to cool it down quickly, and then check the OG? I read a couple articles saying that should be a step before boiling, with an OG target of 1.008

After boil, after cool down, prior to pitching......