Mash Efficiency

[Scooby]

Agree with all that has been said, your doing well with 70% so don't worry

One thing not mentioned about the sparge is the formation of a filter bed.

The first running are collected with the tap just opened and the cloudy wort run into a jug, carry on like this until the wort disappears below the level of the grain, the grain now starts to sink and form a filter above you FB, the white particals are filtered out and the wort begins to run clear, this can now be collected in the boiler and the jug/jugs of wort carefully trickled back to the middle of the grain bed.

You can now turn on the sparge liquor and open the tun tap a little more balancing the flow so the grain bed just floats, I like to keep the liquor just on or slightly below the grains

[Gurgeh]

So what happens if stuff that makes the first runnings cloudy if are included for the boil. I've spent ages trying to eliminate them in my second mash with little success - due it seems to having to much sparge liquor in the tun.

I couldn't tell at all if they were in my 5th mash (saturday night) as it was a pretty dark recipe...

[PieOPah]

To be honest I don't think that it makes THAT much difference. Obviously in large quantities you may start running into some problems.

You have the potential for extracting some of the tannins from any grain that makes it into the boil, but I think that there are such a small amount that this doesn't matter. I think it also has some effect on the clarity of the final beer.

[Gurgeh]

So again, the message is calm down and relax a bit about it!

I can do that!

[Scooby]

Again agree with those comments, getting a clear run off in not that important and most times not possible.

As I mentioned, imo collecting the first runnings until the wort level is lower than the grain is enough, the wort is usually clearer then if not totally so, and then maintaining the sparge at you preferred level

You really have to f*%c up to produce poor beer so like you say relax

[SteveD]

One thing, you don't have to see liquid above the grain bed to float it. It'll be floating before the liquid level reaches the top of the bed. Watch the grain level against the sides of the mash tun, you'll see it rise before you see the liquid. I aim to just about have the liquid level at the top of the bed. That way you know the grain is getting a good steep, but there isn't a puddle to encourage channelling down the sides.

I agree that 70% efficiency is fine. Are you on a tight accountant's budget like a commercial brewery? If not, there's no point in chasing very high efficiency. It takes a long time, and for what? A few degrees of extract at the thin end of the malt, where you risk extracting husk flavours and tannins. Try tasting the runnings at say 1010 or below...not very pleasant. Who wants it!

I used to go for high efficiency and my recipes were designed around a 90% Brewhouse efficiency, and would hit or exceed that with no problem. What the extraction efficiency was I don't know. 93-95% probably. It took long and careful sparging but.....it didn't make the beer better AT ALL! So now, I just use a bit more malt, and to hell with efficiency.

[Gurgeh]

Feeling a lot better about things now. Thanks everyone.