Schmindling MaltMills assembly and customer service is BAD!!

[slothrob]

I don't calculate brewhouse efficiency, because that's really all about how much you siphon, and I'd rather concentrate on siphoning cleanly than worrying about getting the most volume possible.

But, I average about 85% efficiency, and for 5 gallons of bottled beer I need to make about 5.25 gallons. 85% ÷ 5.25 gal x 5 gal = 81% average brewhouse efficiency.

That would be my best back of the envelope estimate.

I'd recommend keeping some extra hops (especially bittering) around until you get your new mash efficiency nailed down. Being ready to be flexible with your recipes for a few batches will prevent your higher-than-expected gravity wort from going to waste.
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BTP v1.5.*

[Legman]

Well, isn't the Efficiency box on BTP brewhouse efficiency?

I thought we were discussing on another post about how to calculate mash efficiency by using the floating box above the preboil volume.

[slothrob]

If I set that efficiency box to 100%, BTP calculates an OG of 1.036 for 1# of base malt in 1 gallon. If I change it to 70%, I get an OG of 1.025, but it is unchanged by a Volume Adjustment, so it seems to be Mash Efficiency.
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[Legman]

Hmmmm.

Well, if that's the case, then my mash efficiency hasn't been as bad as I thought. Except for a few batches. For the most part I've been getting 75-82%. I should still be able to improve that with a better crush.

I remember one particular instance when my HBS milled my grains and he was really looking at end result a lot, more than usual. I was already thinking the efficiency was going to be low on that batch just by the way he was acting. And sure enough, it was only about 60%.

Ever since that day, my % has been all over the place. That's what prompted me to buy my own mill.

[jawbox]

One of the better pieces of equipment i ever bought. You also get the bonus of being able to buy your base malt in bulk.

http://www.northcountrymalt.com/pages.php?pageid=34&menu=true is a good place to buy from.
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[Legman]

Well, I ended up running about 1/2 of the milled grains from my HBS through the Barley Crusher one more time. It increased my efficiency by about 9% from what I got a few days ago.
Will have to see how the upcoming batches go since I'll be milling all the grains myself.

.....And yeah, Jawbox, I am looking forward to buying some grains in bulk!

[slimsparty]

I had a good experience with Schmidling. My malt mill is working great. My buddy cautioned me that Jack is arrogant though.

As long as my mill works well for a long time, I'm good.

Jawbox-Are you in the Chicago Area? I lived 5 blocks from Wrigley just moved to the 630...

[jawbox]

yes, I'm out if the burbs.
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[Legman]

Well, just took my new Barley Crusher for it's first test drive. I got about 78% efficiency with the factory settings. It made a lot nicer crush than what I get from my HBS. I'm hoping this will stablize my efficiency % out some. With my HBS, my % was all over the place from batch to batch and sometimes there would be uncrushed grains in my grist.
So far I'm very please with the Barley Crusher. I'm gonna brew up another batch this weekend and see if I'm still getting about the same %.

Happy Brew Year to all !!!!

[Legman]

Ran the grains through the Barley Crusher with the factory settings again today and ended up with 78% once again. Looks like my HBS milled grains were definitely the main problem with my efficiency. Finally some predictability!!!
I'm so glad that I purchased the BC!

[wottaguy]

go legMan GO!!! I luv my BC too!

(_)3
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Visit my blog @ http://www.wottashomebrewblog.blogspot.com

On Tap:
HL Pale Ale
HL Lite Lager
Bottled:
HL Simcoe Pale Ale
HL Wizeguy Weizenbock
HL Reveur Saison
HL Dry Stout
HL Kentucky Common

[JayKriz]

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