A big factor for many home brewers is the efficiency they're able to get from their equipment. Efficiency refers to how much sugar they're able to extract from the malts or grains in their recipe - and the more you can extract, the better (and stronger) your beer will be.
Many can become disheartened when falling short of expected gravity readings - I know I've felt like this at times, but have still made some great tasting beers with lower than expected efficiency - so if you're falling short a few gravity points don't despair. Here are a few tips and tricks I've come across and tried myself to help improve my efficiency - each one seems to have helped me get a little closer to my expected readings, and I hope they'll help you as well.
Adjust your mash water pH
Adjusting your mash water pH using phosphoric or lactic acid so it falls into the desirable 5.2-5.6 range will not only make your beer taste better, but should help improve your efficiency as well. PH meter's like this one from KegLand are affordable and easy to use. You can also check out our previous article on Managing and Adjusting Brewing Water pH
Use a Mash Stirring Drill Attachment
We found that when we started using a drill-powered mash stirrer, we started consistently gaining a few extra points of efficiency with each batch. As a bonus, it makes stirring your mash so much faster and easier!
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Check your grain crush
Especially if you're milling your own grains, ensure your mill is sufficiently crushing your grain. The idea of crushing the grain is to allow the mash water to enter the hull of the grain to access the starches in order to be able to convert them to sugar. If the grains aren't being crushed or cracked, this cannot happen and will result in a low efficiency. Try reducing the spacing in your grain mill, or try purchasing pre-milled grain from your local homebrew shop.
Take your time when mashing
You can't "over-mash" or mash for too long. I've even done an overnight mash due to time constraints during the daytime - so don't feel the need to start your 60 minute timer as soon as your grains are in the BrewZilla, or get them out as soon as your timer is up. Brewing is art, and art takes time.
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| Stirring the mash on the Brewzilla |
Wait before turning the pump on
In my first couple of brews I was always in a hurry to get the grain stirred and the pump on to begin recirculating the wort. I saw a few Facebook group posts that advised waiting 10 minutes or so after stirring in your grain before recirculating. The idea being to let the grain bed 'settle'. My process now is to stir in the grain, let it settle for 10 minutes, then turn on the pump and start my 60 minute timer.
Stir during the mash
Some have recommended stirring a couple of times during the mash - I stop the pump after 20 and 40 minutes to stir the grain bed then turn the pump back on. You can make the stirring process faster and easier by using the drill attachment we mentioned previously.
Don't use the (fine mesh) bottom screen
The fine mesh bottom screen has been known to cause issues with stuck mashes and stuck sparges as it further restricts the amount of water that can flow through once it reaches the bottom of the grain bed. Apparantly KegLand don't even include the fine mesh bottom screen with BrewZilla's so I'd recommend not using it.
Make sure you use the glass lid
Leave the glass lid on as much as you can during your mash to help retain the heat. The design of the BrewZilla being essentially a tall cylinder with heating elements at the bottom means there is a discrepancy in temperature between the base where the elements are and the top of the grain bed. Keeping the glass lid on helps keep the heat captured at the top and aims to reduce this temperature difference.
Use the neoprene jacket
Similar to the point above with the glass lid - the neoprene jacket helps to insulate and maintain temperature within the Brewzilla.
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| Brewzilla 3.1.1 35L with Neoprene Jacket |
Check your temperature
Use a hand held kitchen thermometer to check the temperature of the wort coming out of the recirculation arm, or in the middle of the grain bed at the top. You'll find the temperature will be different to your target/current temperature set on the BrewZilla control panel - by as much as 5C. Adjust the temperature on the BrewZilla so you're closer to your target mash temperature at the top of the grain bed.
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| Use a thermometer to measure the temperature at the top of the grain bed |
Mash Out
This is something I didn't do with my first few brews. Most recipes will call for a mash out which involves ramping the temperature up from mashing temperature to around 75-80C. This helps to loosen the grain bed which in turn extracts more sugars and improves the flow of water when sparging.
Boiler & Malt Pipe Extensions
You can also upgrade your BrewZilla with a boiler extension and increased malt pipe to allow more grain and water to be used in your BrewZilla. Check out our article providing more detail on these below;
BrewZilla - Boiler & Malt Pipe Extensions to Increase Capacity
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