I officially need help.

[u/traros22]

Greetings all,

So I am about 1 year along with my new Anvil Foundry 10.5 after only doing Extract brewing. I have been doing a lot of troubleshooting on this equipment to figure out, but still haven’t figured out why my mash efficiency is so poor. Always heating via 220V with a bag inside the malt pipe (Easier cleaning).

Scotch Ale

8 lbs - Munich 2

4 lbs - Pale

1.25 lbs - various other malts I don’t want to list due to laziness.

1st go: 4 gal strike at 156F for 60 minutes with recirc (~25% open on the tubing) 2 gal sparge at 168F. Pre-boil volume of 4.5 gal at Gravity of 1.032.

2nd go: 6.5 gal strike at 152F for 60 minutes with recirc (33% open on the tubing). No sparge. Mash out for 10 minutes at 170F. Pre-boil volume of 5 gal at gravity of 1.040. I did toss some sparge into the pipe just for shiggles and the wash was 1.041 on the refractometer. So the bulk matched the rest so I think my issue is in the mash part itself.

I have been adjusting the strike water vs sparge vs no-sparge vs mash temperatures for an few recipes, but I am using this particular recipe as my “variable control” to try and fix whatever in my processing is causing me issues.And I cannot get above 50% efficiency for any of my brews (Imperial stout, Hazy IPAs, Farmhoues ale, etc). This is probably my 7th batch and each time I end up with poor efficiency on my mash (Sub 50%).

I know it’s not grain milling as I am the only one in our LHBS that is currently having issues. Can’t tell you what he has it set to, but the guy is good and has told me that is not the droid I am looking for.

I have watched every video that Short circuit has on YouTube and he and i followed every step he did. From what I am reading/seeing, I am doing Almost all the things that people mention in all the forums. My only discrepancy is stirring. I have not stirred the top 3rd ever. Could that really be it? Again, LHBS guy says he never does and my recirc is a fine substitution, but that is the last check box unless someone can point me someplace else. Any and all help would be appreciated.

Thanks all!

[u/vinnielavoie]

If youvare using osmosis or distilled water you need to add minerals back in. I had the same issue with my biab

[u/traros22 → u/vinnielavoie]

I am just running tap water coming from the city. It’s got high iron, but the chlorine/chloramine content is pretty low. I was planning to start learning the water chemistry side of it once I got a handle on my mashing.

[u/Paper_Bottle_ → u/traros22]

This might be part of it, but I doubt it. 

On a separate note, any chlorine/chloramine is going to create chlorophenols that will taste medicinal at best or like bandaids at worst. I highly recommmend getting a pack of campden tablets and adding half a crushed tablet to your mash water and sparge water before it touches the grain. It’s easy and cheap and really makes a noticeable difference. 

The one issue you may have with using tap water is getting your mash pH into the right range for the enzymes to convert the starches into fermentable sugars. The mash should be between 5.2-5.6 for conversion. If you use tap water with high alkalinity, it will resist the pH drop normally caused by the grain. The grain will naturally pull the pH towards the high 5’s, but may not get you into the right range if the water is resistant to pH change (alkalinity). Most people will add either some acid or acidulated malt to the mash. In my 5 gallon batch’s of light beer, I usually add 2-5ml of lactic acid to the mash and 2-3ml to the sparge. Alternately you could swap 2-5% of your base malt for acid malt. 

[u/vinnielavoie → u/traros22]

Try switching to osmosis. Even if you don't add minerals I suspect your efficency will go up and have a better flavor.