Efficiency is a term you will see in beer brewing, especially when you start to get into all grain beer brewing. Efficiency is the measurement of how much sugar you got out of the grain. As someone new to beer brewing, you probably do not need to worry about efficiency just yet. This is something that is concerned in the world of all grain beer brewing. However, you will see it come up on beer brewing forums, and as you may one day decide to give all grain a try, here is a quick overview to help you better understand.
The efficiency expresses the ratio of the amount of sugars you actually obtain from the grains versus the theoretical maximum amount of sugars available. With extract brewing, you will get a consistent amount of sugars per pound of malt extract. A pound of Liquid Malt Extract in a gallon of water will produce 37 points of specific gravity, while a pound of Dry Malt Extract yields 45 points of specific gravity. Extract brewers are therefore not typically concerned with efficiency. This is more the concern for all grain beer brewing.
For mashing, there are many variables that affect the efficiency. Different types of malt yield various amounts of sugars. The brewers pocesses of mashing and sparging will also have an affect on efficiency. With some practice you can hone in your mashing and sparging processes and become more consistent and efficient. Over time, you will be able to predict how much sugar you can extract from the malt, provided that you know what your efficiency is.
Most home brewers will fall into the 60% to 80% range, some can actually exceed 80%. To determine efficiency requires some math, and a hydrometer. First, you have to determine what the theoretical maximum yield of your malt is. This is expressed in points per pound of malt per gallon of wort. Then divide that amount by the amount of wort you are brewing, which is expressed in specific gravity. Compare that number by the actual specific gravity to see the efficiency. Make sense?
Probably not at first reading, so here is an example to better illustrate it. Let's say the theoretical yield for a malt is 37 points per pound of malt, per gallon of wort. So, with perfect efficiency (100%), mashing 8 lbs of malt to produce 5 gallons of wort would give you (8 X 37)/5 which equals 59.2 points, which on a hydrometer is expressed as 1.059 (1.059 specific gravity). If the actual specific gravity of your wort is 1.041, then 41/59 gives you an efficiency of .69, or 69%.
This is a simple example using only onbe type of malt. In the real world of all grain beer brewing, recipes usually involve using multiple types of grains in differing amounts. But this formula remains the same, but you will have to adjust for the types of malts you are using and if you are not using full pounds of them. This will require conversions to decimals, such as a half pound of 38 point malt would be 38 X .5 = 19. You then add the total points of all the malts and still divide by the amount of wort you are brewing. Don't worry, there are online calculators to help you with this.
The efficiency expresses the ratio of the amount of sugars you actually obtain from the grains versus the theoretical maximum amount of sugars available. With extract brewing, you will get a consistent amount of sugars per pound of malt extract. A pound of Liquid Malt Extract in a gallon of water will produce 37 points of specific gravity, while a pound of Dry Malt Extract yields 45 points of specific gravity. Extract brewers are therefore not typically concerned with efficiency. This is more the concern for all grain beer brewing.
For mashing, there are many variables that affect the efficiency. Different types of malt yield various amounts of sugars. The brewers pocesses of mashing and sparging will also have an affect on efficiency. With some practice you can hone in your mashing and sparging processes and become more consistent and efficient. Over time, you will be able to predict how much sugar you can extract from the malt, provided that you know what your efficiency is.
Most home brewers will fall into the 60% to 80% range, some can actually exceed 80%. To determine efficiency requires some math, and a hydrometer. First, you have to determine what the theoretical maximum yield of your malt is. This is expressed in points per pound of malt per gallon of wort. Then divide that amount by the amount of wort you are brewing, which is expressed in specific gravity. Compare that number by the actual specific gravity to see the efficiency. Make sense?
Probably not at first reading, so here is an example to better illustrate it. Let's say the theoretical yield for a malt is 37 points per pound of malt, per gallon of wort. So, with perfect efficiency (100%), mashing 8 lbs of malt to produce 5 gallons of wort would give you (8 X 37)/5 which equals 59.2 points, which on a hydrometer is expressed as 1.059 (1.059 specific gravity). If the actual specific gravity of your wort is 1.041, then 41/59 gives you an efficiency of .69, or 69%.
This is a simple example using only onbe type of malt. In the real world of all grain beer brewing, recipes usually involve using multiple types of grains in differing amounts. But this formula remains the same, but you will have to adjust for the types of malts you are using and if you are not using full pounds of them. This will require conversions to decimals, such as a half pound of 38 point malt would be 38 X .5 = 19. You then add the total points of all the malts and still divide by the amount of wort you are brewing. Don't worry, there are online calculators to help you with this.