[rgnlkngtylrbmbstk]

No wonder I spend so much on propane!

And I think this gets to the heart of it. Why are we trying for such high efficiencies? Going from 75% efficiency to 65%  amounts to a pound and a half of base malt in a 5g batch, something like $2. Less than 4 cents a bottle. There is certainly evidence that lower lauter efficiency can give better beer.

I'm guilty as anyone for trying to improve efficiencies, but it's because I enjoy it. It just ain't a problem in the real world.

[sailortodd]

And I think this gets to the heart of it. Why are we trying for such high efficiencies? Going from 75% efficiency to 65%  amounts to a pound and a half of base malt in a 5g batch, something like $2. Less than 4 cents a bottle. There is certainly evidence that lower lauter efficiency can give better beer.

I'm guilty as anyone for trying to improve efficiencies, but it's because I enjoy it. It just ain't a problem in the real world.

Great mindset. I've been starting to obsess about mash efficiency. It was getting lower and lower. I used to get a mash efficiency in the range of 70%. My most recent mashes were closer to 60%. Luckily, I narrowed my problem down to grain crush after looking at the most recent batch - there were still whole grains in the thing, maybe as high as 20% of the grist. But I'm still getting great beer, and it's important to remember that and stop stressing out. RDWHAHB!