Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Pro Brewery Efficiency  (Read 2682 times)

Offline In The Sand

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 398
Pro Brewery Efficiency
« on: February 12, 2013, 09:10:23 pm »
Looking for some input for 3-10 bbl brewery efficiencies. Thanks.
Trey W.

Offline majorvices

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 11320
  • Polka. If its too loud you're too young.
Pro Brewery Efficiency
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2013, 09:53:01 pm »
not sure how to answer. It will depend n your equipment and process.

Offline kylekohlmorgen

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1363
  • Saint Louis, MO
    • The South House Pilot Brewery
Re: Pro Brewery Efficiency
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2013, 05:08:31 am »
Ask your vendors, then subtract 10% or so for raw material pricing/ordering at first.

Just like in homebrew, efficiency can hinge on the operator and process as much as the equipment.
Twitter/Instagram: @southhousebrew

Recipes, Brett/Bacteria Experiments: http://SouthHouseBeer.com/

Offline In The Sand

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 398
Re: Pro Brewery Efficiency
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2013, 05:51:13 am »
What I was trying to do was find a conservative efficiency to put in beersmith to project materials ordering/pricing.  Is 75% conservative enough, too conservative?  I know it will vary with equipment, but since I don't have that equipment yet, I'm making a lot of assumptions.
Trey W.

Offline majorvices

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 11320
  • Polka. If its too loud you're too young.
Pro Brewery Efficiency
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2013, 06:47:39 am »
75% is a good place to start.  What do you normally get on your homebrew equipment?

Offline In The Sand

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 398
Pro Brewery Efficiency
« Reply #5 on: February 13, 2013, 06:53:27 am »
75% is a good place to start.  What do you normally get on your homebrew equipment?

About 70-75%.
Trey W.

Offline tschmidlin

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 8198
  • Redmond, WA
Re: Pro Brewery Efficiency
« Reply #6 on: February 13, 2013, 10:15:55 am »
75% is a good place to start.  What do you normally get on your homebrew equipment?

About 70-75%.
I would set it at 70% if you are doing cost projections.  It is always better to overestimate your costs than to underestimate them.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline Pawtucket Patriot

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1367
  • Rebelling against cheap swill since 2005
    • Bauhaus Brew Labs
Re: Pro Brewery Efficiency
« Reply #7 on: February 13, 2013, 11:43:06 am »
If your brewhouse is between 3 and 10 BBLs, I'm guessing you won't have rakes in the mash tun and will need to agitate the mash by hand.  If this is the case, I think you can assume that your efficiency won't be much different than your homebrewing efficiency (at least, it's a good place to start, like others have suggested).  But as you start to get into brewhouse sizes like 15, 20, 30 BBLS, I think the efficiency should increase pretty dramatically, as the mash is constantly agitated by rakes in those systems (more like 80%-85%).  At least, this is what my research over the past few months leads me to believe.
Matt Schwandt | Minneapolis, MN
AHA Member

Partial-Mash Pictorial
All-Grain Pictorial