⚡ Brewing Efficiency Calculator
Calculate brewhouse and mash efficiency for your all-grain brewing
Calculate your brewing efficiency to understand how well you're extracting sugars from your grain. This helps you accurately design recipes and improve your brewing process.
Recipe Information
Wort Measurements
📚 Understanding Brewing Efficiency
Types of Efficiency
Mash Efficiency: The percentage of potential sugars extracted from grain during mashing. Calculated using pre-boil volume and gravity.
Brewhouse Efficiency: The overall efficiency from grain to fermenter, accounting for all losses including boil-off, trub loss, and equipment dead space.
Formulas Used:
- Mash Efficiency = (Pre-Boil Points / Potential Points) × 100
- Brewhouse Efficiency = (Post-Boil Points / Potential Points) × 100
- Gravity Points = (SG - 1) × 1000 × Volume
- Potential Points = Grain Weight × PPG
Typical Efficiency Ranges:
- Professional Breweries: 85-95% brewhouse efficiency
- Advanced Homebrewers: 75-85% brewhouse efficiency
- Beginning All-Grain: 65-75% brewhouse efficiency
- BIAB (Brew in a Bag): 70-80% brewhouse efficiency
Factors Affecting Efficiency:
- Grain Crush: Finer crush = better efficiency (but risk stuck sparge)
- Mash pH: Optimal 5.2-5.6 pH for enzyme activity
- Mash Temperature: 148-158°F optimal range
- Mash Time: 60-90 minutes typical; longer can improve efficiency
- Sparging Method: Fly sparge > batch sparge > no sparge
- Sparge Water Volume: Proper amount prevents dilution or stuck sparge
- Grain-to-Water Ratio: 1.25-1.5 qt/lb is typical
- Equipment: Dead space, filter efficiency, false bottom design
Improving Your Efficiency:
- Adjust grain crush (have it milled finer at your LHBS)
- Stir mash thoroughly, especially at beginning
- Maintain consistent mash temperature
- Use proper water chemistry (calcium helps)
- Extend mash time to 90 minutes
- Sparge slowly if fly sparging (1-2 hours)
- Measure and minimize equipment dead space
- Consider a mash-out step at 168°F
When NOT to Chase Higher Efficiency:
- Your beer tastes great at current efficiency
- Results are consistent and repeatable
- High efficiency risks astringency from over-sparging
- Time investment isn't worth marginal grain savings
- You're already hitting 70%+ brewhouse efficiency
Common Grain PPG Values:
- 2-Row Base Malt: 37 PPG
- Pilsner Malt: 37 PPG
- Pale Ale Malt: 36 PPG
- Munich Malt: 33 PPG
- Vienna Malt: 35 PPG
- Wheat Malt: 36 PPG
- Crystal/Caramel 60L: 33 PPG
- Chocolate Malt: 28 PPG
- Roasted Barley: 25 PPG
Tip: For mixed grain bills, calculate weighted average PPG, or use 37 PPG as a standard approximation.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is brewhouse efficiency?
Brewhouse efficiency is the percentage of potential sugars from your grain bill that actually make it into your fermenter. It accounts for losses during mashing, lautering, and boil-off. Typical brewhouse efficiency ranges from 65-80% for homebrewers.
What is mash efficiency?
Mash efficiency measures how well you extract sugars from the grain during the mashing process only. It's typically higher than brewhouse efficiency (75-85%) because it doesn't account for boil-off and other losses.
What's a good efficiency for homebrewing?
For all-grain brewing, 70-75% brewhouse efficiency is typical and perfectly acceptable. Professional breweries often achieve 85-90%, but homebrewers can make excellent beer at lower efficiencies by adjusting their grain bills accordingly.
How can I improve my brewing efficiency?
Common ways to improve efficiency include: crushing grain finer (but not too fine), maintaining proper mash temperature, stirring during mash, extending mash time, using a fly sparge instead of batch sparge, and ensuring proper water chemistry.
Why does efficiency matter?
Knowing your efficiency helps you accurately predict the gravity of your wort and adjust recipes accordingly. Consistent efficiency leads to more predictable and repeatable brewing results.