I was putting this recipe into my BeerSmith software and I am trying to figure out the water amounts for the Mash and the Sparge. I am assuming I will be around 70% eff. as this will be my first all grain batch. I am looking at 1.25 qt/lb for the mash. So with 18 pounds of grain I will need 4.5 gallons of water for the Mash. If the grains absorb 1 gallon of water, does that mean I will need 3 gallons for the sparge? I would like to end up with 5.5 gallons of wort in the primary fermentor.
Your volumes look good for a 60 min boil. However, with such a large grain bill and only 3 gals of sparge water, you'll probably get below 70% efficiency. Really, you need to sparge that much grain with more than 3 lbs. You have a few options.
1) mash a little thicker (say, 1 qt/lb) and use the extra volume in the sparge.
2) Add an extra gallon of sparge water and boil for 2 hours. If you do this, don't add the first hop addition until you've got 60 mins remaining. You can use two pots, or boil some on the stove if your boil kettle isn't large enough to hold everything.
I would recommend both. Good luck, and let us know how the first AG goes.
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Originally Posted by duffman2
I dub this beer the Double Slutty Triple Nutty Bodacious Booty Brunette!
Some buddies and I did 20 gals about 2 weeks ago. Transferred it to the secondary (onto the vanilla beans) yesterday. Man, this beer really does taste GREAT! If you've never done it, I highly recommend it!!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by duffman2
I dub this beer the Double Slutty Triple Nutty Bodacious Booty Brunette!
Yes, it's got a thick mouthfeel. I wouldn't say it's really creamy though. Might want to add a little flaked oats, lactose, or something like that if you want to add creaminess.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by duffman2
I dub this beer the Double Slutty Triple Nutty Bodacious Booty Brunette!
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