I am confused now. Is it gallons or quarts. THe sticky reads 1-1.25 QUARTS for mash and .5 GALLONS for sparge. Is this correct? Colorado seems to think it is not...
For peak sparging efficiency, yes. Lately, I've been mashing thinner (like 2 qt/lb mash thickness) and sparging less. I'm only losing around 3% in brewhouse efficiency this way, but the thinner mash is easier to work with.
You have to remember, these numbers aren't carved in stone anywhere. You can adjust up or down as you wish, and you'll still be in the right neighborhood. I personally don't like to mash with less than 1 qt/lb, because it makes the mash hard to stir and slow to drain -- but again, it's a question of preferences. A big part of the art of brewing is figuring out how the process works FOR YOU, and then tweaking it as you need to. Frankly, I'd rather have a consistent 75% brewhouse efficiency with less hassle.
Thanks for the shout-out. I actually moved the directions/calculator to here and corrected some errors. I had a problem printing from the geocities site, because of their advertisement scheme.
Mike
This makes me think I can do this sooner that I thought. Amazing Site. Thanks.
__________________ Teufel Hunden Brewing Company
Primary - Apfelwein v2, JChrapewein, Light Scottish Ale, SW 420 v2, Devil Dog Ale Version 2
Secondary - OxiClean
Just Bottled - Jay's Irish Stout
On Deck - The Orginal Fat Tire
Planning - "Hail to the Chief -IIPA", "The Straw Berry Blonde"
NTBA - Wicked Ale
For peak sparging efficiency, yes. Lately, I've been mashing thinner (like 2 qt/lb mash thickness) and sparging less. I'm only losing around 3% in brewhouse efficiency this way, but the thinner mash is easier to work with.
You have to remember, these numbers aren't carved in stone anywhere. You can adjust up or down as you wish, and you'll still be in the right neighborhood. I personally don't like to mash with less than 1 qt/lb, because it makes the mash hard to stir and slow to drain -- but again, it's a question of preferences. A big part of the art of brewing is figuring out how the process works FOR YOU, and then tweaking it as you need to. Frankly, I'd rather have a consistent 75% brewhouse efficiency with less hassle.
Thanks JDS for articulating this. I feel like using more water in the mash has given me the results I prefer. Though, this is just a gut feeling, nothing I have observed empirically.
Thanks JDS for articulating this. I feel like using more water in the mash has given me the results I prefer. Though, this is just a gut feeling, nothing I have observed empirically.
That is exactly what it's all about -- getting the results YOU want, not the results a book or a podcast host or another HBT poster says you should be getting. Brew what you like, how you like, and you'll always have good beer to drink.
I am new to all grain. It seems like topping off if you come up short is not an option in all grain like it is in extract. Is this right? What is the difference?
Also, if I run the amount of sparge water through my mash tun as recommended, the runnings become much more grassy and bitter after a while. Do I want to leave these out or just forget about that and add the correct amount pre-boil?
I am new to all grain. It seems like topping off if you come up short is not an option in all grain like it is in extract. Is this right? What is the difference?
You can certainly top of if you want or need to.
__________________
Life begins at 60....1.060, that is!
If I hit my efficiency at 5.5 gallons while I'm running off, I'll stop the sparge, let the rest of the mash drain and top off as needed. I've done it before the boil (with boiling water, to help it going) and I've done it after the boil with bottled water (to help with cooling.)
It could effect hop utilization with a more concentrated boil, but for most beers I think it has little to no effect.
I was reading this thread and noticed that the question about why a 10 gallon tun will drop more in temperature when grain is added than a 10 gallon tun.
I have to ask, is anyone considering the starting temperature of the grain?
Here is an even wilder idea... if you wanted your post-drop Tun temperature to remain the same, would it make sense to pre-heat your grain to say, 150 degrees in your oven?
For peak sparging efficiency, yes. Lately, I've been mashing thinner (like 2 qt/lb mash thickness) and sparging less. I'm only losing around 3% in brewhouse efficiency this way, but the thinner mash is easier to work with.
You have to remember, these numbers aren't carved in stone anywhere. You can adjust up or down as you wish, and you'll still be in the right neighborhood. I personally don't like to mash with less than 1 qt/lb, because it makes the mash hard to stir and slow to drain -- but again, it's a question of preferences. A big part of the art of brewing is figuring out how the process works FOR YOU, and then tweaking it as you need to. Frankly, I'd rather have a consistent 75% brewhouse efficiency with less hassle.
Thinner mash/less sparge will also lead to less PH issues for those of you with hard water.
If you've got hard water, theres a good chance that by the first sparge you've exhausted the buffering capacity of the grain, so minimizing the amount of sparge water can be a good thing.
I actually moved the directions/calculator to 
Linear Mode
