First All Grain, Questions

Beerrific · 05-21-2007, 01:54 AM

I am planning my first all grain batch an oatmeal stout and am having trouble getting my water/grain ratio and infusion temps right.

I see most people rest around 122 and then mash at 153 and then mashout at 170.

I will be mashing in a modified cooler and my pot is only 30 qts so I need to balance this to come up with less than 30 qts. I have thought about skipping the rest and the mashout but have been reading John Palmer's book and want to keep the mash thick to maintain a malty brew, so I am going in circles. Also, Palmer says with oatmeal you should "mash with a 20 minute Beta Glucan Rest at 110°F to make lautering easier." Anyone have anything to say about this?

So, what is more beneficial to the final product to maintain the right volume I can do one:
1. Rest around 122.
2. Mashout at 170

I will be batch sparging with 1qt/lb, 11.5 lbs of grain, ~10% oatmeal, I can post the grain bill if needed.

The Pol · 05-21-2007, 01:58 AM

Id do the low temp rest for the oats... raise the temp as much as you can with boiling water before lautering... but with the oats I think you may not want to skip the gum rest at about 110-115F

GoatFarmersInternational · 05-21-2007, 01:59 AM

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the protein rest unless I were making a pilsner or something. For an oatmeal stout, just mash at 153-157deg. for an hour, then sparge with 170deg. after that. Easy.

Edit: I've never had problems with oats gumming things up (I use a false bottom, btw), but that doesn't mean that thePol isn't right...

Beerrific · 05-21-2007, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoatFarmersInternational

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the protein rest unless I were making a pilsner or something. For an oatmeal stout, just mash at 153-157deg. for an hour, then sparge with 170deg. after that. Easy

So I was thinking about that, so what is the ideal water/grain ratio for stouts? Less than 1.25?

If I use much less than that I won't make enough wort for 5 gallons. But, if this is the case can I just use more sparge water? I was planning on using 1qt/lb at 170F.

Of course I do worry about things gumming up, BTW I have a 20 in. SS braid in my cooler.

The Pol · 05-21-2007, 02:07 AM

This is where fly sparging is cool, you dont have to worry about batch volumes. You just run it off until you have enough.

Beerrific · 05-21-2007, 02:42 AM

If I add the 110-115 rest, that is no problem. I just can't do a mash out.

Is that going to be a problem? I would think no since I am batch sparging with 170F water.

**Jaybird** · 05-21-2007, 02:56 AM

decoction mash is your answer
JJ

Beerrific · 05-21-2007, 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaybird

decoction mash is your answer
JJ

Yeah, the more I read the more this is becoming clear. Maybe some day but not on my first AG.

Or some kind of steam infussion.
Or I could buy a bigger pot. Oh well, I will make this work.

**Jaybird** · 05-21-2007, 03:08 AM

O ya this is your first I forgot my bad. Single infusion and keep it simple. if you are worried about a stuck mash just use rice hulls.
Cheers

Beerrific · 05-21-2007, 03:18 AM

OK so after some reading I see no reason to have a mashout.
I might not need the 115 rest, but I can do it, so why not...

So, here's what I got for my 11.5lbs of grain:
add 11.5 quarts of 123F water-->115F for 20 min
add 9 quarts boiling water-->153F for 60min or until conversion is complete
sparge with 11.5 quarts of 170F water
collect ~27 quarts of wort (assuming .125gallon/lb loss to grain)
boil ~27 quarts to give ~23 quarts
after removing any sediment, ~5.5 gallons to ferment

This gives ~1.8qts/lb for the Saccharification rest. Is this too much for a stout (I think it might be)? Should I take some out of the initial infusion and move it to the sparge?