I I'm confused and the more I read on it the worse I get. This is going to be my first true all grain. So be nice! I do lots of medium/ average gravity beers with higher gravity beers every now and then. I'm upgrading to start doing 10 gallon batches. I understand I have an amount of water to mash. And an amount to sparge with to equal 10 gallons of wort, but how much of each? For a 10 gallon batch of average gravity beer. Also what size cooler shall I use for a mashtun? And a brew kettle will a regular size keg work? Thanks for your help!!!!!
Mashtun amount! Help!
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ApothecaryBrewing
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you need to search around this forum a bit more... All your questions could be easily answered by poking around here for an hour or so.
For a 10 gallon batch I would want a 20 gallon cooler for a mash tun (I have a 10 gallon cooler and make 5 gallon batches and can do even big beers).
Most calculations I have seen use 1.25 to 1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain, but I have seen and heard of people using up to 2 quarts of water per pound of grain. 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain will get you a fairly thick mash and is normally what I use. But on some beers I have gone as high as 1.31 quarts. That calculation (LBS of Grain X 1.25 = quarts of water for mash) will get you the amount of water to mash with. The grain will absorb about 1/2 quart per pound. So ((LBS of Grain X 1.25 {or what ratio you use}) - (LBS of grain X .5)) = Wort extracted from mashing. Now take 10 gallons X 4 quarts per gallon and you get 40 then subtract the Wort extracted from mashing from the 40 and that will give you the number of quarts of sparge water you need to get to ten gallons. A cautionary note this is a general calculation and you will need to tweak it for your system setup and process. Further you need to determine if there is dead space in your mash tun (mine is 1/2 quart). The crush of the grain and amount of adjuncts will effect this as well. Also it does not take into account the boil off. So if you boil off 1 gallon you will need to account for that.
Boil kettle should hold at least 2 1/2 gallons more than the total wort you start the boil with so a standard keg is 15 gallons will be plenty large enough.
Clear as mud?
Most calculations I have seen use 1.25 to 1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain, but I have seen and heard of people using up to 2 quarts of water per pound of grain. 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain will get you a fairly thick mash and is normally what I use. But on some beers I have gone as high as 1.31 quarts. That calculation (LBS of Grain X 1.25 = quarts of water for mash) will get you the amount of water to mash with. The grain will absorb about 1/2 quart per pound. So ((LBS of Grain X 1.25 {or what ratio you use}) - (LBS of grain X .5)) = Wort extracted from mashing. Now take 10 gallons X 4 quarts per gallon and you get 40 then subtract the Wort extracted from mashing from the 40 and that will give you the number of quarts of sparge water you need to get to ten gallons. A cautionary note this is a general calculation and you will need to tweak it for your system setup and process. Further you need to determine if there is dead space in your mash tun (mine is 1/2 quart). The crush of the grain and amount of adjuncts will effect this as well. Also it does not take into account the boil off. So if you boil off 1 gallon you will need to account for that.
Boil kettle should hold at least 2 1/2 gallons more than the total wort you start the boil with so a standard keg is 15 gallons will be plenty large enough.
Clear as mud?
Biohazard
Well-Known Member
This is a sticky in Equipment Section of the forum It should answer your questions based on size of beer and gallons you want to brew.
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