How Much Wort Should I Collect???

I am new to all grain brewing and I'm struggling with how much wort to collect. I will be doing an AleSmith IPA clone tomorrow. How do I figure a rough estimate of how much wort to collect? (knowing that there are many variables)

5 gallon, 90 min boil
OG= 1.073
FG= 1.014
ABV= 7.6%

That depends on your sparging method. With batch sparging, the goal is to predict your preboil volume and use the correct amount of water to reach your that volume. (Grain absorption and dead space are relatively known values.) With fly sparging, generally you go to 1.010 or to your desired pre-boil volume, whichever comes first.

There are online calculators for batch sparging and most beer software will also provide this information. I prefer the method, most of the time, for it's simplicity and relative efficiency for the time savings.

I have done continues sparging (without really knowing exactly what I was collecting) but I have been told to batch sparge because its easier. I did look at some formulas on line and had a few questions....I have read that 15% absorption rate is the most common, is this ok to go with? Also I'm not exactly clear on dead space. Is it the dead space in your mash tun with grain only?

Turk1 said:

I have done continues sparging (without really knowing exactly what I was collecting) but I have been told to batch sparge because its easier. I did look at some formulas on line and had a few questions....I have read that 15% absorption rate is the most common, is this ok to go with? Also I'm not exactly clear on dead space. Is it the dead space in your mash tun with grain only?

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Batch sparging is generally considered faster. Easier? debatable. Most new brewers prefer batch sparging. Grain absorption is approximately 0.125 gal/lb of grain. Deduct that amount from your mash-in volume. Now you know how much will be collected when you drain the tun the first time. But, you would like to collect half of the total volume for boil. So, subtract whats going to come out from the half boil volume (usually 3.25 gal.). Now you know how much sparge water to add to the mash tun to get the first runnings to be half of the total boil volume. Add that amount of sparge water to the mash tun. For five gallons, preboil total will usually be 6.5 gal. Now,stir, wait 10 min. vorlauf, and drain the first runnings. Then, sparge with the second half volume, stir, wait 10 minutes, vorlauf (www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Vorlauf) and drain the tun. That's it. easy peasy. Don't sweat the dead space unless you have a false bottom. Cheers...

This is pretty much how I do it. I lose between 0.4 and 0.5 qt/lb of grain (calculate like I am going to lose 0.5 qt/lb and typically lose a bit less), but since you only lose it once, you will collect all of what you put in for your sparge water. Typically I mash in with about 45% of the total water, mash out with boiling water to hit 170 F (20-22% of the total water, depending on mash temp) and use about 1/3 of the water for sparging. Several batches have been a bit larger than the 5 or 10 gallons I'm targeting, but that covers a little allowance to leave hop sludge and cold break in the kettle.

For your first batch, plan on losing about 1 gallon in the boil. If I crank the burner up hard to get a good rolling boil, I can lose a gallon and a half. I would tend not to boil quite as hard with a light-colored beer for fear of scorching, but the half-barrel I use does a good job distributing the heat.

sudbuster said:

Batch sparging is generally considered faster. Easier? debatable. Most new brewers prefer batch sparging. Grain absorption is approximately 0.125 gal/lb of grain. Deduct that amount from your mash in volume. Now you know how much will be collected when you drain the tun the first time. But, you would like to collect half of the total volume for boil. So, subtract whats going to come out from the half boil volume. Now you know how much sparge water to add to the mash tun to get the first runnings to be half of the total. For five gallons, preboil total will usually be 6.5 gal. Now, drain the first runnings. Then, sparge with the second half volume, stir, wait 10 minutes, vorlauf (www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Vorlauf) and drain the tun. That's it. easy peasy. Don't sweat the dead space unless you have a false bottom. Cheers...

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For such a large beer, depending on your boiloff rate, I would collect 8-8.5 and boil down to 5.5 to 6 gallons. short answer RDWHAHB