I'm planning my first all grain brew for this weekend, and I am going to try brew in a bag. I've read the Australian article and have everything set, but I don't know how to figure out how much water to use. Here is the recipe:
So, according to this recipe, I need 5.3125 gallons for mash in, then 6 gallons for sparge. So am I really supposed to use over 11 gallons of water in the kettle? Even accounting for grain absorption and evaporation, that seems really high... how would I end up with a 5 gallon batch at the end?
Common sense would tell me to put about 6.5 gallons in the kettle- (5 gallons for final volume + 10% for evaporation + 1 gallon for grain absorption) but I'm confused...
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU
11.00 lb Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) Grain 64.7 %
2.50 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 14.7 %
1.50 lb Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 8.8 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 5.9 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2.9 %
1.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 2.9 %
0.75 oz Magnum [14.00%] (60 min) Hops 29.1 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (10 min) Hops 5.0 IBU
2.00 items Vanilla Bean (Secondary 14.0 days) Misc
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale
Mash Profile
Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Mash Grain Weight: 17.00 lb
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Sparge Water: 6 gal
Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 21.25 qt of water at 161.4 F 150.0 F 75 min
Notes:
After primary, slit open 2 vanilla beans. Scrape the insides, chop the pods into quarters, add to secondary fermenter, rack beer onto vanilla. Taste periodically for the correct balance.
Rack to bottling bucket and add 1.5-2.5 oz/gal of Maker's Mark (to your taste). Original recipe called for 10 ml/pint.
So, according to this recipe, I need 5.3125 gallons for mash in, then 6 gallons for sparge. So am I really supposed to use over 11 gallons of water in the kettle? Even accounting for grain absorption and evaporation, that seems really high... how would I end up with a 5 gallon batch at the end?
Common sense would tell me to put about 6.5 gallons in the kettle- (5 gallons for final volume + 10% for evaporation + 1 gallon for grain absorption) but I'm confused...