Vanilla Caramel Proter - Writing my first recipe

I decided to write my own recipe today and I would like some feedback on how you might think this would turn out. My vision for the beer was a great porter with large hints of caramel/toffee flavor with a slight hint of vanilla.

Here it is for a 5 gallon batch:

OG: 1.057 FG: TBD

Grain

9.6 LBS Pale Malt
1.6 LBS Crystal 60 Malt
1.5 LBS Brown Malt
.7 LBS Chocolate Malt
.3 LBS Black Malt


Hops

1 1/2 Oz Goldings - 60 mins
1/2 Oz Saaz - 2 mins

Other

1/4 TBS Irish Moss - 10 mins
2 Vanilla Beans - Primary (Chopped in vodka for 1 week prior)

Yeast

British Ale Yeast

Mash

10 Quarts water @ 133 degrees for 30 mins
Add 5 Quarts water @ 145 degrees for 45 mins
Raise to 158 for 20 mins, 167 for 1 min
Sparge with 3 gallons @ 170 degrees

recipe looks good but I really think you need a lot more water than 6.75 gallons for 13 pounds of grain

stikks said:

recipe looks good but I really think you need a lot more water than 6.75 gallons for 13 pounds of grain

Click to expand...

Yea I have been doing some reasearch and I think that I will be using the water ratio of 1.25 Q per pound of grain so that means 16.25 Q which is 6 gallons. Factoring in grain absorption and loss from the mash tun I predict ill lose 2.125 gallons. So I will sparge with 3.625 gallons to make up for loss during boil and to bring the batch to 5 gallons at the end of the boil. Total gallons now being used will be 9.625

Thanks for the insight, I was being a bit lazy when figuring out the water needed all I really had to do is sit down and calculate it out.

That sounds about right.I use about 8.5 gal for 11 lbs of grain for a 6.5 gal boil.end up with 5.25 in fermentor with a 1.5 liter starter.I don`t decant and
pitch at high krausen 30- 36 hours.