I'm new to all-grain. In fact, I haven't even done an AG batch yet, but I did brew a PM last weekend as a bit of a try-out for my equipment & had some questions. I have a 10 gal Rubbermaid cooler, and the dead space below my FB (a Jaybird false bottom that sits 2" above the floor) is a little over 5 qts.
I didn't correct for this in Beersmith when I was figuring out how much strike water to use, so needless to say, my grist was super thick (especially since there was only a little over 5 lbs of grain) because of so much water under the FB. I added water until the grist looked more like grist and less like wet mounds of grain.
My question is, when I go all-grain (which will be in a couple weeks...got everything I need for a Kolsch, just waiting on a fermenter to free up), what should I put as the Beersmith correction for dead space? Should I put the 5+ qts, so that it adjusts my strike water volume, or should I put the lower amount that will actually be left in the MLT after the sparge, after I tilt it to drain as much as possible?
Do I need to use the 5+ quart value so that my grist thickness is what I'm shooting for, or do I need to use the volume of what's left over after sparge so I hit my volume correctly? I would guess that the volume would be less important, but I'm just wondering what the correct definition of dead space is in Beersmith.
Make sense?
Thanks for the help...
I didn't correct for this in Beersmith when I was figuring out how much strike water to use, so needless to say, my grist was super thick (especially since there was only a little over 5 lbs of grain) because of so much water under the FB. I added water until the grist looked more like grist and less like wet mounds of grain.
My question is, when I go all-grain (which will be in a couple weeks...got everything I need for a Kolsch, just waiting on a fermenter to free up), what should I put as the Beersmith correction for dead space? Should I put the 5+ qts, so that it adjusts my strike water volume, or should I put the lower amount that will actually be left in the MLT after the sparge, after I tilt it to drain as much as possible?
Do I need to use the 5+ quart value so that my grist thickness is what I'm shooting for, or do I need to use the volume of what's left over after sparge so I hit my volume correctly? I would guess that the volume would be less important, but I'm just wondering what the correct definition of dead space is in Beersmith.
Make sense?
Thanks for the help...