First AG - Recipe and Process Question

So I converted my existing 5 gallon igloo cooler to an MLT last night, using a SS braid line for a filter. I'm thinking I will use Edwort's Haus Pale Ale for my first recipe, but change it just a bit so I can compare it to my extract Spring Forward Pale Ale. My two main concerns are my recipe and my small cooler.

Grain Bill
8 lbs. 2-Row
2 lbs. Vienna
0.5 lb. Crystal 10L

Wyeast 1056 American Ale (Changed from Nottingham)
Irish Moss (Boil for 15m)

Hops: (I've got some extra Willamette which should compliment the cascades)
.5oz Willamette (60m)
.5oz Cascade (60m)
.5oz Willamette (30m)
.5oz Cascade (30m)
1oz Cascade (5m)

Mash in a 5 Gallon Cooler
Single Infusion mash for 60 minutes at 152 degrees.
Dough-in with 3.5 gallons of water.
After 60 minutes, top cooler off(2 qts???) with 175 degree water and begin vorlauf.
Add another 3.5 gallons of 175 degree after first runoff is complete. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes, then drain into brewpot.

Est OG: 1.052
Est FG: 1.012
Est ABV: 5.12%
IBU: 35.4
SRM: 4.6 (A bit light?)

I'm thinking this should result in about 6.5 gallons of wort for boiling which is just about perfect for my system. I'll boil this down to 5.5 gallons, and everything else goes the same as my extract batches.

So does this sound good? Am I missing anything? Again, I'm a bit nervous about my cooler not being large enough, so what do you guys think?

That looks pretty good. Your cooler should be fine. I would skip that top off, though, and just go straight to a spilt batch sparge. Collect your first runnings, and then split your sparge into two gallon batches (or whatever you need to hit your pre-boil volume).


TL

TexLaw said:

That looks pretty good. Your cooler should be fine. I would skip that top off, though, and just go straight to a spilt batch sparge. Collect your first runnings, and then split your sparge into two gallon batches (or whatever you need to hit your pre-boil volume).
TL

Click to expand...

I'd never heard of a split batch sparge, but I googled it and found a double batch sparge mentioned. Is this basically taking half of my sparge water, stirring and draining, then repeating with the remaining water?

Yes, exactly!

I might swap out your Crystal 10 for some 60 and give it a little color. Additionally, and this is really a personal preference, I'd mash at closer to 154 to give you a little more maltiness and mouthfeel. Otherwise, looks great.

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

I'd never heard of a split batch sparge, but I googled it and found a double batch sparge mentioned. Is this basically taking half of my sparge water, stirring and draining, then repeating with the remaining water?

Click to expand...

Yup that's exactly it. From my own experience, you'll get a couple extra efficiency points that way too.

GeoXP said:

I might swap out your Crystal 10 for some 60 and give it a little color. Additionally, and this is really a personal preference, I'd mash at closer to 154 to give you a little more maltiness and mouthfeel. Otherwise, looks great.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a great idea...I use 1# of 60L for my extract batch, so that would be a good comparison. Thanks!

bradsul said:

Yup that's exactly it. From my own experience, you'll get a couple extra efficiency points that way too.

Click to expand...

I'm down with the extra efficiency for sure! Just out of curiosity, how much of an improvement in points does this get over a normal batch sparge?

depends on your equipment.
I know I got about a 10 point increase

Wow, nice increase...I suppose I should try both ways and see what happens!

On another note, if I increase the amount of 20L to 1 full pound, would that influence my color at all? I like maltiness in a beer, but do you think a full pound would be too much? Should I just replace the 20L with .5lb of 60L?

Ok, here's my plan:

1. Heat 3 gal water to 168F (leave some space for vorlauf)
2. Add water to MLT and dough in grains (target temp: 152-153F)
3. Mash for 60 min
4. Heat 3 qts water to 175F for vorlauf
5. When clear, drain wort to kettle
6. Heat 4 gal to 175 for batch sparge
7. Add 2 gal water to MLT and stir thoroughly. Let sit for 10 minutes.
8. When clear, drain wort into brew kettle
9. Add remaining 2 gal to MLT and stir throroughly
10. Drain wort into brew kettle


Going to the LHBS tomorrow, but not sure if they have the Vienna malt. Is there a good substitute if they don't have Vienna?

I understand that Munich malt is a viable substitute, but it can alter you SRM a little bit.

Marris Otter isn't a bad substitute for Vienna, either.


TL

Ok, Munich or Marris Otter! Thanks again!

Other minor steps:

- Preheat MLT?

- Have a few quarts of boiling or near -boiling water to fine-tune mash temp?

EDIT: This is meant: as you may not know yet how your setup will do temp-wise.

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

Ok, here's my plan:

1. Heat 3 gal water to 168F (leave some space for vorlauf)
2. Add water to MLT and dough in grains (target temp: 152-153F)
3. Mash for 60 min
4. Heat 3 qts water to 175F for vorlauf
5. When clear, drain wort to kettle
6. Heat 4 gal to 175 for batch sparge
7. Add 2 gal water to MLT and stir thoroughly. Let sit for 10 minutes.
8. When clear, drain wort into brew kettle
9. Add remaining 2 gal to MLT and stir throroughly
10. Drain wort into brew kettle

Click to expand...

A little nit pick here.

Combine steps 4 and 6, and perform them during step 3. I'm sure you wouldn't really wait until you needed the water before warming it up.

Now a few more serious points.

Make sure you heat enough water for the sparge. If you heat too much, you can use it for cleanup. If you heat too little, it sucks when you end up with too small a volume, or have to wait for more water to warm up.

Calculate how much wort you need to collect from the sparge before you start. If you collect too little, you will end up with less than 5g. If you collect too much, you will waste time and gas boiling it down.

After step 5, calculate how much extra wort you need to collect, and use 1/2 of that volume for steps 7 and 9

Good luck

-a.

I hate to be the slow guy, but I am not sure I am understanding this split batch method. Let me shoot here and tell me if it is a hit.

So if he mashes with 3.5 gallons. He would clear then drain 1.5 gallons. Add 2, stir, let sit. Clear and drain. repeat?

beergears said:

Other minor steps:

- Preheat MLT?

- Have a few quarts of boiling or near -boiling water to fine-tune mash temp?

EDIT: This is meant: as you may not know yet how your setup will do temp-wise.

Click to expand...

I will definitely preheat as I have no idea how well my cooler is insulated. Thanks for the idea of some boiling water on hand. I have a spare 3g pot I can put on the stove just in case, and add a quart or two depending on my mash temp.

Speaking of mash temp, do you just mash in, take the temp and close it up for 60m? Or do you take readings every 15m or so? I dont' want to let the heat out, but I want to make sure I'm maintaining the proper temp.

ajf said:

A little nit pick here.

Combine steps 4 and 6, and perform them during step 3. I'm sure you wouldn't really wait until you needed the water before warming it up.

Now a few more serious points.

Make sure you heat enough water for the sparge. If you heat too much, you can use it for cleanup. If you heat too little, it sucks when you end up with too small a volume, or have to wait for more water to warm up.

Calculate how much wort you need to collect from the sparge before you start. If you collect too little, you will end up with less than 5g. If you collect too much, you will waste time and gas boiling it down.

After step 5, calculate how much extra wort you need to collect, and use 1/2 of that volume for steps 7 and 9

Good luck

-a.

Click to expand...

I plan on filling my brew pot (7.5g) full for the whole process, and heating it to 168F. I'll take out 3.5 gallons for the mash in, and heat the remainder up to 175F for vorlauf and sparge. I'll probably end up having to add some water due to evaporation, maybe a half gallon I'm thinking. That's a good point you make about taking note of how much more wort I need to collect, and it will be a challenge to figure that out. I suppose I could use my bottling bucket since it has gallon markers on it. My brew pot will be in use...so come to think of it that is my only option .

I use the kettle to heat the strike water (usually 2 - 3 gallons). I have enough time while that is going on to get everything else ready and to weigh and grind my grains. As soon as the mash has started, I start heating the sparge water which will be up to temperature by the time the mash has finished. If I start heating 6 - 7g water at the beginning, it takes about an hour before I can start the mash. (I use the kitchen stove for heating water. If you use a propane burner, things should happen a lot quicker.)
If you use your bottling bucket to measure volumes, you may want to check the markings before you start. The markings on mine are very inaccurate.

One last thing. If you need to add hot or cold water to hit your mash temperature, add it very carefully, stir, and check the temperature. The first time I did it, I added too much boiling water, then too much cold etc. Before I knew it, I had run out of hot water, and had a very thin mash.


-a.

By carefully, do you mean just add 1 qt....less/more?

Chances are, you won't need to adjust the temperature very much. I'd start with a cup of hot or 1/2 cup cold water, and see what effect it has. If you add 1 qt you may well overshoot.

-a.