measuring grain for recipes

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joelstew

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I have googled around and want an answer to a few questions.

1) Why are recipes by pound for grain instead of by volume (cups, e.g.)?

2) Is there a reason no source I can find gives me a semi-accurate pounds -> cups coversion for grains?

I don't own a scale and I am going with 3.5 cups / lb of 2-row Belgian malt for my recipe (from only 1 result on google searching ;-)

3) Does 3.5 cups to 1 lb sound about right for 2-row Belgian Malt?

It seems there are lot of other variables - the amount it is crushed (fine / coarse), water content in the grain, it really seems to me that volume would be more reliable than weight.... please .... discuss!
 
Weight is always 100% accurate (unless the grains were soaked in water or something first, I guess!) while "cups" are not. It's also much easier to weigh 15 pounds of grain than 45 cups of grains (or whatever it would be!).
 
Yeah, other way around. There's no way to tell consistently how tightly packed the grains are, how well they're crushed, and so forth. All those things can make a huge difference if you measure by volume. 1 cup of unmilled grain loosely packed is a lot less grain than 1 cup of finely milled grain with little wasted air space. Multiply that over 45 cups and you could be off by a pound of grain by the time you're done.

Mass is mass. Grains stored in your house are likely to have a pretty consistent ratio of water content, so if you measure by weight you'll have consistent results that you can predict.
 
My best advice is buy a scale. You'll get a good one for $20-30 that can do anything you'll ever need...
 
Umm the only thing that you have going for that argument is water content and I thinkthat for the most part malted grains are all around the same, fairly dry. A lb of uncrushed grains will take up a significantly smaller space than a lb of crushed, unless that is compacted. Its a lot more variable than weight.

See why volume isn't a good way to measure that?

Wtbs, I use a solo cup for most of my grains. One solo cup filled to the line, unpacked, is about 1/2 lb. I do verify every once in a while with my scale though...
 
Joelstew, I think you're calculation for the weight of 2-row is off. I use a 4 cup measuring cup when I transfer grains to my scale and each scoop is just under 2 pounds, which breaks down to about a half pound per cup.
 
weight is weight no matter if the grain is crushed or whole............whats heavier, a pound of feathers or a pound of lead? same idea.

same reason that pro bakers use weight to measure flour and other ingredients.

go buy a scale!!
 
These questions have already been answered, but just to make sure you are paying attention:

I have googled around and want an answer to a few questions.

1) Why are recipes by pound for grain instead of by volume (cups, e.g.)?

Because volume is not an accurate way to measure solid ingredients.

2) Is there a reason no source I can find gives me a semi-accurate pounds -> cups coversion for grains?

Please see answer for #1.

I don't own a scale

You should buy a scale if you are going to keep brewing and need to measure your own ingredients.



It seems there are lot of other variables - the amount it is crushed (fine / coarse), water content in the grain, it really seems to me that volume would be more reliable than weight...

It's not. There are too many variables. You have answered your own question.
 
okay okay, I will buy a scale already .... along with wort chiller, larger pot, propane burner .... going from kit to partial mash and watching the modest budget as I go ....

<knee slap>I totally concede that weight is the "weigh" to go </knee slap>

Just less than 4 cups is a good guess. Any other takers, let's try it this way...

4) if you were offered $100 to take some "typical" crushed 2 pale, and only with a measuring cup, try to measure out 5 lbs (closest guy wins), how would you do it?

I crushed 10 lbs today, and it is in a single bag (instead of 1 pounders - gotta save money for that scale somehow). I have several partial mash recipes I am going to use it for. I was just wondering if there was a rough guesstimate if I used a measuring cup what I should shoot for. I will eyeball it anyway. Off by a couple SP points is no big deal.
 
Simple, if you have ten pounds and you need five then just measure all you have and use half.
 
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