Water volume question

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ayrton

ayrton

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From the "simple all grain brewing" tutorial:

Single Infusion Mash Method
For 10 lbs of pilsner malt, with a resulting 5 gallon batch of beer.
Figure on about three to four hours to mash, sparge and brew.
Crush malt and add to mash tun (cooler).
Strike with 3.5 gallons of water at 160F. The resulting temperature in the mash tun should reach 150F, stir well and let rest for 60 minutes.
Drain into boil kettle, recycling the first few quarts to improve clarity.
Heat 4 gallons of water to 170F.
Add 2 gallons water at 170F to mash tun, stir, let rest for a few minutes.
Drain into boil kettle, recycling the first few quarts to improve clarity.
(Repeat)Add 2 gallons water at 170F to mash tun, stir, let rest for a few minutes. If your mash tun is large enough, you may add all 4 gallons at the same time.
Drain into boil kettle, recycling the first few quarts to improve clarity.
There should be about 6 gallons of wort in the boil kettle.
Discard the spent grain.
Click to expand...

How will I know how much water will be required for striking and sparging in some other recipe? Are these guidelines always good? Some recipes I've seen fail to mention how much water and at what temperatures to mash.
 
Mash at 1-1.25qts/lb
Sparge down to 1010 or to volume which ever comes first. Top up with water if short or live with a smaller batch.
Mash temp in the range of 154+-2 depending on style.

Strike temp is unique to each set up. Go by the book the first time. Take notes and adjust as normal.
 
Single infusion mashing is generally done in the 150F-152F range. If a style requires a different temperature, they will should you know.
 
Charlie Papazian recommends 1 quart per pound of grain for the mash and 1/2 gallon per pound of grain for the sparge. When you get into big beers the volume of wort requires an extended boil in order to get 5 1/2 gallons or so in the fermenter.
 
RichBrewer said:
Charlie Papazian recommends 1 quart per pound of grain for the mash and 1/2 gallon per pound of grain for the sparge. When you get into big beers the volume of wort requires an extended boil in order to get 5 1/2 gallons or so in the fermenter.
Click to expand...

Actually, question: if I followed that standard, then what happens if my efficiency sucks? Also, what if I wanted a bigger beer? I am then supposed to use more grain, correct? But if I use more grain, then I would need to use more water, according to that standard, and so the OG wouldn't change (although my boil volume would grow). Shouldn't I always use enough water to give me about 6 pre-boil gallons worth of wort?

Edit: Also, I understand that you have to account for absorbtion by the grain bed; is this true for both the mash and sparge, or just the mash? It seems that the absorbtion would all take place in the mash, and that sparging would just rinse what's left, without getting absorbed.
 

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