the beer is in the carboy...

Thanks to everyone for saving my butt last night. The beer made it into the carboy without further incident. I have 2 questions though, for the next time.

1) mash water - I'd calculated that I'd need 6 qt of water for the mash. Of course, some of this water was beneath the false bottom. Should I have upped the amount of water, so the grain was actually in 6 qt of water (IE: strike water volume = 6 qt + ammt below false bottom?)

2) There's a LOT of trub in the carboy this morning - usually, in a ME batch, I get about 1/2" of trub...today it's 1.5" already. Is this normal for a partial mash beer?

(Yes, I strained the wort as it went into the carboy).

You could add a little water to make up for what is under the false bottom. Truth is, it is not really that critical. Close counts.

That much trub is not unusual at all. It will settle some in a couple weeks.

When I was doing partial mashes, I used a stainless steel pot and a large grain bag. I would heat the water to temperature, add grains, and then stick the pot into a preheated oven to hold the temp. I guess you cooler method is good practice toward going all grain on a smaller scale though.

1) Mash/strike water amounts are typically based on a formula that comes from brewing software or other such stuff. Get to know your system a bit, keeping good notes on each brew, and you'll be able to "dial in" your strike and sparge water amounts more accurately.

2) The trub you're seeing is likely creeping down the side of the glass carboy, giving the appearance of more there than actually is. No worries; just keep it in the carboy until your gravity reading indicates completion of fermentation,