Help needed for 1st AG recipe

I have been doing extract brews off-and-on for several years and have decided to go to AG (hopefully within 2 weeks). I decided to go AG for more control of ingredients and am going to brew a light colour Koelsch (WY2565) since that matches the style and basement temps. I want to use the continous sparge method (and got the cooler with copper manifold). Here is a recipe I made with Promash below. It is a 10 US gallon batch.

7 kg (15.4 lbs) 2-row Harrington
1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) Weyermann Pale Wheat Malt
1 kg (2.2 lbs) of Flakes Maize total: (21 lbs of fermentables)

(1 kg / 2.2 lbs of rice hauls)


I have tried to figure out the dough-in and mash/sparge volumes and temps - but can't quite get it. Any help in terms of when, what temps and volumes would be greatly appreciated. A water:grain ratio of 1.2 seems about right.

Cheers.

Promash tells me that 6.3 gallons of 166 degree water will get you 153 for a single infusion mash. Be sure to rinse your rice hulls before you throw them in, though you don't have that much wheat and really shouldn't need them.

Two observations: Why start with 10gal for your first one? You're going to be learning so many new things about grain beds and other stuff, it'll be easier to handle 5 gallons for the first one. Unless you've done some partial mash or someone is helping you or something, just a thougt.

Second, why not batch sparge the first one? It's a lot less complicated than fly sparging and works just as well. You don't have to worry about running gravity, and pH and tannins etc. Fly sparging can be more efficient, but it takes a really good setup to make it that way. Not saying you don't have mad skillz, but it's much easier to get good results with a batch sparge.

Go big or go home.

What kind of setup ddo you have?

Thanks for the info ! I saw that # on Promash but wanted to be sure.Now I think I should be able to figure out the rest.

I got a 36qt coleman extreme cooler...a good manifold (according to Palmer with respect to width, slot separation, distance from the wall, etc). I also got a sanke keg and 72K BTU solid burner. I just gotta buy another cheap cooler for holding the sparge water as I don't want to purcha$e another buner/kettle yet.

5 gallons seems way too small for me since I have been doing 13 G extract batches....and AG will take at least twice as long to make.

I like the idea of go big or go home...I am also gonna use liquid WYeast, a starter, and hop plugs for the first time. There are more unknow factors to mess up, but I'll take the gamble since the reward will be well worth it. I also got a pH stabilizer that people have talked about here....I figured that should eliminate the need for readings (with the exception of the hydrometer when getting near the end of the sparge water)

Cheers.

You can add that pH stabilizer to your sparge water as well eliminating worries there.

Rock on!

oh ya...I made a immersion wort chiller as well.

Fly sparging isn't that difficult really. Infact I reckon it's simpler than batch sparging -- if you do your reading there's no reason why you can't get great efficiency either way.

Axegod: download Promash or Brewsmith (free trial editions). They will help calculate your strike temps and dough in volumes. Also I'd skip the corn for a Koelsch... just mash it low (~149 F?) and use a good Koelsch yeast and you'll get decent attenuation. Have fun