I know that both of these subjects have been touched on quite a bit here, but I would like to revisit this subject so I am clear on how to approach my next batch.
I was reading through an older BYO article last night that discussed batch sparging. In the article they mashed using a 1.25 qts/lb ratio and at the end of the mash he added 180-185 F water (~5.5 qts) so he could obtain half the preboil volume (7 gal) from the mash and half from the sparge water (180-185F).
Ok, so I am clear on everything so far. However, in my case I would like to do a mash out because on my last two batches I ended with high attenuation. According to what I have read on HBT, the only way to control the attenuation is to either mash out or get the wort up to temp as fast as possible. Obviously, I am unable to do the latter because that didn't happen on the last two batches.
My next AG batch will contain 11.6 lbs of grain. If I mash at 1.25 qts/lb then I would end up with 3.6 gal in the mash tun. I assume I would loose 1.5 gal due to grain absorption and therefore be left with ~2.1 gal water. If my preboil is 7 gal and I want half from the mash and half from sparge then I would need to add 1.4 gal to the mash tun. However, if I want to do a mash out then I would need to add 2 gal at about 206 F to get the grain up to 170 F. That would give me 4.1 gal in the MT and leave me to sparge with 2.9 gal.
An alternative would be to mash in at 1 qt/lb instead of 1.25 qts/lb. At 1 qt/lb, I would need 3 gal for my strike water then loose 1.5 gal to the grain. In this case, I can do a mash out with 2 gal of water for a total of 3.5 gal in the mash tun. Therefore, allowing me to sparge with 3.5 gal for an even split between the two.
I hope all this makes sense. What is the best approach here?? Thanks in advance..
I was reading through an older BYO article last night that discussed batch sparging. In the article they mashed using a 1.25 qts/lb ratio and at the end of the mash he added 180-185 F water (~5.5 qts) so he could obtain half the preboil volume (7 gal) from the mash and half from the sparge water (180-185F).
Ok, so I am clear on everything so far. However, in my case I would like to do a mash out because on my last two batches I ended with high attenuation. According to what I have read on HBT, the only way to control the attenuation is to either mash out or get the wort up to temp as fast as possible. Obviously, I am unable to do the latter because that didn't happen on the last two batches.
My next AG batch will contain 11.6 lbs of grain. If I mash at 1.25 qts/lb then I would end up with 3.6 gal in the mash tun. I assume I would loose 1.5 gal due to grain absorption and therefore be left with ~2.1 gal water. If my preboil is 7 gal and I want half from the mash and half from sparge then I would need to add 1.4 gal to the mash tun. However, if I want to do a mash out then I would need to add 2 gal at about 206 F to get the grain up to 170 F. That would give me 4.1 gal in the MT and leave me to sparge with 2.9 gal.
An alternative would be to mash in at 1 qt/lb instead of 1.25 qts/lb. At 1 qt/lb, I would need 3 gal for my strike water then loose 1.5 gal to the grain. In this case, I can do a mash out with 2 gal of water for a total of 3.5 gal in the mash tun. Therefore, allowing me to sparge with 3.5 gal for an even split between the two.
I hope all this makes sense. What is the best approach here?? Thanks in advance..