First AG brew....

Ok, so i recently built my mash tun however, i used a 5 gallon cooler that i was able to procure from work. I will be doing a 5gal batch (American Rye Ale). My question is how much water do i mash with, I ask this because naturally i cant help but think that 5gal of water will not fit in my mash tun with the grains. I am shooting for a 6gal boil size and i have a brew kettle that will hold that amount. I just really need some advice on quantities of water for the mash and sparge. Any input is appreciated. Also i will using bottled spring water due to the fact that i have no ph stabilizer. Any advice on that is also appreciated. Thanks for the help.....

I use a ratio of 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain. its not too thin or thick. I use an 8 gallon cooler and usually max it out at around 24-25 lbs... you can always go thinner or thicker. But I would try the 1.25qt per lb and see how it works. Good Luck and happy brewing!

as for the sparge, heat up like 4 or more gallons of sparge water and gauge what you need for sparging after you collect your first runnings off your.mash tun. After your initial dough in the grains will not absorb anymore water. So what ever amount you use to sparge, you should collect it back in your boil kettle. what size kettle are you using?

Im using a 7.5gal aluminum kettle for the actual boil and a 22qt SS kettle for the hot liquor tank. Im boiling water in my aluminum pot now to go ahead and oxidize it. thanks for the advice. I have been brewing for about 8 months now and have got real comfortable with extract kits so i decided to make the jump. hopefully it all works out.

congratulations on the jump to all grain. it will all work out and you love the beer. if you haven't already read John Palmers book How To Brew. there is a digital copy on him website or it is available in paperback. Good luck again, and happy all grain brewing!

Let me know if my math is correct. Im using a total of 8.75 lbs of grains and by using a ratio of 1.25qts per lb im coming up with a total of 10.93qts of water, which comes out to 2.73 gals of water for my mash. So with that said i will be using approx 3 gal for sparging.

Don't forget about .1 gal absorption per pound of grain. This is less if you squeeze the grains.

correct for your first water amount. id round it too 11qt. BUT, the grain your using in the mash is going to absorb roughly its weight in water. Id expect to loose at the bare minimum a gallon due too absorption. what I would do it, in your boil kettle, fill it with 6 gallons of water. using yard stick or a wooden rod mark a notch where each gallon mark is, do this up to the 6 gallon mark. This way after you collect your first runnings you'll know how much sparge water you'll need. IE, If your first runnings collect 1.5 gallons, you'll need at least 4.5 gallons of sparge water. don't afraid to heat up extra water. you don't haven to use it all.

I would not recommend squeezing the grains to make up for absorption loss. you'll risk extracting harsh tannins that will not taste very good in your beer.

I get pretty close using this calculator. http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php

I have a five gallon mash tun also. Depending on the grain bill I sometimes end up with as little as 1 qt per pound of grain, pretty darn thick. You will have to double batch sparge, usually I end up with equal volumes for each sparge. But you can start heating your wort before you are done sparging so it doesn't add too much time to your brewday.