First all grain, volume, sparge and boil questions

[johnybravo]

Hi every one, I'm a newbie to proper beer brewing and have just done my first all grain which, as I'm sure you will all remember from from you first, I am very proud of.

I originally made the extract version of Orfy's hobgoblin II which was amazing and showed the potential I have in making home brew. I live near Witney and actually prefer my beer to the draught hobgoblin in the local pubs, well done Orfy!

This prompted me to make my first all grain attempt using Orfy's all grain recipe. Now, I have a few questions from my first brew which I would appreciate some help with.

To measure my sparge water I worked out the area of my boiler and therefore how deep i needed to fill it to have the correct volumes. I then marked this depth on my spoon and ensured that the water I had in the boiler matched this before mashing or sparging. Is there an easier way and how do you do it?

I didn't quite get my target og after cooling but I think this may have been for a couple of reasons:
A I had about 2 litres too much wort in my boiler due to inaccurate measuring with the spoon method of the sparge water.
B I boiled the wort on a stove top so the boil was less vigorous than with a large boiler.
C The final volume of wort after cooing was about 26 litres instead of 23.

Would I have had more evaporation on a large burner and a more vigorous boil and therefore hit my target volume and then target og?

Should I adjust the sparge volume to give me a smaller boil volume due to boiling on the stove?

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Thank,
John

 

[eltorrente]

Just boil for longer. You want a rigorous boil, btw. The less vigorous the boil, the more likely DMS flavor/aroma (cooked cream corn) will be in your beer. If you can't boil more vigorously, then boil for longer to try and get as much of the DMS out of the wort as possible.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I have just started to use my bottling bucket to measure the volume of water for my boils. I find it to be easier than the 4 qt glass measuring cup I used before . . . :cross:

 

[Odin_Brews]

I have just started to use my bottling bucket to measure the volume of water for my boils. I find it to be easier than the 4 qt glass measuring cup I used before . . . :cross:

I do this too.

Also I didn't notice any comment on whether you hit your pre boil OG as expected. Did you check that? As you go forward with a few more batches you should be able to dial in your boil off amounts and efficiency. From there it's just fine tuning your water volumes and grain amounts to get the final volume and OG you want. (Or at least in theory it's just fine tuning, Ill admit after a few years brewing my numbers still wander around a bit )

 

[roastquake]

I love hobgoblin, can you post the recipe? Unless I'm just stupid (likely) I didn't see it in a search.

As for your question: what eltorrente said

 

[johnybravo]

Thanks for the comments guys.

I have just started to use my bottling bucket to measure the volume of water for my boils. I find it to be easier than the 4 qt glass measuring cup I used before . . . :cross:

Do you take water from the boiler into your bucket and then the mash tun?

I coudnt see a preboil sg in the recipe. After the boil I got an sg of 1.040 with a target of 1.056

I didn't want to boil for longer as i thought it might change the hop profile. I may have to invest in a burner to get a good rolling boil though we are getting a new cooker soon so may be able to do it on a bigger ring.

Recipes can be found here
http://www.dave123taylor.webspace.virginmedia.com/brew/Recipes/orfy_recipes.htm

Extract here
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/hob-goblin-extract-steep-20228/
Because the boil is a smaller volume for the extract I was able to get a good rolling boil on the cooker top.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the comments guys.



Do you take water from the boiler into your bucket and then the mash tun?

I coudnt see a preboil sg in the recipe. After the boil I got an sg of 1.040 with a target of 1.056

I didn't want to boil for longer as i thought it might change the hop profile. I may have to invest in a burner to get a good rolling boil though we are getting a new cooker soon so may be able to do it on a bigger ring.

Recipes can be found here
http://www.dave123taylor.webspace.virginmedia.com/brew/Recipes/orfy_recipes.htm

Extract here
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/hob-goblin-extract-steep-20228/
Because the boil is a smaller volume for the extract I was able to get a good rolling boil on the cooker top.

You already know the amount you boil off with the setup you have so just adjust your sparge amount to accommodate that amount. You don't have to use the same amount of water that someone else used. Collect your runoff from the mash and see how much you have. At that point you should be able to tell how much sparge water you need to get to your pre-boil amount.

 

[johnybravo]

You already know the amount you boil off with the setup you have so just adjust your sparge amount to accommodate that amount. You don't have to use the same amount of water that someone else used. Collect your runoff from the mash and see how much you have. At that point you should be able to tell how much sparge water you need to get to your pre-boil amount.

Thanks, I was hoping it was as simple as that

 

[NickTheGreat]

Do you take water from the boiler into your bucket and then the mash tun?
.

I don't. I'm not one of the guys who's scared of plastic, but I'm not wild about dumping hot water (or wort) into in

 

[kh54s10]

It is as simple as mashing with 1.25 to 1.5qts of water to pounds of grain. Then drain the mash tun. Measure the level, subtract from the total you need for boil off and this is how much you need to sparge with. To get more accurate I do a double sparge and measure again after the first half.

And to comment on a previous post. A vigorous boil is NOT necessary. A constant boil with no cover on the pot will eliminate the dms.

 

[fmr_army]

I was a Math major in college, but my calculations just haven't given me good results in practice. Here's how I handle my water measurements:

1) In my kettle, I used a gallon jug, and started filling the pot. When I got to five gallons, I stuck my spoon in and marked the height. I did the same for 6.5 and 8 gallons.
2) Similar technique for my carboys. I put a long piece of duct tape running vertically up the side. As I added a gallon, I'd make a horizontal mark. I measured halfway between those big marks and made a smaller 1/2 gallon mark.
3) On brewday for bulk measurements, I use my fermentation bucket to measure out my various amounts of water. This also allows me to properly treat my water when it's cold. I then heat it to wherever I need and don't have to worrry about remeasuring.​

Obviously, there are a couple issues with my way:
First off, it's not particularly precise, but then it's brewing - not rocket science.
Secondly, when you're doing the initial "calibration" filling of your various vessels, avoid having your wife talk to you, and don't have too many beers. Easy to lose track of your count. But then, I have the attention span of a rabid squirrel.