how much water to use, plus recipe help

[powerpunk5000]

im doing a 2.5 gallon BIAB and im wondering how much water I will need, im guessing around 4-4.5 gallons here is my grain bill

5.8 lbs briess 2 row 1.8L
.25 lbs crystal 120L
.25 lbs American chocolate 350L
.774 lbs flaked oats
1.5 oz flaked barley

7.17 lbs roughly

im guessing .5 gallon boil off.

im not sure what hops to use as well, I have a bunch of cascade so any recommendations for hop timing would be awesome, This is going to be a mint chocolate stout

also looking for recommendations on how much cacao nibs or coca powder to add and at what time and also how much mint to add and at what time, The mint is fresh grown from the garden and not dried out

 

[balrog]

I suggest you take a quick look at the Priceless brewing calc
It's only a guess if you only guess boil off though...

 

[geoffm33]

Yeah definitely don't guess on the boil off. Run a test. With a 2.5 gallon batch size, being off on the boil off rate will have a big impact. It will also give you an idea of how long it takes to get to mash and boil temp. Which is handy for planning your brew day.

 

[powerpunk5000]

Yeah definitely don't guess on the boil off. Run a test. With a 2.5 gallon batch size, being off on the boil off rate will have a big impact. It will also give you an idea of how long it takes to get to mash and boil temp. Which is handy for planning your brew day.

any ideas on the mint and cacao nibs or coca powder?

 

[balrog]

any ideas on the mint and cacao nibs or coca powder?

Sorry, I really don't. I know someone who used cacao nibs (@Leezer ) and it was awesome, but mint is another thing.

 

[Leezer]

In my 2.5G recipe I use 4.4oz unsweetened cocoa powder at 10 mins left in boil, and add 4 oz cocoa nibs (soaked in vodka several days) to primary after vigorous fermentation has stopped. I leave them in at least two weeks to get the most flavor.
Haven’t used mint, but think that a little bit will go a very long way.
I also wonder if cascade would add too much competing flavor. I use magnum in my chocolate stout, it adds a “clean” bitterness I feel so that I can mostly taste roasty and chocolate.