Impreial Stout Question?

[Drunkagain]

So my first two all grain beers have gone well. For my next beer I'm gonna do an Old Yeti clone which is calling for about twice the amount of grain that i used in my first two all grain beers. I've been heating my water to about 175'F, dumping it into the MLT and adding the grains when the temp drops down to about 165F'. So far thats gotten me to within a degree of my target temps for both beers. So with so much extra grain I assume I'll experience more heat loss . So should I add the grains while the water is hotter to account for that?

Thanks.

 

[Jekster]

Get a program like beersmith or promash. You can use them to calculate what temp what you need to hit a certain rest with a given amount of grain. Both have free trials and you can find them with a simple google search.

 

[CBBaron]

So my first two all grain beers have gone well. For my next beer I'm gonna do an Old Yeti clone which is calling for about twice the amount of grain that i used in my first two all grain beers. I've been heating my water to about 175'F, dumping it into the MLT and adding the grains when the temp drops down to about 165F'. So far thats gotten me to within a degree of my target temps for both beers. So with so much extra grain I assume I'll experience more heat loss . So should I add the grains while the water is hotter to account for that?

Thanks.

You should be using more water to mash the additional grain so the ratio does not change which means the temps should not change. If you are using a different ratio then the temps will change.

I second the recommendation for some good brewing software or at least a good spreadsheet.
Craig

 

[Drunkagain]

You should be using more water to mash the additional grain so the ratio does not change which means the temps should not change. If you are using a different ratio then the temps will change.

Ahh, gotcha. That makes sense.

Thanks.

 

[PseudoChef]

Also, it seems that it is the common consensus that the bigger the grain bill, the lower the efficiency. So either be prepared to boost your grain bill a bit or have some DME on hand.

I brewed the 888 Russian Imperial Stout at the beginning of the month and while my efficiency was good, I was sparging for gallons. At about 7 gallons, I was still pulling 1.040 wort. I ended up boiling 11 gallons down to 5.5.