Looking at going AG

[OctopusInk]

A while ago I found a thread that talked about the size of coolers you could use for 5 or 10 gal batches. I have looked everywhere but it must be lost to the archives. Anyone have any information on this? Also I have heard that the standard rule is 1 quart of water per pound of grain. Is this also for sparging? Ummmm and how do you take gravity readings of boiling water inorder to get the OG you want?

 

[MMW]

Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators <-- use the Can I mash it? Calculator to determine how big your cooler should be. Look up a few recipes you would like to brew and use those grain bills. (note also that many coolers won't hold their rated capacity since the lid counts too )

Or, since I'm feeling nice, you could use these amounts
10 lbs will give a ~1.050 beer in a 5.5 gallon batch
15 lbs will give about ~1.074 5.5 gal batch
20 lbs ~1.098/5.5 or 1.049/11
(at mid seventies efficiency)


How to Brew - By John Palmer <-- good into to AG here. Read it again

 

[Bobby_M]

Are you talking about the sticky in the equipment subforum? https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/how-big-your-mash-tun-needs-123585/

 

[COLObrewer]

. . . Ummmm and how do you take gravity readings of boiling water inorder to get the OG you want?

Not sure what you're asking, but you don't take an OG reading until the wort is cooled and just before you dump it in the fermentor. To get the OG you want you follow a recipe, this is done before you take the gravity reading. Keep on a brewin!

 

[Bobby_M]

Well, you'd typically also take a sample of your wort post mash/sparge but preboil just to get an idea of what your gravity is going to be after concentration. This would help you determine if you missed your planned OG and let's you take corrective action by either adding DME, diluting more, or modifying your hopping plans. Of course, you can also do nothing.

 

[XXguy]

You could also buy a refractometer to take nearly instant samples of the wort at any stage of the mash or boil. Much easier than trying to cool samples down to get accurate hydrometer readings. About $35-$40 on Ebay. Search the forums for recommended models.

 

[COLObrewer]

You could also buy a refractometer to take nearly instant samples of the wort at any stage of the mash or boil. Much easier than trying to cool samples down to get accurate hydrometer readings. About $35-$40 on Ebay. Search the forums for recommended models.

Wull, yeah, but we need more info I guess, are you doing all grain?