Brews-Lee
Well-Known Member
Forgive me if the answer to this could be found in a sticky, but I thought I would ask while searching for some clarity, so here goes...
I have read that you want to use 1.5 - 2 quarts of water per lb of grain in the mash, (and then a similar amount for the sparge). I am preparing for a 5gal setup (6 - 6.5gal pre-boil) and am using 13.5lbs of grain, so that would come to be 5gal for the mash if I use the lower end of the spectrum (1.5 quarts per lb of grain). Assuming the grain will absorb about 1.7 quarts, that would mean that I would still need about 3 gal +/- of water to reach the pre-boil volume. So would I then sparge with 3gal of water? Or would I rather sparge with another 5 gal, but only draw the amount I need? The recipe is vague, the brew shop told me to use 4gal mash & 4gal sparge, the book I'm reading seems to say (at least) 5gal mash & 5gal sparge, and BeerSmith is telling me approx 4.2gal mash & 3.6gal sparge. What say you?
Next question is with regards to the sparge water temp. While all the sources pretty much say the same thing for the initial strike water, they all give a fairly wide swing on what temp to sparge with, (anything from 155F - 200F). Again, what say ye?
Oh, BTW, this will be for a strong IPA with an OG of about 1.072 if that helps.
I thank you in advance for your assistance!
I have read that you want to use 1.5 - 2 quarts of water per lb of grain in the mash, (and then a similar amount for the sparge). I am preparing for a 5gal setup (6 - 6.5gal pre-boil) and am using 13.5lbs of grain, so that would come to be 5gal for the mash if I use the lower end of the spectrum (1.5 quarts per lb of grain). Assuming the grain will absorb about 1.7 quarts, that would mean that I would still need about 3 gal +/- of water to reach the pre-boil volume. So would I then sparge with 3gal of water? Or would I rather sparge with another 5 gal, but only draw the amount I need? The recipe is vague, the brew shop told me to use 4gal mash & 4gal sparge, the book I'm reading seems to say (at least) 5gal mash & 5gal sparge, and BeerSmith is telling me approx 4.2gal mash & 3.6gal sparge. What say you?
Next question is with regards to the sparge water temp. While all the sources pretty much say the same thing for the initial strike water, they all give a fairly wide swing on what temp to sparge with, (anything from 155F - 200F). Again, what say ye?
Oh, BTW, this will be for a strong IPA with an OG of about 1.072 if that helps.
I thank you in advance for your assistance!