oswegan
Well-Known Member
So my son and I just brewed our first batch on our new 15 gallon system.
It was a 10 gallon batch that is supposed to be a high gravity double IPA.
We used 28 pounds of grain. Mashed in a 70 quart extreme cooler with copper manifold. We preheated our mash tun to just over 150 degrees, added our grain and struck with 9 gallons of 160-162 degree water. We stirred it for a couple of minutes with the top open until it hit 153 degrees and then we held it there for one hour.
When we drained our first runnings, we netted just under 5 gallons of wort. Our plan was to batch sparge with 9.5 gallons of 170 degree water, stir and let sit for 10 minutes before draining. Our plans changed due to the saturation of the grain and we were only able to fit 5 gallons of sparge water in at a time. So we did two sparges of 4.75 gallons of 170 degree water letting each soak 5 minutes before vourlaff and drain.
We ended up with 13 gallons of wort at gravity of 1.051, to be boiled down to 11 gallons plus the loss of around a gallon due to hop absorption (10 oz of loose hops in the boil) and a little left in the bottom of the kettle.
I calculated that as a low efficiency of about 62-65%.
We boiled for a little over an hour. Our final volume on the sight tube was 11 gallons, but after hop absorption, we ended up with a little over 10 gallons in the carboys.
Our original gravity at 60 degrees was 1.061.
We were shooting for 1.075 - 1.080.
A couple of thoughts: I think I will check my crush and maybe have it done somewhere else next time. It looked fine for the most part but there was not much flour (maybe 5%). I also think I will try for a little higher water volume for the initial mash or add some boiling water at the end of the mash so that my first running volume is up closer to 6.5 gallons. I also thought I might try to strike with a higher temp sparge water and let sit for 10-15 minutes before draining.
Any suggestions?
It was a 10 gallon batch that is supposed to be a high gravity double IPA.
We used 28 pounds of grain. Mashed in a 70 quart extreme cooler with copper manifold. We preheated our mash tun to just over 150 degrees, added our grain and struck with 9 gallons of 160-162 degree water. We stirred it for a couple of minutes with the top open until it hit 153 degrees and then we held it there for one hour.
When we drained our first runnings, we netted just under 5 gallons of wort. Our plan was to batch sparge with 9.5 gallons of 170 degree water, stir and let sit for 10 minutes before draining. Our plans changed due to the saturation of the grain and we were only able to fit 5 gallons of sparge water in at a time. So we did two sparges of 4.75 gallons of 170 degree water letting each soak 5 minutes before vourlaff and drain.
We ended up with 13 gallons of wort at gravity of 1.051, to be boiled down to 11 gallons plus the loss of around a gallon due to hop absorption (10 oz of loose hops in the boil) and a little left in the bottom of the kettle.
I calculated that as a low efficiency of about 62-65%.
We boiled for a little over an hour. Our final volume on the sight tube was 11 gallons, but after hop absorption, we ended up with a little over 10 gallons in the carboys.
Our original gravity at 60 degrees was 1.061.
We were shooting for 1.075 - 1.080.
A couple of thoughts: I think I will check my crush and maybe have it done somewhere else next time. It looked fine for the most part but there was not much flour (maybe 5%). I also think I will try for a little higher water volume for the initial mash or add some boiling water at the end of the mash so that my first running volume is up closer to 6.5 gallons. I also thought I might try to strike with a higher temp sparge water and let sit for 10-15 minutes before draining.
Any suggestions?