10 gallon batch question

[77bawls]

I did my first 10 gallon batch a couple weeks ago. I figured in extra water for boil off but I didn't account for the water that the grain was going to absorb. The target gravity was supposed to be 1.4 something. I ended up with only about 8 gallons and 1.055 gravity. I'm going to be putting it in a 15.5 gallon keg. Should I add water to get it back up to 10 gallons?

Also how do you use the boil off formula in Brewzor?

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Forget volume. What was your target og? If it's what you have now, ferment it and call it good. If you're high you can add water to get where you need to be.

 

[Conman13]

It is ok to add water before fermentation if your OG is 15 points higher than your target. I would make sure to boil it before adding if it is tap water, just to be certain there are no bugs in there.

 

[rekoob]

If you did your boil a few weeks ago and your 8 gallons are fermented already then carb and drink.
You could have fixed it prior to fermenting it. I don't know if I would try to add water now that it's already fermented, although I can't think of a reason why you couldn't do it.

What are you using for your 10 gallon batch to boil it?

 

[Brettomomyces]

Yea, at this point you shouldn't mess with it, just enjoy your stronger than anticipated beer. There are a lot of places where you lose some volume when brewing that should be accounted for:

Mash tun dead space
Kettle dead space
Boil off
Grain absorption
Hop absorption
Loss due to trub
Loss post fermentation

After a few brews you will learn what your system is like and what your loses are. Then factor that into your starting volume and you'll always make enough drinkable beer.

 

[peterj]

If you're using the same kettle as before, then you're boil off rate shouldn't change. Boil off rate depends on kettle diameter, heat applied, weather conditions, etc. The volume you are boiling will not affect it. This is where using a percentage for boil off can be misleading.

 

[77bawls]

If you did your boil a few weeks ago and your 8 gallons are fermented already then carb and drink.
You could have fixed it prior to fermenting it. I don't know if I would try to add water now that it's already fermented, although I can't think of a reason why you couldn't do it.

What are you using for your 10 gallon batch to boil it?

Short answer, a keggle and an Edelmetall burner.

This is my first 10 gallon batch, and my first all grain batch. I had to use two separate fermenters because all I have is buckets and carboys. I plan on either fermenting in a sanke keg or speidel fermenter later on. This is also the first time I used a hop bag, and it was awesome.

The problems I had was being two gallons short (grain absorption) and mash temp. Target was 152° and I was at 144°. I kept it there for an hour and then I drained off some wort and heated it to boiling and added it back to the mash and got it up to 154°. I kept it there for about a half hour.


I'm taking it camping in a couple weeks and we should go through the 8 gallons in probably two days. A 15 gallon keg lasts 3 days.

 

[rekoob]

Short answer, a keggle and an Edelmetall burner.

This is my first 10 gallon batch, and my first all grain batch. I had to use two separate fermenters because all I have is buckets and carboys. I plan on either fermenting in a sanke keg or speidel fermenter later on. This is also the first time I used a hop bag, and it was awesome.

The problems I had was being two gallons short (grain absorption) and mash temp. Target was 152° and I was at 144°. I kept it there for an hour and then I drained off some wort and heated it to boiling and added it back to the mash and got it up to 154°. I kept it there for about a half hour.


I'm taking it camping in a couple weeks and we should go through the 8 gallons in probably two days. A 15 gallon keg lasts 3 days.

With my Keggle I shoot for 12 gallons into the keggle or just a touch over. I normally boil off about 1.5 gallons and loose very little in the keggle which gives me enough over five gallons in the fermenter to have 5 gallons into bottles or a keg.
If you don't have a sight glass on your keggle, consider getting one to help you get what you need.
I recirculate my mash and direct fire so i shoot for 1.5 quarts per pound of grain when I mash. I batch sparge so after the first runnings I add enough to make up the rest of the 12 gallons for the BK.
Oh, and I need to camp with you!

 

[77bawls]

Kegged it last night. I took a sample, starting gravity was 1.054, and final gravity was 1.004. At 6.5% that's the highest percentage beer I've brewed to date. It was also the best tasting sample I've had.

 

[tootal]

Short answer, a keggle and an Edelmetall burner.

This is my first 10 gallon batch, and my first all grain batch. I had to use two separate fermenters because all I have is buckets and carboys. I plan on either fermenting in a sanke keg or speidel fermenter later on. This is also the first time I used a hop bag, and it was awesome.

The problems I had was being two gallons short (grain absorption) and mash temp. Target was 152° and I was at 144°. I kept it there for an hour and then I drained off some wort and heated it to boiling and added it back to the mash and got it up to 154°. I kept it there for about a half hour.


I'm taking it camping in a couple weeks and we should go through the 8 gallons in probably two days. A 15 gallon keg lasts 3 days.

Next time pull off about 1/4th of the grist, not the wort. Boil the grist as the enzymes are in the liquid. This is doing a true decoction and will give you wonderful melenoidans!