All Grain Recipe Decoded!!

[PilotBeer]

I've just started all grain... I am finding that as I want to try new recipes some of the recipes are cryptic to me. Can anyone explain the following Single Infusion I'm honestly just confused on water volume to use: I want 6.25 gallons for the boil :

Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 12.00
Water Qts: 12.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 3.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 153 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 168 Time: 10
Sparge Temp : 168 Time: 45


Total Mash Volume Gal: 3.96 - Dough-In Infusion Only

Do i strike with only 3 gallons or do i use 3.96 gallons for the strike and when i dough in i.e. add the grain. Then do i just sparge as much as necessary to get my 6.25 gallons of wort at 168?? please help!! thank you!
J

 

[Yooper]

I'd follow my "own" instructions, and mash with my usual volume. I think 1 quart per pound is too think for most recipes. For my system, I need to use 1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain, so that my pump works well. But anywhere from 1.25-1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain would work.

So, if you were using 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain, that would be 15 quarts of water. Since the rest temp in the recipe is 153, you should use 164 degree water in a preheated mash tun.

Since grain absorbs some of the water, you should get lose 1.5 gallons of the first addition to the grainbed. So, if you mash in with 15 quarts (3.75 gallons), you'd get out approximately 2.25 gallons from this mash.

If your boil volume is going to be 6.25 gallons, you still need 4 gallons of sparge water. So you can plan on using 4 gallons of sparge water. I'd have some extra on hand, just in case you lose some to your false bottom or have any other deadspace. You can always add more sparge water if you notice you're low.

A good thing to do is to mark your pot or your spoon at each "gallon" and "half gallon" marking. Use water to do this- and you'll be thankful you did it! Nothing is worse than finishing a brew day to find you have 6 gallons of wort (or worse- 4 gallons of wort!) when you calculated it for 5 gallons! If you keep on eye on the markings and can sort of eyeball your volumes, it'll be hundred times easier!

It's easy to figure it out once you know your system. Until you have your system dialed in, it's easiest to work backwards and start with your desired boil volume and subtract the probably amount you need.

 

[pcollins]

Great post/answer, Yooper! Math + common sense... Imagine the possibilities!

There's nothing to really add to what Yooper said but just to clarify your one question re: sparge volume. I don't measure my sparge water volume, I just do my calculations for my boil size and strike water volumes and sparge until I reach my boil volume. I often have more sparge water than necessary but I would much rather have it that way than the other.

Yes, I am dumping wort down the drain if there is any left over in the MLT but it's sugar content is negligible and of no concern to me.

 

[BobBailey]

I've just started all grain... I am finding that as I want to try new recipes some of the recipes are cryptic to me. Can anyone explain the following Single Infusion I'm honestly just confused on water volume to use: I want 6.25 gallons for the boil :

Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 12.00
Water Qts: 12.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 3.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 153 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 168 Time: 10
Sparge Temp : 168 Time: 45

Total Mash Volume Gal: 3.96 - Dough-In Infusion Only

Do i strike with only 3 gallons or do i use 3.96 gallons for the strike and when i dough in i.e. add the grain. Then do i just sparge as much as necessary to get my 6.25 gallons of wort at 168?? please help!! thank you!
J

1. I would recommend somewhere between 1.25 and 1.5 qts./lb. of grain. If your mash tun is too small to accommodate more than 1 qt./lb. you can eliminate the mash-out. In most cases, it is not a necessary step.

2. The total mash volume is the volume of your mash once you mix the grain & water together.

3. Assuming that you will batch sparge, You need to sparge with the difference between the first runnings and the desired pre-boil volume.

Remember that you will be losing about .1 gallon of water for each lb. of grain, or 1.2 gallons with your 12 lb. grain bill, to absorption during the mash as well as the volume of any dead space in your mash tun. Figure dead space by putting a gallon or so of water into your empty mash tun, drain it in the same manner as you would drain your wort from it and then measure the water left in it.

The grain will be saturated after mashing so won't absorb any of the sparge water.

If your mash tun won't hold the entire sparge volume, split the water up and sparge twice, using half of the water for each.

Supposedly, the ideal is to get half of your wort from first runnings and the other half from seconds. I have strayed quite a bit from this rule several times and not noticed any real difference.

This advice is pretty generic. More information, such as your mash tun size & type, sparge method and grain bill and/or style of beer, will get you more specific information.

Also, I am assuming that you have copied the above "Single Infusion" information from a post and do not have brewing software. If this is the case, I strongly advise using software, whether free or you buy it. You'll find that most will calculate everything you need to know with just a few inputs from you.

Happy brewing!

Bob

 

[PilotBeer]

AWESOME GUYS! Thanks for all the replies. I think myself and others may sometimes get confused by the over simplicity of some recipe depictions (leaving a lot of the details chocked up to experience) which is a sharp contrast to the step by step you start out with on your first ever extract kits. I've been doing my math by hand but i'm going to try out the software to see if i can save myself a bit of number crunching. Thanks again!
J