HELP! Added 3.64 gal strike water instead of 2.64 gal strike water to mash!!

[Wooden]

Help!

I misread/misremembered the numbers put in for my 5 gal batch mash water.

The calculator said 2.64 but I added 3.64 instead.

OG: 1.05
Single-step infusion mash, batch sparge at 152F, with mashout at 170F

I am using a 5 gal cooler so I will not have quite enough space to mash-out with .5 gal. Now it is apparent why.

I am about half-way thru the mash.

Should I remove a gal now and set it aside, so I correct my volumes and hopefully not extract tannins?

And then sparge with 1 gal less instead?

Help.... Don't wanna ruin my beer.
1st totally solo AG beer.

Thanks;

Wooden

 

[wilserbrewer]

Skip the mashout and sparge with a gallon less.

Not a big deal IMO.

 

[pvpeacock]

I routinely mash with 5 gallons and then adjust my batch sparge volume to get what I need pre-boil. Mash thickness is really not a major deal in my opinion, particularly if you were only 1 gallon over.

 

[doug293cz]

Assuming you are batch sparging, you are actually better off mashing with more water than you sparge with. To maximize your lauter efficiency for a single batch sparge, you want your initial mash runoff volume to be nearly equal to your sparge runoff volume (ref: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Batch_Sparging_Analysis.) When batch sparging, ignore any advice about specific water to grain ratios for the mash. That stuff really only applies when fly sparging. Thinner mashes actually improve your starch to sugar conversion rate (ref: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency#Mash_thickness.)

To calculate your sparge volume use the following formula:

Sparge Vol = Target Pre-Boil Vol / 2​

The calculate your strike (mashing) water volume with:

Strike Vol = Sparge Vol + Grain Weight * Grain Absorption Rate​

For a cooler MLT, grain absorption is usually about 0.12 gal/lb. You can calculate your actual grain absorption rate with:

Grain Absorption Rate = (Strike Vol - First Runnings Vol) / Grain Weight​

If the undrainable volume of your MLT is more than about a pint, then you may want to adjust the last two formulas above to take the undrainable volume into account (ask if you need to know how.)

Edit: Also, +1 to @wilserbrewer 's recommendation to skip the mash out. A mash out is really only useful when fly sparging, or if your mash time is too short for complete conversion. If you are not getting complete conversion, you are better off crushing finer, and/or mashing longer.

Brew on

 

[Wooden]

Thanks guys for the helpful responses!

I am happy because, it will still be beer!

I racked over on to a yeast cake that I just racked to secondary minutes before I transferred to the carboy, and it is already blowing over about 4 hours later.

Cheers!

Wooden