Help with first A.G.

[noisy123]

Hi,
I am a mac user (boo to you too) and I am using Beer Alchemy. I printed out the instructions for my first batch of a Fat Tire clone (lemme alone, I like it ). I am a little confused about the instructions. I would like to do a single infusion mash with a batch sparge. I selected that I wanted to do a single infusion mash at 152 F. Then I would like to sparge. If I do not select that I want a "mash-out" then it tells me to batch sparge with 152 F water. If I do select a "mash-out" and tell it that I want to do this at 170 F it gives me instructions for doing that (by adding heat to my cooler - grrr).

Palmer suggests sparging with 170 degree water not the 152 F. Also is it typical to add sparge water before doing the initial draining of the mash? It says to add 1.78 gallons of sparge water and then drain to the boiling pot. Is that how it should be done?

Here are my instructions.


Heat 2.52 US gals of water to 177 degF.

Mashing
Dough in the following fermentable ingredients.

9lb 0oz of US 2-Row Malt
8.00 oz of Belgian Special B
8.00 oz of US Caramel 120L Malt
8.00 oz of US Munich 10L Malt
Mash pH should be 5.2.

Allow the temperature to stabilize at 152 degF. Allow to rest at this temperature for 60 minutes.

Raise the temperature to 171 degF over 10 minutes and mash out.

Add 1.78 US gals of water at 171 degF, mix and run off.

Add a further 3.04 US gals of water at 171 degF and mix.

Run off to collect a total of 6.08 US gals of wort.

 

[Drunkensatyr]

1st off, that is not much water for 10.5 lbs of grain. i would change that to 3.75 gallons at 161 to hit 152. That gives you about 1.5 qt/lb ratio. As for your sparge, are you batch or fly sparging. I am going to assume that you are batch sparging. Drain all the 1st liquid then add enough 170 water to reach your final collected amount. If you are making a 5 gallon batch you will probably find that you want about 7 gallons into your brew pot to adjust for boil off.

 

[noisy123]

1st off, that is not much water for 10.5 lbs of grain. i would change that to 3.75 gallons at 161 to hit 152. That gives you about 1.5 qt/lb ratio. As for your sparge, are you batch or fly sparging. I am going to assume that you are batch sparging. Drain all the 1st liquid then add enough 170 water to reach your final collected amount. If you are making a 5 gallon batch you will probably find that you want about 7 gallons into your brew pot to adjust for boil off.

Thanks for replying.
True, I worked it out. That water volume gives 1 quart/lb which should be a super thick mash. I wonder what Beer Alchemy is smoking. Maybe I put something in wrong.

 

[Soulive]

Thanks for replying.
True, I worked it out. That water volume gives 1 quart/lb which should be a super thick mash. I wonder what Beer Alchemy is smoking. Maybe I put something in wrong.

Try downloading another program for free, like Beersmith, and see if you get the same results. Congrats on going AG...

 

[noisy123]

Try downloading another program for free, like Beersmith, and see if you get the same results. Congrats on going AG...

Unfortunately Beersmith won't work for Mac.

 

[Soulive]

Unfortunately Beersmith won't work for Mac.

Oh shoot, I didn't realize. My bad...

 

[noisy123]

I got it sorted out. I'll post the updated mash schedule after I recompute it. Thanks for all the help.

 

[ajf]

Hey, there's nothing wrong with mashing at 1 qt water per lb grain. That's what I do for most of my brews.
However, with that mash thickness, heating the strike water to 177 will result in much hotter than 152 for the mash.
I usually heat to 168 - 170 to achieve 152 - 153 after preheating the tun.
If beer alchemy is assuming an unheated tun, then, unless it's been calibrated for your equipment, it is almost certainly going to be inaccurate.
Even if you do a thinner mash, I'd check the strike water temperature calculations carefully before you actually brew.

Good luck

-a.

 

[Bobby_M]

Doesn't beertoolspro work on MAC?

 

[noisy123]

Doesn't beertoolspro work on MAC?

It does I think. However there is no demo so I was a bit reticent to shell out the bucks.

 

[Maine Homebrewer]

I printed out the instructions for my first batch of a Fat Tire clone (lemme alone, I like it )

That brings back memories. Haven't had a Fat Tire since I was wasting my tweens at the Dark Horse in Boulder Colorado.

Haven't seen nor tried that brew since moving to Maine twelve years ago.
I'd be quite appreciative if you'd share the rest of your recipe (hop regimen was lacking) so I could give it a whirl.

 

[noisy123]

That brings back memories. Haven't had a Fat Tire since I was wasting my tweens at the Dark Horse in Boulder Colorado.

Haven't seen nor tried that brew since moving to Maine twelve years ago.
I'd be quite appreciative if you'd share the rest of your recipe (hop regimen was lacking) so I could give it a whirl.

1 oz German Norther Brewer for the boil
1 oz Saaz during the last 2 minutes

I am also using Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) after the recommendation of the BrewMeister for New Beglium.

Its really acceptable beer when you ignore demands for it to be a "Belgian" in some way and just call it an American Amber.

 

[noisy123]

Doesn't beertoolspro work on MAC?

At the risk of ending up in a software thread, does BeerToolsPro have a pretty good mash scheduling tool, and a printable set of instructions for brew-day?

 

[Maine Homebrewer]

Thank you, though I don't know when I'll be able to brew it. My LHBS is rather short on Noble hops.

 

[Bobby_M]

At the risk of ending up in a software thread, does BeerToolsPro have a pretty good mash scheduling tool, and a printable set of instructions for brew-day?

It's not as hand-holding as Beersmith but it does do mash schedules in a very flexible way. The printout doesn't say things like "drain mashtun" but it has the info you need once you understand the process.