Huge grain bill small mash tun

[Lmanning507]

I'm very excited about the brew day this weekend I'm planning a high ABV beer to experiment with different aging times. Because of this I have a large grain bill about 20lbs. I only have a 10 gallon iglo mash tun. Will I be able to fit all my grain and mash water (about 7.5 gallons based on some calculations) into the mash tun and still get good efficiency? Is there a better way to divide the strike and sparge amount?

 

[Remmy]

That should fit without a doubt. It'll be close (should be 2" or so from the top). I have the same type of mash tun and I've mashed-in on 24-lbs. of grain before.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

IIRC I can fit about 7.5 gallons and 23lb into my 10gal water cooler with the false bottom. You can barely stir it because it is right near the top. With 3lb less you should be okay. But you likely won't have enough for anymore than 1gal of mashout. I typically do a decoction type mashout (draw off 1 gallon from the MLT, boil it and stir it back in) in that case.

 

[Lmanning507]

Wow great how water did you use to mash and sparge and how was the efficiency?

 

[atom]

i do 10 gallon batches in my 10 gallon MT all the time. 7.5 gallons of water + 24 lbs of grain will fill it to the very top. I still get 75% efficiency.

 

[drgoodbrew]

you may not be able to fit all of your water in at the same time, so be prepared to have enough sparge water on hand to get your pre-boil volume.

my mash tun is a 10 gallon igloo cooler (round). the largest grain bill i packed in that bad boy was 24.5 lbs (barley wine). it was so full that the lid did could only float on top and stirring was tricky. i ended up batch sparging 2-3 times until the pre-boil volume was reached. the barley wine turned out amazingly well and clocked in @ 12.5% abv w/ no extract or sugar added, so it can be done!

 

[Remmy]

Wow great how water did you use to mash and sparge and how was the efficiency?

7.5-7.75 gals. for 24 lbs. I'll have to check when I view my recipe sheet but based on the calculator I use, that's pretty much it. I think I got 74% efficiency on the last RIS I made.

As the poster above mentioned, with that much grain, you'll have to be very careful when stirring. With the amount of grain you have, you should be good.

 

[Lmanning507]

That's good news no more worrying now thanks everyone

 

[Magnus314]

Yes. And if there's any water left, split it into one or two sparges. Two would get you the highest efficiency.

Or, if you're making a belgian or IIPA or something, add adjuncts or extracts to hit your full volume/gravity.