In the middle of brew.. Help with quick question

[mrduna01]

Hey y'all. I'm in the middle of my mash and at 1.25 qt per lb of grain the grains are not completely covered by the water? Is this typical as in they only need to be damp for conversion? Hmmmm. I'm giving it a stir ever so often.

 

[Yooper]

Hey y'all. I'm in the middle of my mash and at 1.25 qt per lb of grain the grains are not completely covered by the water? Is this typical as in they only need to be damp for conversion? Hmmmm. I'm giving it a stir ever so often.

The grains MUST be thoroughly wetted! Is your pot too wide for them to be submerged? Or are they in a bag or something? Maybe you have a ton of water under a false bottom?

I'd heat up some water and mash with up to 1.5-2.0 quarts per pound or whatever it takes to get the grains thoroughly wetted.

 

[Pappers_]

Yes, the grains need to be submerged, completely wet.

 

[mrduna01]

I'm using a 45 qt cooler. Hmmm... I should add water and extend my mash time?

 

[mrduna01]

I have 8.75 lbs of grain and used just under 11 qts per beersmith. I may have had a touch more grain than that or something. I may just stick to 1.5 qts per lb for now on. I just added 2.5 qts and it looks good now with all grains in the mash. I had never had that problem before because I hadn't checked the measurements on my ale pale so I was adding a half gallon more before than I thought I was. Live and learn I suppose. . Should I mash longer I suppose to correct the issue?

 

[Yooper]

I have 8.75 lbs of grain and used just under 11 qts per beersmith. I may have had a touch more grain than that or something. I may just stick to 1.5 qts per lb for now on. I just added 2.5 qts and it looks good now with all grains in the mash. I had never had that problem before because I hadn't checked the measurements on my ale pale so I was adding a half gallon more before than I thought I was. Live and learn I suppose. . Should I mash longer I suppose to correct the issue?

You may as well mash longer. It won't hurt! Do you have any iodine or Iodophor to check conversion? If not, don't worry about it. Start the mash time from the "new" time when you submerged all of the grains.

 

[mrduna01]

You may as well mash longer. It won't hurt! Do you have any iodine or Iodophor to check conversion? If not, don't worry about it. Start the mash time from the "new" time when you submerged all of the grains.

You guys and gals are awesome thanks for the help! Every time I think I got the process down I realize I'm still a newbie 12 to 15 batches in. Lol

I have some iodine. I'll research how to use it to check conversion.

 

[TheMan]

I've never had this issue, almost sounds like your tun is too big for such a small gravity batch. You might just need to raise your water to grain ratio. Try 1.5qt per pound next time you have a small batch like this.

 

[mrduna01]

I've never had this issue, almost sounds like your tun is too big for such a small gravity batch. You might just need to raise your water to grain ratio. Try 1.5qt per pound next time you have a small batch like this.

Thank you for the tip and I think that's what I'll do. Im doing another one today or tomorrow morning and will use 1.5. I'm entering my first competition in august and am doing two of the same beer and will enter the better of the two. I also will be ok in case of infection or whatever else that could happen.

 

[mrduna01]

Everything turned out well. Target OG was 1.04... Actual was 1.04. Only thing was I was just under a 1/2 gallon short on volume. Was aiming for 5.5 and got a smidge over 5. I suppose I need to adjust my boil off rate in beersmith.

 

[malkore]

I can't see how tun size would affect the water not covering the grain? if its a wide tun, the grain is more spread out.

To me it sounds more like your water volume isn't what you think it is. I had the same issue using a 1gallon pitcher, which was only 1 gallon if it was so full you spilled 6 ounces moving it.
Since replacing it with a food industry lexan pitcher that's actually marked with quarts/pints and gallons, I've been hitting my end boil volumes and getting slightly better overall efficiency.

Double check your water measuring device(s).

 

[mgortel]

SOunds like you are doing Biermunchers Centennial Blonde?

8.75 lbs of grain...hahah....that was my 1st All Grain Brew.

Anyway, I have a 50 quart Mash Tun (Cooler).....did the 8.75 lbs and 13 quarts and had about 2 inches over the top of my grains.....

So looks like you may have been just a bit short on the quarts needed....now you know!

 

[EROK]

I agree with Yooper, you need enough water in the mash for 1.5 to 2.0 qts/lb. Then hope you have 3 gal or more for the sparge.

 

[mrduna01]

I can't see how tun size would affect the water not covering the grain? if its a wide tun, the grain is more spread out.

To me it sounds more like your water volume isn't what you think it is. I had the same issue using a 1gallon pitcher, which was only 1 gallon if it was so full you spilled 6 ounces moving it.
Since replacing it with a food industry lexan pitcher that's actually marked with quarts/pints and gallons, I've been hitting my end boil volumes and getting slightly better overall efficiency.

Double check your water measuring device(s).

I actually calibrated all my measuring tools today. I marked off my fermenting bucket using a 1 qt Pyrex measuring cup. I then marked off each qt of a 1 gallon pitcher. I'm fairly certain I added almost exactly the 10.97 qts that beersmith called for which was a 1.25 ratio. I bumped it up to a little over 13 qts mid mash (1.5 ratio) and it was perfect. Who knows.

 

[mrduna01]

I actually calibrated all my measuring tools today. I marked off my fermenting bucket using a 1 qt Pyrex measuring cup. I then marked off each qt of a 1 gallon pitcher. I'm fairly certain I added almost exactly the 10.97 qts that beersmith called for which was a 1.25 ratio. I bumped it up to a little over 13 qts mid mash (1.5 ratio) and it was perfect. Who knows.

Another factor was I added a small amount more of base grains to compensate for efficiency but the extra wasn't measured. I just winged it adding what I thought was a good amount. Lol. Then because I didn't know how much I added, I didn't add it to beersmith but it wasn't but a 1/2 pound at the most just guessing.

And yes... It's the centennial blonde. . I changed the hops a tad but that was about it.

 

[TheMan]

I can't see how tun size would affect the water not covering the grain? if its a wide tun, the grain is more spread out.

To me it sounds more like your water volume isn't what you think it is. I had the same issue using a 1gallon pitcher, which was only 1 gallon if it was so full you spilled 6 ounces moving it.
Since replacing it with a food industry lexan pitcher that's actually marked with quarts/pints and gallons, I've been hitting my end boil volumes and getting slightly better overall efficiency.

Double check your water measuring device(s).

I stand corrected, Malkore makes sense here.