Max grain bill with a 10 gallon kettle

[Preeway]

I am preparing to start a high gravity DIPA using a 10 gallon kettle. My current grain is sitting at about 15 gallons which I think will be too much to allow for the 8.5 gallons of strike water needed. I am contemplating using less strike water at the start and then adding water as needed to get the requisite boil volume. What's the most grain any of you have used using a 10 gallon kettle?

 

[Jimbodaman]

I assume you mean 10 gallon mash tun, with that said there's a great calculator online somewhere that basically lets you know if you can mash it or not. The thickest I would mash would be 1qt/lb. I'll try to find the calculator for you.

 

[Jimbodaman]

https://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

 

[Preeway]

Thanks for the link and yes, I did in fact mean mash tun. Rackers says I will 7.76 of mash tun space. Does that mean 7.76 gal of space including the strike water or just 7.76 gal of space just for the grain?

 

[bajaedition]

I am still trying to figure out how you are going get 15 gallons of grain into a 10 gallon kettle with 8.5 gallons of water.
Unless you mean 15 pounds of grain. which should require a quick estimate of 19 to 23 quarts of water.

edit: Oh BIAB, sorry maybe a bit more water, forgot which forum I was in

15 pounds of grain x .125 absorption = 1.875
plus 6 gallons for fermentor = 7.875 plus trub loss of a quart = 8.125
plus grain volume of .36 x 15 =5.4 gallons + 8.125 = 13.525
do not think it will fit
Why not mash 2 brews of 7.5 pound as if going for a 2.5 gallon fermentation, but combine them in the fermentor if you are dead set on that high gravity brew
That way you will still get your 5 gallon batch out of the fermentor, and can still do the high gravity brew.

 

[Preeway]

Sorry, I did type gallon when I meant pounds. I have been searching for some sort of conversion formula to determine the amount of space the grain bill would capture. I wasn't buying that I could do a high gravity BIAB in a 10 gal mash tun. Looks like I'm gonna have to go with a 15 gallon variety instead.

 

[Jimbodaman]

Thanks for the link and yes, I did in fact mean mash tun. Rackers says I will 7.76 of mash tun space. Does that mean 7.76 gal of space including the strike water or just 7.76 gal of space just for the grain?

So you fill in just the mash thickness ie how many quarts of water per pound of grain. The lowest recommended is 1qt/lb which would give you the most room for grain.

To answer your question yes with a given grain to water ratio, the water and grain would take up 7.76 gallons.

 

[Jimbodaman]

Increase the mash thickness to say 1.5 qt/lb and the total mash volume will increase.

 

[JohnSand]

I think your first idea is good: mash with as much water as you can, then top off or sparge. While many BIABers do full volume mashes, many also sparge.

 

[ZmannR2]

plus grain volume of .36 x 15 =5.4 gallons + 8.125 = 13.525
do .

I'm sorry but I don't see 15 lbs of grain taking up 5.4 gals. I've never done a measurement but I brew regularly with 12-14 lbs of grains and it never raises my water much more than 1-1.5 gals at most. .36 qt of water displaced per lb of grain is what I'm reading.

And why did you start with 6 gals? I'm assuming he wants a 5 gal batch. So with these new calculations minus yours I'm seeing about 8.5 total volume which is fine in a 10 gal pot

He said talking water displacement, not the amount of space dry grains take up. That's a HIGE difference.

 

[bajaedition]

I'm sorry but I don't see 15 lbs of grain taking up 5.4 gals. I've never done a measurement but I brew regularly with 12-14 lbs of grains and it never raises my water much more than 1-1.5 gals at most. .36 qt of water displaced per lb of grain is what I'm reading.

And why did you start with 6 gals? I'm assuming he wants a 5 gal batch. So with these new calculations minus yours I'm seeing about 8.5 total volume which is fine in a 10 gal pot

He said talking water displacement, not the amount of space dry grains take up. That's a HIGE difference.

I know that it all depends on where you get the info from, I thought it was a bit high myself
then I got to this page http://www.brew365.com/technique_calculating_mash_water_volume.php
that guy claims for 14 pounds you are going need over 9 gallons

whatever it is, I think a 10 gallon pot may be a slight small for that amount of grain and the water and still have working room below the lip.

I just threw 2 pounds of grain, milled into a pyrex glass and did not get 2 quarts. so maybe the conversion I picked to reference was grist and water.

soooo. It is all good,

 

[Preeway]

Yes, what I'm trying to calculate is the amount of displacement. I'm going to need to start with about 8-8.5 gal of water. I want to know whether I need to go with a 15 gal mash tun instead of a 10 in order to accommodate using 15 pounds of grain. I predict a lot of high gravity beers in my future as the main styles I prefer to brew are double IPAs and Imperial Stouts. I do appreciate all the opinions weighing in. It's giving me a lot of food for thought.

 

[saltymirv]

I put a 15lb grain bill into Beer Smith set under standard BIAB conditions. It says 7.33 gallons of water needed.

The combined volume of the grain and water is 8.5 gallons. That means you can go even bigger on the grain bill and it will still fit in your 10 gal kettle

After some quick trial and error. The largest grain bill is ~21 lbs. That will take up ~9.45 gallons.

 

[Preeway]

You really think 15 pounds of grain only displaces 1.2 gal of water? That seems awful low but again, this is my first go round with this brewing technique.

Also, I have the BrewSmith app but not the software. I havent figure out how to calculate the amount of strike water needed using the app. Is there an easy way to get that, that I haven't found yet?

 

[saltymirv]

I haven't used the app. On the desktop version you click "brew steps" and it tells you how much water

 

[thunderwagn]

https://pricelessbrewing.github.io/...ssFermTrub=0.5&Gabs=0.08&Habs=0.0365#Advanced

Fill in your numbers.

Full volume mash, I can fit right at 14 lbs grain in my 10 gal kettle.

 

[doug293cz]

I'm surprised no one has given the straight forward answer yet. A pound of grain displaces 0.08 gal. So, 15 lbs will displace 15 * 0.08 = 1.2 gal.

Brew on

 

[oujens]

You will get some varying estimates, but one thing to note is your grain absorption should be lower than the standard for a two vessel setup. Next, boil off plays a role in this. Some boil harder than others. If you boil-off around 8-10% you will have more room. (Less water needed to achieve OG). Also, some 10G kettles such as SS Brewtech and Spike are around 10.7 gallons max capacity. If you control your boil off and minimize grain absorption, you might find you have a decent amount of room. However, it could get a little messy pulling the bag. 15G might be a safe play.

 

[Preeway]

The more I read, the more it sounds like I could squeeze into a 10 gal mash tun but I could be better off going with a 15 gal variety and allowing for a more comfortable brew day. I really do appreciate all the input and I'm sure after a few high gravity brews I will have a better sense of how much water displacement to expect.

 

[ZmannR2]

You really think 15 pounds of grain only displaces 1.2 gal of water? That seems awful low but again, this is my first go round with this brewing technique.

Also, I have the BrewSmith app but not the software. I havent figure out how to calculate the amount of strike water needed using the app. Is there an easy way to get that, that I haven't found yet?

There's no think about it. I brew every 2-3 weeks in a 10 gal pot using 13-14 lbs of grain each time and never have needed to top off my 5.5 gal fermenter. My batch sizes are always about 5.25 after trub settles

 

[ZmannR2]

The more I read, the more it sounds like I could squeeze into a 10 gal mash tun but I could be better off going with a 15 gal variety and allowing for a more comfortable brew day. I really do appreciate all the input and I'm sure after a few high gravity brews I will have a better sense of how much water displacement to expect.

lol well you asked if it would work with 10. It does. And it does comfortably. But hey if you want a 15 gal for maybe doing some 10 gal batches one day then maybe you should

 

[reversepivot]

I always mash with 7 gallons of water in my 10 gal kettle, and I've never had a problem. I've done up to around 25 lbs or grain for a RIS.

 

[ZmannR2]

you really think 15 pounds of grain only displaces 1.2 gal of water?

yes!!

 

[bajaedition]

cooking up some popcorn