Measuring grain w/o scale . . .

[wilserbrewer]

You can do all the math and get close by volume. But why? !

Because calibrating my large mill hopper by weight would be a very difficult task, and a very easy one done by volume.

Calibrating the mill hopper also removes a labor step of weighing base grain from the brew session. Frankly I don’t really care that much, by my hopper scale it is ten pounds or some other unit of measure very close to ten pounds, call it what you want. If I’m within a couple percent I’m done easy good enough for me

That’s why I did it...

People think differently....I know the price of scales

 

[olie]

So now I'm in a position of...

I HAVE a nice scale, but my recipe is in cups. Now I want to (a) scale it and (b) convert to lbs, to simplify shopping.

(Cups is great when it's small and I'm scooping out of a big bag but, if I'm going to just buy the grain bill; it'd be nice to have everything in lbs.)

So...

About how many cups in a pound?

I gather from other parts of the thread that it varies by grain, but is there any sort of standard approximation, say, for base malts and medium-toasted and darker-toasted (I'm assuming darker = lower water content -- valid?)

Or do I just have to "wing it"?

 

[kh54s10]

If you have any grain on hand weigh out a pound then pour it into a measuring cup. I doubt that you will get a significant difference with base vs roasted barley. You may get a difference between different grains, like barley vs rye etc.

 

[dmtaylor]

I gather from other parts of the thread that it varies by grain, but is there any sort of standard approximation, say, for base malts and medium-toasted and darker-toasted (I'm assuming darker = lower water content -- valid?)

No. Density is different between unique substances. And especially in something like grains where much of the volume is actually AIR, and settling can occur, moisture retention can be different, etc., you really have to weigh a cup of each separate grain to be able to do the conversion.

 

[olie]

If you have any grain on hand weigh out a pound then pour it into a measuring cup.

Yeah, that's "the smart way" I was sitting 50' from my brew shed and thinking about converting a recipe without wanting to walk out there.

...But I probably will, eventually.

Thanks!