eon
Well-Known Member
Something is happening when I brew and I'm not sure why.
I'll mash for an hour.
Then I'll recirculate the wort to make sure it runs clear. When it runs clear, I barely open the spigot on my mash tun and slowly let the wort fill my brew kettle.
Now aren't I supposed to sparge AFTER this? The only problem is: 99% of the time, I can fill my brew kettle (4 gallon brew pot) with these first runnings...no sparging done at all.
Another thing is this - maybe I am doing the math wrong, but things are not adding up.
For example, tomorrow I am brewing a 3 gallon recipe with 7 lbs. of grain. So to figure out my mash water I use - 1.25 quarts x 7 = 16quarts or 4 gallons.
This is great because I have a 5 gallon mash tun.
But to sparge, the calculation is 1/2 gallon per lbs. of grain
so, 1/2 x 7 = 3.52 gallons of water.
4 gallons + 3.52 gallons = 7.52 gallons of water
If this is the case, is my mash tun too small to make a 3 gallon batch of beer? What's going on here?
I'm brewing tomorrow so would appreciate any help or advice. Thanks!
I'll mash for an hour.
Then I'll recirculate the wort to make sure it runs clear. When it runs clear, I barely open the spigot on my mash tun and slowly let the wort fill my brew kettle.
Now aren't I supposed to sparge AFTER this? The only problem is: 99% of the time, I can fill my brew kettle (4 gallon brew pot) with these first runnings...no sparging done at all.
Another thing is this - maybe I am doing the math wrong, but things are not adding up.
For example, tomorrow I am brewing a 3 gallon recipe with 7 lbs. of grain. So to figure out my mash water I use - 1.25 quarts x 7 = 16quarts or 4 gallons.
This is great because I have a 5 gallon mash tun.
But to sparge, the calculation is 1/2 gallon per lbs. of grain
so, 1/2 x 7 = 3.52 gallons of water.
4 gallons + 3.52 gallons = 7.52 gallons of water
If this is the case, is my mash tun too small to make a 3 gallon batch of beer? What's going on here?
I'm brewing tomorrow so would appreciate any help or advice. Thanks!