Ratio of grain v. Water? Question

[elaeace]

I am preparing for my first all grain brew, collecting my equipment, etc. I was wonder what is good rule of thumb for how many quarts of water per pound of grain during the mash and how many more quarts of water for the sparge? And is that total amount of wort ( mash and sparge ) what you boil?
Thanks all

 

[brewmadness]

You will usually see 1.25 to 1.5 quarts per pound of grain for your mash. you will probalby loose about half of that to absorbtion when you colllect your first runnings. For the sparge you want to add enough additional water to reach your pre boil volume. What you put in for the sparge you will get back out. The grain has absorbed all it will in the initial mash. And yes, you will boil the full amount. I usually start with close to 7 gallons to end up with 5.5 in the fermentor.

 

[Piratwolf]

you will probalby loose about half of that to absorbtion when you colllect your first runnings.

I usually calculate absorption at .15 gal/pound of grain, and that has been pretty close.

 

[elaeace]

Thanks gents... Happy brewing

 

[Demus]

Hey guys I have a follow on question. In "how to brew" Palmer suggests a ratio of 1.5 to 2 quarts per gallon. I've been using 1.25 and just about maxing my 5 gallon mash tun. I'm thinking of upgrading to a 10 gallon tun for bigger beers and this will also allow me to increase the water/grain ratio. What's the benefit? What's the effect of a thinnner/thicker mash?

 

[Darwin18]

Hey guys I have a follow on question. In "how to brew" Palmer suggests a ratio of 1.5 to 2 quarts per gallon. I've been using 1.25 and just about maxing my 5 gallon mash tun. I'm thinking of upgrading to a 10 gallon tun for bigger beers and this will also allow me to increase the water/grain ratio. What's the benefit? What's the effect of a thinnner/thicker mash?

I have a 10G mash tun and I try to use a 1.5 - 2 quarts per gallon ratio. I think the extra water allows for more surface area and therefore greater absorption of sugars. I also think that my first runnings are my "best quality" and try to avoid sparging with large volumes of water.

I haven't seen any of this backed up or supported in any way. It's just how I've been doing it and getting good results.

 

[Brewn4life]

I got a ten gal. mash tun cooler and mash in with 1.5qts/gln. My boiler is only 6 gal. so I use about 4 gal. sparge and end up filling up my boiler tip top. My efficiency is consistently at about 75% +/- 5% I am going to mash in with 1.25qts next time and see if it raises my efficiency.

 

[mabrungard]

Extraction efficiency can improve by using thinner water/grist ratios and fermentability can be increased slightly with thinner ratios. But, thinner ratios mean that the mash tun size has to increase to hold that additional water. Conversely, if a thinner ratio is employed and the tun size cannot be increased, then the batch size must be reduced.

Another consideration for mash thickness is that is the mashing water alkalinity is a little high, adding more water means your water will consume more of the grist acids and the mash pH will move higher than it would be at a thicker ratio. This aspect of mash water/grist ratio can be played with to help produce a desirable mash pH. Bru'n Water is the tool to use to assess that effect.

Don't get carried away with the ratio. You should keep it somewhere in the 1 to 2 qt/lb range for adequate results.