recipe says 5 gallons, is that fermentor volume or packaged?

[dawn_kiebawls]

Hey guys and gals, I recently brewed a saison and it didn't occur to me until halfway through the mash that I wasn't sure if when recipe posters state '5 gallon batch' that is post-boil/fermenter volume or what I should expect to package (bottle/keg). I'm sorry to ask such a basic question but it caught me off guard today (I'm still a rookie, incase you can't tell). All is well, I hit all my numbers, so I am assuming it is referring to 'packaged' volume, but I just wanted to get some clarity as I have 2 more batches to get going in the the next week. Thanks again for any and all advice!

 

[portguy]

I am a newbie myself, but i treat batch volume as the wort after the boil. Just because it's at that moment that one hits or misses OG. But i'm sure that it varies from brewer to brewer.

 

[kh54s10]

I need to get just a little over 5 gallons of wort to end up with 5 gallons to package. So I have always aimed for that. I don't think your OG would change more than a point or two if you collected 5.2 gallons instead of 5 into the fermenter, so to me it is not something to worry about.

 

[Easycreeper]

I treat it as packaged volume since you lose some volume to trub when racking to a bottling bucket or keg. Volume to the fermentor (darn you, Chris White for making the distinction between fermentor and fermenter...) for me is between 5.5 and 6 gallons.

You can plan for the slight reduction in OG due to the increased volume in the recipe planning stage.

 

[65C]

5 Gallon is approx 23L

As a rough example - if I start with around 37L of hot water, after mashing that is down to 29L (the grain soaked some up), after boil that is down to 26L (evaporation), after syphon to primary it is 23L (the hops soaked some up), after bottling that is down to 20L (trub etc.)

 

[chickypad]

Besides accounting for batch size you should also adjust every all grain recipe for your own efficiency. If you match the batch size but not the author's efficiency then you won't hit his/her numbers. It's a good habit to double check each recipe with a calculator or software to match your own system.

 

[dsaavedra]

I am a newbie myself, but i treat batch volume as the wort after the boil. Just because it's at that moment that one hits or misses OG. But i'm sure that it varies from brewer to brewer.

This is how I think of it too. If a recipe is written for 5 gallons I will usually bump up the base malt a little bit to get the same OG in 5.5 gallons of volume, so that I can get closer to 5 gallons packaged.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Besides accounting for batch size you should also adjust every all grain recipe for your own efficiency. If you match the batch size but not the author's efficiency then you won't hit his/her numbers. It's a good habit to double check each recipe with a calculator or software to match your own system.

That is a good bit of advice, and a big thank-you to all the help and clarity to everyone who helped answer my question. I got lucky this batch and nailed my numbers. I'm not exactly sure how to calculate my own efficiency, but I will get that figured out so I can make adjustments in the future. Thanks again!

 

[Easycreeper]

That is a good bit of advice, and a big thank-you to all the help and clarity to everyone who helped answer my question. I got lucky this batch and nailed my numbers. I'm not exactly sure how to calculate my own efficiency, but I will get that figured out so I can make adjustments in the future. Thanks again!

Use this to calculate your brewhouse efficiency:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/brewhouse-efficiency/

Keep track of your recipes and efficiencies in a spreadsheet for later reference.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Use this to calculate your brewhouse efficiency:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/brewhouse-efficiency/

Keep track of your recipes and efficiencies in a spreadsheet for later reference.

Thanks for the link, I just plugged my numbers in and found out I am only 67.5% efficient. I've got some serous work to do! While I may be the only millennial who doesn't know how to use excel, I'm starting to keep some meticulously detailed notes on word. Thanks again!