Trying to get the hang of mash thickness

[watermelon83]

Okay I'll be mashing in a basket with a radius of 8.25". My kettle has 2.5" of dead space under the bottom of the basket. If I full volume mash with 7 gallons (another question here) I'll have approximately 4.25" of water actually inside the basket/bag.

I calculate that to be about 17.58 qts and for a 14 lb grain bill a thickness ratio of 1.35:1, water to grain. Is this right? I'm only concerned with the workability of the grain bed not so much the actual volume. I just don't want to make barley pancakes.

Since this is my first batch in this kettle I have absolutely no idea what the boil off rate will be. I plan on running my element at 100% until it boils then kick it down to whatever is needed to maintain a nice boil. I will have an accurate number after brew number one but how do you plan ahead for the unknown?

 

[TexasWine]

From what I've read about "traditional" brewing, 1.35:1 is just fine. I've read that as low as 1.25:1 is a-ok, but personally I've never gone that low because I've only brewed using BIAB.

If I ever get around to doing a barley wine I'll be down around that ratio.

 

[MaxStout]

I brewed an RIS about that thick, somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.4:1, IIRC. Turned out fine.

 

[Foosier]

Mash thickness is not something you really need to "worry" about. There is no proof that a thin or a thick mash makes better beer. I would be concerned about ensuring you are getting circulation of the wort through your mash basket. If a good portion of the wort is never in contact with the mash, that might not be a good thing. If you are recirculating through the basket then this would not be a problem.

Beyond that, I did a mash of 11 pounds in 7.5 gallons of water today which is 2.72 qts/lb. This is fairly typical for my full volume BIAB process and it makes fine beers.

 

[watermelon83]

Good, that's about where I'll be with a ten gallon batch. Thanks for the help all!

 

[wilserbrewer]

1 qt / lb is a reasonable lower limit in my experience. You are well above that.

7 gallons total water sounds low to me if the target batch is 5 gallons of finished beer....I'd go 7.5 and boil longer / harder if needed. You can always boil off a touch more, yet you can't sparge more if short at the end