Water/grain ratio

[DarrellQ]

I used an Anvil Foundry to brew a Session IPA with a recipe that called for 9.5 pounds of grains. So far, I've been going by the Foundry's user manual chart for the "5 gallon Sparge method at 240 volts." The chart says when using 9.5 lbs of grain to use 6.2 gallons of strike water and 1 gallon sparge. This just looked like way too much water once I mashed-in the grains. It looked nothing like the "breakfast oatmeal like consistency" I've seen in the past when following the same chart to mash-in 11 lbs of grains. For 11 lbs of grain, it calls for 6.4 gallons of strike water. I'm confused about the Foundry manual's chart because everything I've read says to use ~1.25 qts of water per lb of grain. Why so much more with the Foundry? All of that said, I've hit pretty decent efficiency numbers with every brew.

 

[rodcopter]

I also use a Foundry. I have never brewed from extract. I only use grains that I have ground fresh myself, that's the only way I have ever brewed. I think about the mash a little differently though. I think about the recommended water as a starting point. I know that I want to extract the goodness from x pounds of grain, and I want to end with x gallons of wort. How I get there doesn't matter to much to me as long as it's not over diluted. I always ensure I have preheated water that I can add if needed at the end of the boil to ensure that I achieved my desired end volume. For what it is worth, I found that the indicated volumes in the Foundry (at least mine) are off by 3 pints. I consider this error in my water volumes. I also maximize what I can produce from my Foundry. I have made 8.4 gallons, but usually shoot for 7.5. Also, the grains soak up, and retain a lot of water. I also use the sparge of 1 gallon as a minimum. I would rather sparge with more than less because this is where I am rinsing that goodness out of my grain bed into the wort.

 

[Alex4mula]

The 1.25 ratio is the common recommendation out there. I find it too thick and usually use 1.6. On the examples you provided that ratio seems much higher. There are different schools of thinking and user preferences. If your efficiency is good I wouldn’t worry too much. But you can experiment and find where you are comfortable.

 

[bu_gee]

I have done minor experimentation with grist ratio and in the end, I've only seen a difference of say 75% vs 78% efficiency, so I don't think there is much of an argument for that angle.

The thing I did find was that a lower ratio of around 1.25 made the mash temperature management a touch easier as the heat had a harder time convectively migrating to the top of the vessel. Also, the lower ratio means you get to use cooler water for your mash out, which makes it somewhat easier to do your sparging especially if you're doing BIAB and are going to be doing some squeezing.

But, those are really just quality of life things and aren't really worth getting any heartburn over.

I never did an actual comparison on this, but I also figured that having less water meant using less lactic acid to adjust for a proper pH for mashing as my water is relatively on the hard side and buffers like a champ. The sparge water appears to need so much less acidification in comparison.

The one thing I never tested and it might be a thing is that if you're mashing non-barley or barley with diminished diastatic power but are using the diastatic power of other barley, it would make sense that more water helps move the enzymes to where they are needed more easily. I don't have my notes handy, but I feel like my hefe recipes that are like half wheat call for a more dilute grist around 1.5 and I wonder if it is for that reason. This, of course, doesn't explain why it would be the case for an IPA.

 

[bu_gee]

And after a reread of the OP, it occurs to me that with an electric setup there might have to be a number of quart per lb plus a fixed amount of liquid to keep the heating system from scorching or the sort. So, smaller grain bills are proportionately more dilute.

Considering the average person's mathematical prowess these days, they might have just rolled it all up into the chart and hid the sausage-making.