I did it!

[S.F.B.]

I just finished collecting the wort from my first all grain mash. I will have to boil after I go get the kids from school. My sparge got stuck once but with a little patience all came ot well. I will post more details after I get it into the fermenter. :cool:

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by S.F.B.
I just finished collecting the wort from my first all grain mash. I will have to boil after I go get the kids from school. My sparge got stuck once but with a little patience all came ot well. I will post more details after I get it into the fermenter. :cool:

Congrats....what's the gravity and volume you collected?

[S.F.B.]

Here are some of the particulars. I mashed 11.25lbs of grain at 150 +/- degrees F for 1 hour (tested conversion with iodine). Collected approximately 6 gallons of wort. I love the taste of that stuff before fermentation :p . The boil went well as usual. I had to top of to 5.5 gallons with about a gallon of additional water. My O.G. is 1.056. This is right in the neighborhood I thought it would be. I figure I got around 70% efficiency out of the mash.

I guess this could be considered a success.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by S.F.B.
Here are some of the particulars. I mashed 11.25lbs of grain at 150 +/- degrees F for 1 hour (tested conversion with iodine). Collected approximately 6 gallons of wort. I love the taste of that stuff before fermentation :p . The boil went well as usual. I had to top of to 5.5 gallons with about a gallon of additional water. My O.G. is 1.056. This is right in the neighborhood I thought it would be. I figure I got around 70% efficiency out of the mash.

I guess this could be considered a success.

Good work....and it's fun isn't it? It's more work but it's more fun, too.

[BucksBrew]

SFB, Congrats. Couple of questions, I am going to make an IPA with 12.25lbs. of grains at 1.5qts. per pound which puts me at 4.6 gallons of strike water.

The instructions I have say I need the same for the sparge which is 4.6 gallons of water.

I don't have the info in front of me but I thought it said I would lose about 10% to grain absorption. I think some to sediment about 2-5%? I forget.

My question is what was your water situation/quantity like?

Thanks

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by BucksBrew
My question is what was your water situation/quantity like

I used 3.5 gal for the mash and around 5 gal were heated for sparging. I didn't use all of the water I heated for the sparge to collect 6 gallons. There was about 1-1.5 gallons left.

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by Fast_Eddy
Good work....and it's fun isn't it? It's more work but it's more fun, too.

It is fun! As I said on another thread, I have been mini mashing for about a year or so. It doesn't compare to this, IMO. This all depends on the mash. There is no extract to back you up. What's more rewarding, though, is coming up with the recipe yourself. I think this will be what I am most proud of.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by BucksBrew
SFB, Congrats. Couple of questions, I am going to make an IPA with 12.25lbs. of grains at 1.5qts. per pound which puts me at 4.6 gallons of strike water.

The instructions I have say I need the same for the sparge which is 4.6 gallons of water.

I don't have the info in front of me but I thought it said I would lose about 10% to grain absorption. I think some to sediment about 2-5%? I forget.

My question is what was your water situation/quantity like?

Thanks

Hey Bucks you know that's higher than what's usually used on a qts/lb basis? A thinner mash will lend itself to a higher alcohol less malty, dextrinous beer. Most stuff suggests that 1.33qt/lb is a pretty thin mash.

[BucksBrew]

Originally posted by Fast_Eddy
Hey Bucks you know that's higher than what's usually used on a qts/lb basis? A thinner mash will lend itself to a higher alcohol less malty, dextrinous beer. Most stuff suggests that 1.33qt/lb is a pretty thin mash.

I'm making an IPA which is lighter in body and higher in Alc. content. Otherwise I would do a 1qt/1lb ratio.

Am I on the right track here? I'd like to think I am, or I have to do more reading! haha

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by BucksBrew
I'm making an IPA which is lighter in body and higher in Alc. content. Otherwise I would do a 1qt/1lb ratio.

Am I on the right track here? I'd like to think I am, or I have to do more reading! haha

I don't have any of my brewing literature with me(at work) but it seems to me I've read that you cross a boundary between a thin mash and a TOO thin mash(which inhibits conversion - free mean space between grain is too high). I don't remember where that line is. Hey brewmonkey - any validity?

I can say that I personally have never gone over 1.33qt/lb.

[BucksBrew]

I'm using an instruction sheet from Annapolis Homebrew which says 1.5 qts. per 1lb. of grains for a normal mash. They have instructions for 2qts. per pound! Hold onto your hat!

[S.F.B.]

I used 1.25:1 water to pounds of grain ratio.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by BucksBrew
I'm using an instruction sheet from Annapolis Homebrew which says 1.5 qts. per 1lb. of grains for a normal mash. They have instructions for 2qts. per pound! Hold onto your hat!

Seems okay. I'm wrong about this. I found on BYO where "most recipes are between 1 and 2 qts per lb of grain". Live and learn. Mash on!!


FYI, the reason that too thin mashes are a problem is it makes the enzymes more suspectible to heat and thereby denaturing. Below is the quote from the brew wizard at BYO.

...Mash thickness, or the ratio of malt to water, is important in mashing because enzymes are affected by the concentration of starch. If it’s too high, the amylase enzymes lack the water needed to hydrolyze starch (hydrolysis is a term used to refer to breaking chemical bonds by the addition of water). If the mash is too thin, the enzymes are less heat-stable and are more susceptible to denaturation (enzyme destruction)...

[S.F.B.]

After a slow start to fermentation (the temp in my pantry fell to 64 degrees), the ESB has been chugging nicely. This is also the first time I have used my glass primary. I am looking forward to this batch as much as I have looked forward to one for a very long time. I feel like a home brew virgin :D .

[S.F.B.]

Racked yesterday. OG was 1.056. FG is 1.012. Tasted really good :p .