A few quick all-grain questions

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Question:

Whatever, but my point was that by itself, the pH of your water supply is completely irrelevant and should be ignored. My water pH is 9.1, yet I can mash all pale malts without any acid or gypsum adjustments and the mash pH will drop to 5.2. I can then sparge without acidifying and the runoff pH won’t get above 5.6. So while my water pH appears high, it is very weakly buffered and so the high pH is of no consequence. Other’s have water with a much lower pH, but higher alkalinity that does require adjustments to keep in range during mash and sparge.

Now that is an excellent point, I haven’t ever thought of the buffering capacity (alkalinity) as being something to be concerned about. Of course I have not had problems either. Cheers, Mike

Response:

Consider that you may be worrying a bit here.

True, good excuse for another homebrew! Actually, I’m not so much worrying as I am doing what everyone else here is doing, killing time between brew days by talking brewing. I just found out my cooler conversion kit got backordered by another couple of days! Argh! Dan Listermann

Thanks Dan. -Kevin

Response:

<snippage Consider that you may be worrying a bit here. Dan Listermann Check out our E-tail site at www.listermann.com

Heh heh…right on, Dan. I’ve experiemented with ratios from 1:1 to 1.3:1 and found there to be no significant difference. I think that there is a difference at the extremes, but in the middle of the range it doesn’t matter as much.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – In article Kevin says… 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents…. I don’t claim to understand water chemistry very well, but you should realize that pH has little bearing on alkalinity. My water supply has very low alkalinity (25 mg/l), but has a pH of 9.1 ! I really can’t tell what your water supply is like, because it looks like there are 3 different treatment plants serving Denver. It looks like Moffat has very low alkalinity and hardness, while the other two are moderate. In any case, all of the plants appear to deliver water that is suitable for brewing, so I wouldn’t worry about it. If your supply isn’t from Moffat, you might want to check your runoff pH to make sure it isn’t getting above ~5.8, but I wouldn’t sweat it. I think he was saying his water pH is high, not that it had a high alkalinity. I also think he was speaking in terms of water with a lower than 7 pH being acidic, and above 7 being alkaline. But I could be wrong…

Response:

In article

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Kevin says… 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents…. I don’t claim to understand water chemistry very well, but you should realize that pH has little bearing on alkalinity. My water supply has very low alkalinity (25 mg/l), but has a pH of 9.1 ! I really can’t tell what your water supply is like, because it looks like there are 3 different treatment plants serving Denver. It looks like Moffat has very low alkalinity and hardness, while the other two are moderate. In any case, all of the plants appear to deliver water that is suitable for brewing, so I wouldn’t worry about it. If your supply isn’t from Moffat, you might want to check your runoff pH to make sure it isn’t getting above ~5.8, but I wouldn’t sweat it.

I think he was saying his water pH is high, not that it had a high alkalinity. I also think he was speaking in terms of water with a lower than 7 pH being acidic, and above 7 being alkaline. But I could be wrong… Cheers, Mike

Response:

I haven’t seen anyone answer this one yet, so I’ll chip in: 1. What factors determine water:grain ratio for the mash? I’ve heard of people using everything from 1qt:1lb to 1.5qt:1lb. What effect does this have on the mash A thinner mash (more water) will produce a more fermentable wort. A thicker mash (less water) will produce a less fermentable wort. So expect a higher FG with a thicker mash. And also a sweeter, maltier beer.

Ok, so based on this advice, what is a good average ratio to shoot for, considering the style of beer I’m making (an IPA)? From everything I’ve seen I’ll probably go with 1.1qt/lb so that if I undershoot my mash temp I can safely add more water to get it to where I need it to be. Does this make sense? Oh, good luck!

Thanks! Regards, Dave.

-Kevin

Response:

Kevin says… 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents….

I don’t claim to understand water chemistry very well, but you should realize that pH has little bearing on alkalinity. My water supply has very low alkalinity (25 mg/l), but has a pH of 9.1 ! I really can’t tell what your water supply is like, because it looks like there are 3 different treatment plants serving Denver. It looks like Moffat has very low alkalinity and hardness, while the other two are moderate. In any case, all of the plants appear to deliver water that is suitable for brewing, so I wouldn’t worry about it. If your supply isn’t from Moffat, you might want to check your runoff pH to make sure it isn’t getting above ~5.8, but I wouldn’t sweat it.

Response:

I only do a crude measurement of strike water volume only to be sure that I have enough. Generally I divide the pounds of grist by four and add another gallon. I judge the texture of the mash to determine if I have enough water. I make it a thin gruel knowing that it will thicken as the mash progresses. Consider that you may be worrying a bit here. Dan Listermann Check out our E-tail site at www.listermann.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I haven’t seen anyone answer this one yet, so I’ll chip in: 1. What factors determine water:grain ratio for the mash? I’ve heard of people using everything from 1qt:1lb to 1.5qt:1lb. What effect does this have on the mash A thinner mash (more water) will produce a more fermentable wort. A thicker mash (less water) will produce a less fermentable wort. So expect a higher FG with a thicker mash. And also a sweeter, maltier beer.

Does this make sense? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Oh, good luck! Thanks! Regards, Dave. -Kevin

Response:

That is how I make my IPA’s when I do single-step infusion mashes. Go for it. — Success lies in achieving the top of the food chain. — Jubal Harshaw, 1904- – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Ok, so based on this advice, what is a good average ratio to shoot for, considering the style of beer I’m making (an IPA)? From everything I’ve seen I’ll probably go with 1.1qt/lb so that if I undershoot my mash temp I can safely add more water to get it to where I need it to be. Does this make sense? Oh, good luck! Thanks! Regards, Dave. -Kevin

Response:

Howdy Kevin, Here’s a little bit on mash water quantities. Enzyme activity is aparently influenced by the mash thickness in a manner that is conducive to step mashes. In other words, the lower temp mash rests work better with thicker mashes and the higher temp rests need thinner mashes. If you do a protein rest to start, you could use as little as .9 quarts per pound of grist, but at saccharification temperatures, you need at least 1.1 quarts, but not much more than 1.5 quarts of water per lb. The amylase enzymes can be diluted in thinner mashes, causing a less than optimum conversion. -Brett – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m trying to prep myself for when my all-grain stuff finally arrives, and there are a few points I need clarification on: 1. What factors determine water:grain ratio for the mash? I’ve heard of people using everything from 1qt:1lb to 1.5qt:1lb. What effect does this have on the mash, and what should I use for my first attempt at all grain (I’m gonna take the hop plunge and brew up some SSOS)? 2. For those of you who use a 10 gallon gott cooler mash tun, what’s a good stike temp to aim for? I’m going to mash at 153 degrees, and Miller suggests shooting for 11 degrees higher to determine your strike, but I’m wondering if someone with the same setup can give me some equipment-specific guidelines. 3. With regards to batch sparging.. If I understand the process correctly, once I’m done running off my second batch (which will bring the total amount of sparged liquor up to my pre-boil wort volume), the gravity of my combined runoff should equal my targetted pre-boil gravity. Is this correct? 4. I’m planning on doing a single infusion mash at 153 degrees for one hour. Would it be markedly beneficial for me to do any sort of rest at another temperature as well? I’ve heard of protein rests and mash-outs and such, and I’m wondering if any of these are necessary or desirable to produce my desired beer (a very hoppy IPA). 5. I’ve heard that an all-grain boil sometimes takes 90-120 minutes to perform, as compared to the 60 minute standard for extract batches. What is the purpose of the extra boil time, and will I need to be concerned with this? 6. I’m using 70% as my targetted efficiency for this first batch. Promash tells me I can hit 65% and still be within the gravity range for my recipe. Is this assumption overly optimistic for a 2 batch sparge using a gott cooler with T-shaped bazooka screen? I figure I’ll buy 1lb of DME to add to my wort at boil time, just in case of emergency regardless. 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents…. That’s all I can think of for right now. I’m sure I’ll be pestering the group with some frantic questions once I actually start the process. Thanks in advance for any help. -Kevin

Response:

Well said, Kevin. Up to 30% or so DME is undetectable, is convenient, is easy to have on hand when needed. And no stigma my eyes either.

<snip – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’d rather have 5 gallons of awesome beer than 4 gallons, and "partial mash" is not a stigma in my eyes.

Response:

A thinner mash (more water) will produce a more fermentable wort. A thicker mash (less water) will produce a less fermentable wort. So expect a higher FG with a thicker mash. And also a sweeter, maltier beer. And WRT: 5. I’ve heard that an all-grain boil sometimes takes 90-120 minutes to perform, as compared to the 60 minute standard for extract batches. What is the purpose of the extra boil time

I guess this is because you are alledged to get more foam (read bigger, nastier boilover) with AG than extract. Personally, I dispute this but thats another matter. You should wait until nearly all the foam has subsided before making your first hop addition (and starting the timer on that 60 minute boil). So in effect you could be boiling for an extra 15 mins while you wait for the foam to subside. Turn the heat down as the wort reaches a boil. Turn it down so there is enough heat to keep the wort boiling but it probably doesn’t need to be full blast to achieve this. Keeping it high will keep the wort foaming. Oh, good luck! Regards, Dave.

Response:

Which leads me to another questions, what does the term ‘fully modified’ mean with respect to grain?

It is the length the acrospire has grown up the kernel. The full length would be 100%. Why would a maltster create a grain which isn’t fully modified?

In most cases they would not. The only undermodified base grain to my knowledge is the moravian, and I have read where the thought is that they do not intentionally undermodify it, it just will not modify completely. Cheers, Mike

Response:

6. I’m using 70% as my targetted efficiency for this first batch. Promash tells me I can hit 65% and still be within the gravity range for my recipe. Is this assumption overly optimistic for a 2 batch sparge using a gott cooler with T-shaped bazooka screen? I figure I’ll buy 1lb of DME to add to my wort at boil time, just in case of emergency regardless. Skip the DME. This is an AG brew, not a partial mash. If you miss the pre-boil gravity too low, boil longer, too high, boil shorter or add some water to the finished brew.

All grain for me is only a vehicle for exploring this hobby more and producing better beer, not to impress anyone. If I have to add some DME to get my gravity up to what I want it, I have no qualms in doing so (at least for my first batch, long term is another thing). I’d rather have 5 gallons of awesome beer than 4 gallons, and "partial mash" is not a stigma in my eyes. Anyway, I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on the process now, so I’d be pretty surprised if my efficiency is much below 65% for this first try. The DME is only for an emergency, like I said above. Cheers, Mike

Thanks for the response. -Kevin

Response:

Greetings: I’ve read this in several places too (Brew Your Own for one). Basically, if you don’t wait until your proteins have coagulated (the hot break) they envelope the hop oils. This reduces your hop utilization. You can avoid this "problem" by bringing your wort to a boil for 15 minutes before adding the hops. This is why I usually end up doing 75 minute boils. I’m not sure what is cheaper, 1/2 ounce of hops or 15 minutes on the stove. That choice is yours. Personally, I like to boil my wort as long as possible to let the smell of boiling wort really impregnate my apartment building. Mark A. Fox

Response:

I’ve used 1.1/lb to 1.25/lb. I think most use around 1.25. I don’t know what the heck the difference is, but I know 1.25 ended up kinda soupy. I’ll probably shoot for 1.2 next round. 2. For those of you who use a 10 gallon gott cooler mash tun, what’s a good stike temp to aim for? I’m going to mash at 153 degrees, and Miller suggests shooting for 11 degrees higher to determine your strike, but I’m wondering if someone with the same setup can give me some equipment-specific guidelines.

I have a 15.5 converted keg for my kettle and use the 10gal gott. In my setup, within 55* weather, I had to heat the water up to 190, cause I was losing 20* just in transferring from kettle to gott. I also lost another 5* when adding the grain. Don’t kow why, cause I tested the temp of the grain and inputted it into promash, but o’well, I know what happens now! Test your setup first to see what sort of loss you get from the transfer, then add that to your 11. I had about a gal or 2 left in my kettle, and luckily I did because I was hitting below 150, and had to heat more water up to hit my 154. I would say to error high on your calculations… it’s easier to add a couple cups of cold water to bring it down. 3. With regards to batch sparging.. If I understand the process correctly, once I’m done running off my second batch (which will bring the total amount of sparged liquor up to my pre-boil wort volume), the gravity of my combined runoff should equal my targetted pre-boil gravity. Is this correct?

Haven’t done batch spargin..ain’t even going to attempt answering this one 4. I’m planning on doing a single infusion mash at 153 degrees for one hour. Would it be markedly beneficial for me to do any sort of rest at another temperature as well? I’ve heard of protein rests and mash-outs and such, and I’m wondering if any of these are necessary or desirable to produce my desired beer (a very hoppy IPA).

Necessary? No. 5. I’ve heard that an all-grain boil sometimes takes 90-120 minutes to perform, as compared to the 60 minute standard for extract batches. What is the purpose of the extra boil time, and will I need to be concerned with this?

I’ve been doing 60min or sometimes, 90 min boils. I believe the extra boil time will give you a carmel type flavor in your brew.. 6. I’m using 70% as my targetted efficiency for this first batch. Promash tells me I can hit 65% and still be within the gravity range for my recipe. Is this assumption overly optimistic for a 2 batch sparge using a gott cooler with T-shaped bazooka screen? I figure I’ll buy 1lb of DME to add to my wort at boil time, just in case of emergency regardless.

Good idea on the DME. I think 70 is obtainable. 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents….

It’s up to you. My LHBS guy told me once "you like my beer"…. "yea"…."i’ve never even taken a ph reading." All of his brews are pretty darn good. So since then, I haven’t bothered checking mine. But, it is up to you on how you want to approach it. If I didn’t hear that from my LHBS guy, I would be checkig it. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – That’s all I can think of for right now. I’m sure I’ll be pestering the group with some frantic questions once I actually start the process. Thanks in advance for any help. -Kevin

Response:

If you’re using a fully modified grain, there is no reason to do anything other than a single step infusion mash. Keep it simple.

Which leads me to another questions, what does the term ‘fully modified’ mean with respect to grain? Why would a maltster create a grain which isn’t fully modified? I’ve never done batch sparging (gonna try it next batch). My extraction rate has been 75% since my first batch whenever I follow my regular procedures (test batches don’t count!). From what I’ve read, generally speaking you drop 10-20% with batch sparging (which doesn’t make sense to me). Sounds like its very important to stir the mash after the two water additions to help disolve the sugars.

From all the digging I’ve done, I haven’t seen anywhere near a 20% drop in efficiency with batch sparging. Most people who’ve tried it say their efficiency is anywhere form the mid 70 to the low 80’s, so depending on what you’re getting now, it’s probably not too much of a drop. Mike

Thanks -Kevin

Response:

It looks like you are well under control with a pretty good understanding of the process & you have some great responses so far. I personally use a low ratio, 1 liter per lb (1.06:1) I prefer the thicker mash & it saves me some space. With a 10 gallon cooler, you don’t have those same concerns. I’d guess that you’ll get in the ballpark with an 11 degree higher temperature assuming somewhere in the neighbourhood of a 1.25:1 water to grain ratio, and assuming you preheat your cooler. (I personally use water at 170F – with the smaller amount of water due to my low water to grain ratio & heat loss due to my crappy cheapo system, it works for me) You might want to make sure you have some additional hot and cold water handy for temperature adjustments, but don’t panic right from the beginning – it takes a minute or two to stabilize. Make sure you stir well. The only thing you can do to ruin this day will be to overshoot the mash temperature by too much for too long – this is basically a mashout & will destroy the enzymes that are supposed to convert the starches into sugars. Keep it under 160F or so. Your thermometer is somewhat close to accurate, right? You may find that you can run off too much liquid, thus requiring you to boil longer in order to reach your required volume. You may also find that you didn’t run off enough & then don’t have enough volume. Or you may be boiling too vigorously. It’s a balancing act, but no big deal. You’ll get a feel for the amount of liquid you lose to evaporation after a batch or two. You can play around with step mashing if you want, but I don’t think it’s required in an IPA. Save that extra step for another day. It’s not hard to do at all, but you have lots of stuff to remember as it is. I think you’ll have no problem reaching 70% efficiency with your system, provided your malt is properly crushed. Be prepared to hit 75 or 80% as well as 65%. Regarding pH adjustment, many brewers make excellent beer without bothering to adjust the water. I live in Calgary, also just east of the rockies & our water looks to be similar to yours. I have only just recently bothered to adjust the pH of my sparge water, but it really isn’t necessary. There are many factors that will have a larger impact on your beer than worrying about this. The all grain brewing process has many many details that can SLIGHTLY affect the final outcome of your beer. With experience you will be able to tweak these little idiosyncrasies to suit the style of beer you are making & the particulars of your own brewing equipment. Don’t worry about it, just brew. You’ll do fine. Kelvin – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m trying to prep myself for when my all-grain stuff finally arrives, and there are a few points I need clarification on: 1. What factors determine water:grain ratio for the mash? I’ve heard of people using everything from 1qt:1lb to 1.5qt:1lb. What effect does this have on the mash, and what should I use for my first attempt at all grain (I’m gonna take the hop plunge and brew up some SSOS)? 2. For those of you who use a 10 gallon gott cooler mash tun, what’s a good stike temp to aim for? I’m going to mash at 153 degrees, and Miller suggests shooting for 11 degrees higher to determine your strike, but I’m wondering if someone with the same setup can give me some equipment-specific guidelines. 3. With regards to batch sparging.. If I understand the process correctly, once I’m done running off my second batch (which will bring the total amount of sparged liquor up to my pre-boil wort volume), the gravity of my combined runoff should equal my targetted pre-boil gravity. Is this correct? 4. I’m planning on doing a single infusion mash at 153 degrees for one hour. Would it be markedly beneficial for me to do any sort of rest at another temperature as well? I’ve heard of protein rests and mash-outs and such, and I’m wondering if any of these are necessary or desirable to produce my desired beer (a very hoppy IPA). 5. I’ve heard that an all-grain boil sometimes takes 90-120 minutes to perform, as compared to the 60 minute standard for extract batches. What is the purpose of the extra boil time, and will I need to be concerned with this? 6. I’m using 70% as my targetted efficiency for this first batch. Promash tells me I can hit 65% and still be within the gravity range for my recipe. Is this assumption overly optimistic for a 2 batch sparge using a gott cooler with T-shaped bazooka screen? I figure I’ll buy 1lb of DME to add to my wort at boil time, just in case of emergency regardless. 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents…. That’s all I can think of for right now. I’m sure I’ll be pestering the group with some frantic questions once I actually start the process. Thanks in advance for any help. -Kevin

Response:

Most people panic and add hot water, then cold water, then hot water, and then have the temp right on their first AG. I suggest you start at 1.1 qt/lb. Stir for at least 3 min before worrying about the exact temp. Get every single lump out. 2. For those of you who use a 10 gallon gott cooler mash tun, what’s a good stike temp to aim for? I’m going to mash at 153 degrees, and Miller suggests shooting for 11 degrees higher to determine your strike, but I’m wondering if someone with the same setup can give me some equipment-specific guidelines.

10-12 deg sounds good. Preheat the mash tun before you begin to mash. What I found was 170F water and cold grain (ambient) and lots of initial stirring brought it a little high and I could add cold water of ice cubes to hit the exact temp. 3. With regards to batch sparging.. If I understand the process correctly, once I’m done running off my second batch (which will bring the total amount of sparged liquor up to my pre-boil wort volume), the gravity of my combined runoff should equal my targetted pre-boil gravity. Is this correct?

I’ll leave this one to the batch sparge guys… 4. I’m planning on doing a single infusion mash at 153 degrees for one hour. Would it be markedly beneficial for me to do any sort of rest at another temperature as well? I’ve heard of protein rests and mash-outs and such, and I’m wondering if any of these are necessary or desirable to produce my desired beer (a very hoppy IPA).

Not really on an IPA. The only other temp I would do is mash out, but that is of debateable usefulness. 5. I’ve heard that an all-grain boil sometimes takes 90-120 minutes to perform, as compared to the 60 minute standard for extract batches. What is the purpose of the extra boil time, and will I need to be concerned with this?

The AG boil time is mainly to reduce the volume from the sparge. The bittering hops are added after the break which IME can take a little longer to finish than in an extract brew. I no longer boil for a specific amount of time, I boil always for greater than 65 min, and I do so for evaporation. I adjust my boil length to evaporate the amount of water to hit my desired OG post boil. 6. I’m using 70% as my targetted efficiency for this first batch. Promash tells me I can hit 65% and still be within the gravity range for my recipe. Is this assumption overly optimistic for a 2 batch sparge using a gott cooler with T-shaped bazooka screen? I figure I’ll buy 1lb of DME to add to my wort at boil time, just in case of emergency regardless.

Skip the DME. This is an AG brew, not a partial mash. If you miss the pre-boil gravity too low, boil longer, too high, boil shorter or add some water to the finished brew. 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents….

I agree with the comment to add some gypsum to the sparge water. With BS it is not much of a concern, but gypsum will help accentuate the hops, and it is an IPA. Cheers, Mike

Response:

Mike, I’ve always added hops at the beginning of the boil…why do you add them after the break? -Bill — Success lies in achieving the top of the food chain. — Jubal Harshaw, 1904-

Response:

I use 1.1 and it gives a nice consistency to the mash. I forget where I read it, but a soupier mash will lead to poorer extraction. Something about the sugar molecules and enzymes being too seperated, and not being able to work together. I once did a 5 gallon test batch and put enough water for a 10 gallon batch. Much lower extraction. 2. For those of you who use a 10 gallon gott cooler mash tun, what’s a good stike temp to aim for? I’m going to mash at 153 degrees, and Miller suggests shooting for 11 degrees higher to determine your strike, but I’m wondering if someone with the same setup can give me some equipment-specific guidelines.

Pre-heat your cooler with hot tap water, then go 10-12 degrees over your mash temp. Also, I keep my crushed grains in my house so they’ll be as close to 70 degrees as possible. I don’t take them outside for my brewing until just before they’re needed. 3. With regards to batch sparging.. If I understand the process correctly, once I’m done running off my second batch (which will bring the total amount of sparged liquor up to my pre-boil wort volume), the gravity of my combined runoff should equal my targetted pre-boil gravity. Is this correct?

Yep 4. I’m planning on doing a single infusion mash at 153 degrees for one hour. Would it be markedly beneficial for me to do any sort of rest at another temperature as well? I’ve heard of protein rests and mash-outs and such, and I’m wondering if any of these are necessary or desirable to produce my desired beer (a very hoppy IPA).

If you’re using a fully modified grain, there is no reason to do anything other than a single step infusion mash. Keep it simple. 5. I’ve heard that an all-grain boil sometimes takes 90-120 minutes to perform, as compared to the 60 minute standard for extract batches. What is the purpose of the extra boil time, and will I need to be concerned with this?

You’d only want to do a boil longer than 60 mins if you were looking for more hop extraction (I’d just buy more hops) or if your wort was too thin and you needed to increase the SG. 6. I’m using 70% as my targetted efficiency for this first batch. Promash tells me I can hit 65% and still be within the gravity range for my recipe. Is this assumption overly optimistic for a 2 batch sparge using a gott cooler with T-shaped bazooka screen? I figure I’ll buy 1lb of DME to add to my wort at boil time, just in case of emergency regardless.

I’ve never done batch sparging (gonna try it next batch). My extraction rate has been 75% since my first batch whenever I follow my regular procedures (test batches don’t count!). From what I’ve read, generally speaking you drop 10-20% with batch sparging (which doesn’t make sense to me). Sounds like its very important to stir the mash after the two water additions to help disolve the sugars. 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents….

I wouldn’t sweat pH just yet. Consider talking to your LHBS and finding out what they recommend. Chances are, they’ve already done the calculations. Good luck and enjoy. Mike

Response:

I’ve always added hops at the beginning of the boil…why do you add them after the break?

Habit, and something I read somewhere about the break compounds and hop compounds. I cannot recall the exact source or comment, but it boiled down to waiting until after the break for hopping to avoid harshness. I guess the outlier to that would be FWH. Cheers, Mike

Response:

I’m trying to prep myself for when my all-grain stuff finally arrives, and there are a few points I need clarification on: 1. What factors determine water:grain ratio for the mash? I’ve heard of people using everything from 1qt:1lb to 1.5qt:1lb. What effect does this have on the mash, and what should I use for my first attempt at all grain (I’m gonna take the hop plunge and brew up some SSOS)? 2. For those of you who use a 10 gallon gott cooler mash tun, what’s a good stike temp to aim for? I’m going to mash at 153 degrees, and Miller suggests shooting for 11 degrees higher to determine your strike, but I’m wondering if someone with the same setup can give me some equipment-specific guidelines. 3. With regards to batch sparging.. If I understand the process correctly, once I’m done running off my second batch (which will bring the total amount of sparged liquor up to my pre-boil wort volume), the gravity of my combined runoff should equal my targetted pre-boil gravity. Is this correct? 4. I’m planning on doing a single infusion mash at 153 degrees for one hour. Would it be markedly beneficial for me to do any sort of rest at another temperature as well? I’ve heard of protein rests and mash-outs and such, and I’m wondering if any of these are necessary or desirable to produce my desired beer (a very hoppy IPA). 5. I’ve heard that an all-grain boil sometimes takes 90-120 minutes to perform, as compared to the 60 minute standard for extract batches. What is the purpose of the extra boil time, and will I need to be concerned with this? 6. I’m using 70% as my targetted efficiency for this first batch. Promash tells me I can hit 65% and still be within the gravity range for my recipe. Is this assumption overly optimistic for a 2 batch sparge using a gott cooler with T-shaped bazooka screen? I figure I’ll buy 1lb of DME to add to my wort at boil time, just in case of emergency regardless. 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents…. That’s all I can think of for right now. I’m sure I’ll be pestering the group with some frantic questions once I actually start the process. Thanks in advance for any help. -Kevin

Response:

1) You want enough water to dissolve the starches and enzymes, so they can happily mix together and convert the starches to sugar. Too thick of a mash will interfere with this so you are better off erring on the thin side (a little more water). On a practical side, when I did single-step infusion mashes I’d strike with using 1.1 quarts/lb and aim for a slightly lower temperature than my target. Then I’d add hot water until I reached my target temperature. Maybe someone with more chemistry knowledge than I have can add some more information here.. 2) I use the 10-gallon Gott. I found a strike temp of 10-12 degrees higher would get me in the ballpark, but there was a big variable which I had no control over: ambient temp of the grain and cooler could be anywhere from 55-70 degrees since I brew in my garage and don’t have any control over the heat in there. Originally I’d aim for a slightly lower temperature and then add boiling water until I hit my target. Later on I built a simple HERMS system using a wort chiller in HLT to give me better control over the mash temperature. 3) That is correct for any sparging. Just remember to take into account the water absorbtion due to the grain, and the overall efficiency of your system. I do a mashout first (raise mash temperatures to 170 degrees for 10 minutes) and then do the 2 rounds of batch sparge and find it helps with efficiency. 4) I used to do single-step infusion mash for my IPA’s and they came out fine. When I built my HERMS I added a protein rest at 125 degrees and a mashout at 170 degrees. The protein rest has helped with chill haze and the mashout helped with my efficiency. 5) The only reason I’ve seen for the longer boils is to increase the hop extraction. Maybe someone else can add more useful information. I just boil for 60 minutes since that last half hour gets you maybe 10% more hop extraction. 6) I’d assume 60% efficiency the first time around, then add water to get to your target gravity if you need to. There’s nothing wrong with adding the DME but its kind of cheating on the AG part 7) For your first AG I’d just add a couple of tbsp of gypsum to the water in HLT and then RDWHAHB. The gypsum will lower the pH. In the longer term you should worry more about the pH of your mash than the pH of your water (although they are related). You can get some pH strips cheap at LHBS to measure mash pH; it should be 4-5.5. pH above 5.5 will give erratic results, and probably less efficiency. You can add a couple of drops of lactic acid to adjust the pH if you want. Also yeast like a mildly acidic environment and a high mash pH will also give you a high wort pH. Hope this helps; Good luck with your first AG! — Success lies in achieving the top of the food chain. — Jubal Harshaw, 1904-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m trying to prep myself for when my all-grain stuff finally arrives, and there are a few points I need clarification on: 1. What factors determine water:grain ratio for the mash? I’ve heard of people using everything from 1qt:1lb to 1.5qt:1lb. What effect does this have on the mash, and what should I use for my first attempt at all grain (I’m gonna take the hop plunge and brew up some SSOS)? 2. For those of you who use a 10 gallon gott cooler mash tun, what’s a good stike temp to aim for? I’m going to mash at 153 degrees, and Miller suggests shooting for 11 degrees higher to determine your strike, but I’m wondering if someone with the same setup can give me some equipment-specific guidelines. 3. With regards to batch sparging.. If I understand the process correctly, once I’m done running off my second batch (which will bring the total amount of sparged liquor up to my pre-boil wort volume), the gravity of my combined runoff should equal my targetted pre-boil gravity. Is this correct? 4. I’m planning on doing a single infusion mash at 153 degrees for one hour. Would it be markedly beneficial for me to do any sort of rest at another temperature as well? I’ve heard of protein rests and mash-outs and such, and I’m wondering if any of these are necessary or desirable to produce my desired beer (a very hoppy IPA). 5. I’ve heard that an all-grain boil sometimes takes 90-120 minutes to perform, as compared to the 60 minute standard for extract batches. What is the purpose of the extra boil time, and will I need to be concerned with this? 6. I’m using 70% as my targetted efficiency for this first batch. Promash tells me I can hit 65% and still be within the gravity range for my recipe. Is this assumption overly optimistic for a 2 batch sparge using a gott cooler with T-shaped bazooka screen? I figure I’ll buy 1lb of DME to add to my wort at boil time, just in case of emergency regardless. 7. For my first attempt at all-grain, should I worry too much about all the water variables (pH, hardness, etc)? I’ve heard that with batch sparging, pH of the mash is somehow less important than with fly sparging, but I don’t claim to understand why. I’m dealing with Denver water here, which I believe is fairly alkaline (8.? pH), but I don’t know much about it beyond that. For the ambitious, I believe all the information I need is available here: http://www.water.denver.co.gov/waterquality/Treated_Reprt01/contents…. That’s all I can think of for right now. I’m sure I’ll be pestering the group with some frantic questions once I actually start the process. Thanks in advance for any help. -Kevin

Brewing Master