A question that was put to me

[A T]

Somebody asked me today, when mashing and using a false bottom should you account for the liquid that sits under the false bottom when working out the 2.5L - 1KG. To be honest all i could say was that i never came across it before or ever heard it discussed. On a 5 gallon batch with fairly big legs on your false bottom you'd reach nowhere near 2.5, would i make much of a difference? or am i the only one who never accounted for the false bottom
Your thoughts gents,

 

[EskiBrew]

Interesting question. Not sure what the answer is but my thinking as I understand it would be along these lines:

The ratio of water to grain alters the conversion efficiency. IIRC it is the mash stiffness that is the important thing. If some of the water is not effectively mixed with the mash then for the same volume of water, the mash would be stiffer. So in order to get the same mash stiffness, it would be necessary to add additional water...

Does that sound reasonable :wha:

 

[A T]

Makes sense EB since i started using a manifold in the new system my efficiency has gone up, i haven't bothered to work it out but had over sparged by quite a bit and still hit my targets easy. Dam i've been messing up my mash for a year :cry: Still the beer was nice and got me pished :lol:

 

[Kingfisher]

As a complete learner I compensate for the MT false bottom dead space by 4L and still have a firm mash bed. After my first 3 attempts I now get regularly a pre boil quantity out at around 30/32L for a 23L brew length.

I think if it works that's OK in the short term. We are mostly all learning as we go along and can adjust as we better understand the process.

 

[Aleman]

The liquor to grain ratio is strictly that . . . you need to accommodate for the space below the FB separately . . . . although with big batches I don't bother . . . 1.5L in a 45L mash is pretty insignificant