2 Step mash & water qty?

[Brewmarc]

I have a question which has been bugging me for some time :wha: I recently did a 2 step infusion mash (due to the grain bill) for a larger(still fermenting), for which I did a 30 minute @ 50C protein rest during the mash :? the grain total qty was 4.750kg to which I added 10L of water :thumb: there was no tempereture loss over this period :thumb: no problem so far. To raise the tempereture to 66C required the calculated addition of 6 lts of boiling water giving a total of 16L & a water/grain ratio of approx 3.4 Lts/Kg, I hit my stike tempereture perfectly :thumb: but the mash to me looked quite thin & the wort was about 1/2 to 3/4 inch above the grain bed. I think my efficiency suffered because of this as i was under my estimated OG by about .008 degrees, but it could just be my system :wha: . I wander if my calculations are correct or would I benifit fom addusting the ratios for a thicker protein mash & subsequently thicker mash ratio. has anyone had experience of this who could shed some light :

 

[tubby_shaw]

From your post it looks like your initial liquor to grist ratio was 2.1:1 you could have happily come down to 1.5:1 and then added 5.76 L of boiling liquor to reach your sachrification (sp) temperature. This would have given you an average ratio of 3:1, which is my average ratio
But after saying all that it has been my experience that a thinner mash does not cause problems.
You would of course need to sparge less.
I hope that this helps :)

 

[Brewmarc]

Maybe I oversparged then :wha: I cant remember the exact sparge qty 17 or 18L maybe for 26L preboil, I just looked at the level in the fermenter almost exacly 20L I stoped sparging @ 1.012 i may have been able to squeeze out a litre or two if I had stopped erlier

 

[tubby_shaw]

It sounds as though your sparge was OK :thumb:
There are other factors that can affect the extract rate that are more detrimental than the mash stiffness, such as mash ph and grain quality etc and above all else some times it just happens

 

[Brewmarc]

Yes there are so many variables in home brewimg Although it goes against the grain, maybe its better to accept that we have done the best we can :) & try & do better next time. thanks for te advice i am learnig a lot from here :geek: :

 

[jamesb]

Yes there are so many variables in home brewimg Although it goes against the grain, maybe its better to accept that we have done the best we can :) & try & do better next time. thanks for te advice i am learnig a lot from here :geek: :

Sometimes, the mistakes we make can make for a better beer. That's the beauty of brewing.

As long as we remember what we did anyway