AG total liquor

[MarkMayf]

First of a few stupid questions to come from me, as I am getting my head round all grain brewing.

I think I know the answer to this but I best check!

The AG recipes I am referring to have a total liquor quantity significantly larger than the final volume.

Say 32 litres for a 23 litre target.

Is this to accommodate for what is absorbed by the grain and evaporation?

A mash quantity maybe given as 11 litres, for a 5kg grain bill for example, if I get 6 litres out, do I sparge until I make up the full boil volume, or do I risk drawing tannin from the grain?

I will be batch sparging if that has an influence.

Thank you

 

[YeastFace]

Total Liquour Volume = Target Volume in FV - (Losses to Grain Absorption + Losses to Dead Space in Mash Tun + Losses to Evaporation + Losses to chilling + Losses to trub + Losses to Hop Absorption + Losses to Dead Space in Kettle).

The guide is probably based on mash thickness of 2.5l/kg. I batch sparge too and usually mash at 3l/kg without any ill effects

 

[Dads_Ale]

Hi and welcome to AG.

The 32 litre is what you would want to have in your boiler to achieve 23 litre in cask or bottle.
You loose quite a bit due to boil off, hop absorption, dead space etc. How much you lose depends on your set up so you will probably need a couple of runs to get your volumes sorted.

I normally mash at 3 litres water to 1kg grain and then sparge until I reach the required volume in the boiler. Generally the sparge running's should not fall below 1005 gravity. i.e. stop sparging if the gravity is below this value (remember to account for temperature at this point)

 

[wizurd]

Doesn't the total liquor need to take account of the hlt dead space as well, assuming you're using a threesome vessel system.

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[Covrich]

I measure out total liquor for full volume BIAB it tends to be 32-33L roughly for a 23L batch.

Things like grain bills will affect the starting figure as there will be more absorbtion ect...

But everyones setup is slightly different and some may boil off quicker than others and cool down time evap ect.. so there is a bit of trial and error but 32L is probably a good starting point for your first go.

Pump these figures into brewing software, then next time tweek it and once you have it pretty much where you want it to be you can input a recipe and you should tell you what you need for that recipe.

 

[YeastFace]

Doesn't the total liquor need to take account of the hlt dead space as well, assuming you're using a threesome vessel system.

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I was bound to forget something.

Threesome

 

[Simonh82]

I was bound to forget something.

Threesome

Surely you only need to account for this if you fill your HLT with the full volume to begin with. I would have thought a lot of people would fill the HLT, use a certain volume for mashing then refill and reheat whilst the mash is going on.

 

[MarkMayf]

Thank you for the responses everyone. Cleared things up for me that has.

I'm a way off my first AG brew yet, a few weeks maybe, but the more armed with knowledge I am before starting the better!

 

[wizurd]

Simon, that's a good point.

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[wizurd]

Yeast face lol. God knows where that auto correct came from.

Good luck with the first brew Mark. I've only just done my first one. Even going over and over calculations I was still a bit short volume wise after the boil but the gravity was right. I wouldn't worry too much. Sure it'll come out all good :)

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[cheapbrew]

Thank you for the responses everyone. Cleared things up for me that has.

I'm a way off my first AG brew yet, a few weeks maybe, but the more armed with knowledge I am before starting the better!

Yes PPPPPP is always a good motto, best wishes for when you brew.