Amount of strike water in an All In One

[David Woods]

I am using a Brew Monk 30 all in one and need a bit of info on strike water quantity.

The recipe says 15 ltr of strike water - 3 x water to grain? - anyway the last couple of brews using this quantity has given a very thick mash - I even added some water last time as it was very difficult to stir.

As the brew Monk has some dead space below the malt pipe, maybe 3-4 litres? I am wondering should I add that amount to my strike water i.e. 19 ltrs to give a looser mash and if I do this will it affect the end result. I assume not as people do a full volume mash.

Thanks

 

[MashBag]

I do full volume at dough in.

 

[soupdragon]

the brew Monk has some dead space below the malt pipe, maybe 3-4 litres? I am wondering should I add that amount to my strike water i.e. 19 ltrs

I always used to, yes. I don't recall getting lower extraction when I switched from a 35ltr stove too pot to the all in one.

Cheers Tom

 

[Twostage]

For my last brews I upped from 3 to 4 litres for the same reason, thick mash. Lot better now.

 

[David Woods]

Thanks all - I suppose having a larger volume of water will also keep the temp better

 

[The Baron]

I would use approx 20 ltr for strike and have a loose mash again this is dependant on how you look at it some will say the mash should be thicker some thinner. Do whats suits your brewing style

 

[Rwilts]

Are you using any software? You can add deadspace to recipe in brewfather (for example)

 

[David Woods]

Yes, I am using Brewfather with the Brew Monk profile with the deadspace set to 4 ltrs - however it shows 15 ltrs as the strike water volume.

 

[The Baron]

Does the 15ltrs include the deadspace or is it 15+4=19 in total.
I do not bother with deadspace as in most AIO it is part of the wort as it is recycled with the pump so I just use 20ltrs in total. You could if using gigger grainbills just full volume but your efficiency may take a knock with no sparge

 

[Rwilts]

Just had a quick trawl through my recipes, only one gets anywhere near 15 , it's actually 18 all others are around 20/22 . What's the actual recipe, volume etc?

 

[Caramel Ox]

Yes you need to set the dead space in the Brewfather profile, then make sure you assign the equipment profile to the recipe again or it won’t update your volumes. Assuming brew monk is identical to the klarstein it is more like 7 litres below the basket.

Whether that water/grain ratio is good or bad - you don’t really have a choice.

 

[Bosch]

There is a Facebook page for brewmonk, Guten, etc systems. It has a spreadsheet where you can calculate your strike and spare water. I find it invaluable

 

[Bosch]

Here is the link to that group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1926868814207974/?ref=share

 

[MashBag]

Can I ask.. In an all in one unit. What difference does any of this make?

 

[The Baron]

Hi Mashbag in my opinion it does not make any difference its only for the calculations of deadspace and losses as the amount of water you put in is the total as I have said the deadspace water is part of the wort as it is usually recycled through the mash so is should be included in the strike water.
So they do complicate things when these kits say 15ltrs some do not think this is the total amount but on top of the deadspace water.
To simplify it the strike water is the total amount of water which some will be the deadspace and why they call it deadspace I do not know as I have said it is recycled with most AIO's by the pump so it is not dead but part of it.
Just my thoughts

 

[MashBag]

Thank you. I thought I was missing something.

 

[foxy]

Dead space goes back to when wort wasn't recirculated, leaving a volume of liquor under the false bottom. Baron is right the liquor gets recirculated so dead space is no more. Making the calculations should be an individual thing as we all have different methods of doing things that Brewfather can't predict.
I know my measurements. Boil off, loss to grain, and loss to kettle trub and they would all be far different to Brewfather's predictions boil off would be the closest.
Use Brewfather's predictions by all means but make adjustments when you find a discrepancy.
I think a more fluid mash will get a better conversion as it can run easily through the grain bed eliminating hot and cool spots encountered in a thicker mash. But whichever way it will include quite a bit of stirring to get the most out of the grist.

 

[Rodcx500z]

When i do a new recipe in brewfather the default profile is for an anvil, i have to change it to a brewzilla 35L, could this be your problem

 

[Rwilts]

When i do a new recipe in brewfather the default profile is for an anvil, i have to change it to a brewzilla 35L, could this be your problem

You can star the profile you want and it will default to that every time

 

[Rodcx500z]

You can star the profile you want and it will default to that every time

Cheersi will do it