How much water do i need?

[Rukula]

Hi! I have just recently started brewing AG, and so far, I have only used pre-made recipes... I love to experiment, and i want to make my own recipe soon. Since it takes multiple weeks (fermenting, then fermenting again in the bottles) its hard to do so.

So, the thing is, i have no idea how much water to use in my own recipe. Some guides says that 20% water will be lost to vapor in the boil, so you have to boil 20% more than what you want the outcome to be.

When i do the mash, i just gradually add the water i need, until i got a consistency a bit runnier than oat meal, so that part is easy. However, there must be allot of differences in how much water that is lost, depending on the pot you boil in...?

So! i got this idea, and i need you to tell me if this will work or not: If i boil up, lets say, 7 L of water, and let it boil smoothly for 1 hour, then measure how many % I've lost to vapor. Have i then calculated how much water i should have before i start the boil?

Lets say i want to brew 5 L of beer, and i lost 25% water in my boil test. Is it correct to start the boil with 6,25 L?

I do realize that this is really-really poorly written, but i hope someone does understand what I'm talking about : )

 

[Rwilts]

Havent started AG myself yet but you will need to bare in mind that the brain will absorb some of the liquid as well...

I think the software mentioned on here will calculate your starting volume

 

[Vossy1]

Have you seen this post Aslo worth having a 'play' with brewing software, Beersmith is free for 3 months.
It'll take time to dial in your system and to know your boil off %ages. Also worth looking at the forum calculators top left, they'll tell you how much water is required. Standard mash (if there is such a thing) is usually 2.5/ltr/kg of malt.

Have a read of the top post that'll get you started :thumb:

 

[Rukula]

Havent started AG myself yet but you will need to bare in mind that the grain will absorb some of the liquid as well...

I'm aware of this, but I'm talking about the boil amount. I add sparge water to bring it up to a certain level, after mashing.

 

[pittsy]

its not straight forward because different size and shape pots will lose a different amount of water from boiling , but i use 30l and get 23/24l after boil .

 

[Rukula]

its not straight forward because different size and shape pots will lose a different amount of water from boiling , but i use 30l and get 23/24l after boil .

Well, yes. I will do the test in the pot i own, so it will be accurate when i brew in the same pot later on

 

[PD]

you will always lose water during the boil...its called steam...
The trick is to guess how much.
that comes with practise and by using your equipment, as well as losses to evaporation there is your dead space at the bottom of the boiler to consider.
For my set up with 19 litre brews I lose 3 litres of dead space and about 5-6 litres due to steam boil off. therefore I need 19 + 3 + say 6 = 28 litres of wort to brew with...Each set up is different and in the beginning can only be guessed at, although use of brewing soft wear gets you close.

 

[Rwilts]

Havent started AG myself yet but you will need to bare in mind that the grain will absorb some of the liquid as well...

I'm aware of this, but I'm talking about the boil amount. I add sparge water to bring it up to a certain level, after mashing.

Sorry misread your post, good luck :

 

[jonewer]

Also be aware that hops absorb a ludicrous amount of water.

 

[Rukula]

Also be aware that hops absorb a ludicrous amount of water.

Really? pellets as well?