Volume of wort with all grain brew

[slothfacekilla]

I just attempted to make an all grain brew last night and came out with almost half of my wort gone! I know a lot of it got soaked into the grain that i tossed out. I even added an extra gallon of water to compensate during the boil. What is the best way to extract the spent grains without losing all my wort?

Thanks,

Cesar

[Rezzin]

1/2 of your wort missing seems like quite a bit! Can you explain your mash tun set up in a little more in detail perhaps? You typically lose around ~10% to grain absorbtion so if you were missing 1/2 of your total volume, I would think it might have something to do with your manifold. Did you check to see if there was wort still left behind in the mash tun?

[jward]

Half the wort gone is unexpected. You might describe how mash and sparge. When I "batch sparge" which involves adding water to the mash and then draining all at once, I use the amount of water need for boil as the amount of water added to the second sparge. This totally compensates for any amount of water absorbed by the grain in the first sparge. If I "fly sparge", which is a continuous adding/draining process, I rely on some of the brewing software to calculate the needed water and keep an eye on the specific gravity towards the end to avoid over sparging.

[dhempy]

Yes ... a little more information on your process would help us help you.

How much (in weight) was your total grain bill? What were your water additions (volume) for infusion, and sparging? How much wort did you wind up with (volume) pre-boil and post boil? We can throw those numbers into ProMash and or BeerSmith and give you some estimates of what you should have seen.

Dan

[slothfacekilla]

Ummmm..... my brewing system is pretty primative. I threw my grain in a pot with water, brought to a boil, strained out grain as much as possible by hand with a regular strainer, Let the wort boil for 45 mins, cooled, then added yeast. It went exactly like that. I really cant afford a mashton or any of the nifty programs. I really just wing it everytime and as of now all my beers have come out great! I just havent tried to replicate the same recepies yet.

[dhempy]

Hey SFK!

I didn't see your location on your profile but I'd highly recommend that you get together with one of the club members and view their process if you're in Socal. Also, take a quick read of How To Brew by John Palmer so you have a grasp of the basic process. You can make a simple mashtun from a cooler ... there are how to's all over the internet. Also, Brad, Derrin, Brent (and others I'm sure) have been there and done that and are available to kibbutz on the process (I know you guys would volunteer info anyway). You might even find a used one for not a lot of money if you poke around. I know for a fact that our current Pres did magic with his inexpensive, gravity fed, cooler based, brewing system. Others here too (Brent for one, Derrin for another ... I haven't seen the rest of the club's systems but I'm quite sure that many have used the cooler based system). I think that with a few tweaks and maybe $50-$100, you'll be turning out brews that you'll really like.

Do you have a Specific Gravity measuring device (hydrometer, refractometer etc.)? If not, get one .. it is a critical piece of gear for the whole brewing process.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Dan

[BrewMasterBrad]

Sloth, dude, I totally agree with Dan that you should attend an all grain brew day with an experienced brewer and you should also get a copy of How to Brew by John Palmer (read the section on all grain brewing several times). I am brewing this Saturday if you are anywhere near Corona, CA.

This is a great hobby and there is much flexibility within the brewing process, but there are certain scientific principles that must be followed in order to make beer. Good luck.

Brad

[brahn]

I think you should definitely get out and see someone else brew. While what you're doing will make beer, I think with some simple process improvements you'll see the overall quality and consistency improve a lot. The reading material that Brad and Dan pointed out is excellent, but you should know that reading about all-grain brewing can make it sound much more difficult than it really is. There are a ton of variables in the process that can affect your beer, and Palmer does a great job discussing them, but in practice you usuallydon't need to worry about most of them. That's why I think the best thing to do is see someone else do it first. I'm in Tustin if you're close, but I probably won't be brewing again until the week of New Year's.

Also, as far as a mash tun goes, all you really need for a basic setup is a decent size cooler and a little bit of hardware. Take a look at the 'cheap and easy' setup here:

http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

I started with a 48 quart cooler that cost me less than $20 plus a bit of hardware that you could probably get for < $15.

[slothfacekilla]

Thanks for the feed back everyone! I feel like a doof but i assume that everyone somewhat starts out this way. And it figures that I do have"How to brew" in my library. I just havent opened that one yet due to reading other "How to" books. For those of you that were wondering, my hydrometer reading was a 1.070-1.080. I was brewing a heavy duty stout. Ill have to save up and shop around to get the right equipment before i brew again. I ill mos' definitely need to read that book! Thanks again, Ill keep you guys posted.

[dhempy]

Cesar:

No worries ... everyone has had those "doh" moments. Seriously, go and participate with an experienced brewer. Ask questions and ask for help. It is as much fun for us to see a brewer come up the curve as it is to brew. Based on your initial mead post you must be somewhat local (having met someone at The Bruery) so take advantage of those that have gone before. Most everyone on this board is more than willing to give you a hand and demonstrate the process. Later it will be your turn to help out a newbie. All grain can seem intimidating (I know I was intimidated after brewing with extract for 3 years) but once you've done a batch or two, your confidence grows and brewdays get to be more fun and fruitful.

Good luck. Keep asking questions ... we're here to help.

Dan

[bwarbiany]

I really cant afford a mashton

Yes you can. My first mash tun was a 5 gallon Igloo cooler with about $10 worth of fittings and copper tubing. In fact, I still have the cooler and I'll give it to you free if you want it (note, it's just the cooler, I use the copper tube elsewhere now, but I can show you how I built it for you to replicate).

[JonGoku]

I really cant afford a mashton

Yes you can. My first mash tun was a 5 gallon Igloo cooler with about $10 worth of fittings and copper tubing. In fact, I still have the cooler and I'll give it to you free if you want it (note, it's just the cooler, I use the copper tube elsewhere now, but I can show you how I built it for you to replicate).

Sloth, you should take him up on this. Although I'm leaning towards picking up a 10 gallon instead of a 5 if I don't find a good deal on one soon I may see about taking him up on that offer myself.

Cheers!

[bwarbiany]

I really cant afford a mashton

Yes you can. My first mash tun was a 5 gallon Igloo cooler with about $10 worth of fittings and copper tubing. In fact, I still have the cooler and I'll give it to you free if you want it (note, it's just the cooler, I use the copper tube elsewhere now, but I can show you how I built it for you to replicate).

Sloth, you should take him up on this. Although I'm leaning towards picking up a 10 gallon instead of a 5 if I don't find a good deal on one soon I may see about taking him up on that offer myself.

Cheers!

You need a 10? I got one of those too... Also available without a manifold or false bottom (we use the false bottom in our converted keg mash tun).

This stuff is just sitting in Dustin's garage, and I'm sure his wife would like to see it go away.

[JonGoku]

You need a 10? I got one of those too... Also available without a manifold or false bottom (we use the false bottom in our converted keg mash tun).

This stuff is just sitting in Dustin's garage, and I'm sure his wife would like to see it go away.

Now we're talking I'll send a PM after I get out of this meeting. (read that: I'm hard at work right now )