kg/l mash calculation

[data790]

OK so I have found a recipe I would like to try and test which calls for:

5 gallon
pilsner 2 row 6.1 kg
Flaked barley 0.23 kg
aromatic malt 0.17 kg
biscuit malt 0.113 kg

The recipe does not suggest a mash temperature or for how long. so what I have done in the past is to mash for 60 minutes at 68 deg C. Based upon a 2.5 kg/l mash it will be 16.5 l mash in, collect ~13 l wort. Batch sparge with 10 l to collect 26 l total and boil.

How does this look to people? As always I am happy to receave corrections as it is how I learn.

Thanks again guys

[fisherman]

This is the type of beer I make every week when I am brewing. One thing I am certain is you need low alkalinity e.g. 20ppm for this mash. I use 65% pilsner 20% munich and 10% Vienna plus 5% ebc 15 crystal malt. Or all pilsner. Your recipe sounds great and should be a great beer. Your mash length and 60min boil sound good.Happy brewing. P/S My hop base is always magnum and 15 min hops are Hallertau milf or saaz and for 5 min with a 15 min soak before cooling any high alpha hop you fancy

[data790]

Glad it looks right. Maybe my beer will improve while I am away the next three weeks since I tasted it after one week fermentation to make sure nothing bad had got in. I have ordered that water test kit so will have a look at the alkalinity before I start.

I will certainly think about the hops you mentioned, the gf doesn't like it too bitter unlike me (Norwegian's eh).

I apprecaite your comments and advice, thank you

[Charles1968]

OK so I have found a recipe I would like to try and test which calls for:

5 gallon
pilsner 2 row 6.1 kg
Flaked barley 0.23 kg
aromatic malt 0.17 kg
biscuit malt 0.113 kg

The recipe does not suggest a mash temperature or for how long. so what I have done in the past is to mash for 60 minutes at 68 deg C. Based upon a 2.5 kg/l mash it will be 16.5 l mash in, collect ~13 l wort. Batch sparge with 10 l to collect 26 l total and boil.

How does this look to people? As always I am happy to receave corrections as it is how I learn.

Thanks again guys

You lose about 1 litre of water per 1 kg of grain in absorption, so probably won't collect as much as 13 litres before sparge.

[data790]

You lose about 1 litre of water per 1 kg of grain in absorption, so probably won't collect as much as 13 litres before sparge.

So I would only collect about 10.5 l and will need 15.5 l sparge? This sounds like my last batch. Without looking at the water chemistry or pH what would you say about this set up?

[Charles1968]

That's fine. It's a pale beer, so your mash/sparge pH is likely to be on the high side. I would do recommended alkalinity test to check your water supply. If the alkalinity is high, the beer will benefit from water treatment.

If you go ahead without water treatment, be careful not to over sparge. Perhaps leave out the last few litres of sparge water to be on the safe side.

[data790]

That's fine. It's a pale beer, so your mash/sparge pH is likely to be on the high side. I would do recommended alkalinity test to check your water supply. If the alkalinity is high, the beer will benefit from water treatment.

If you go ahead without water treatment, be careful not to over sparge. Perhaps leave out the last few litres of sparge water to be on the safe side.

Thank you for your reply

Just out of interest, if I was to brew a stout or a dark ale would this require a thinner mash and less sparge with corrected water pH? Also, are there any books or reading you would reccomend?

[Charles1968]

Dark beers need a bit more alkalinity in the water to stop the mash pH dropping too far. There's less danger of oversparging, so you'd be fine mashing however thick or thin you like to. It's really sparge volume that you need to watch when making pale beers. Mashing thin is primarily a way of reducing the sparge volume.

This site is good if you want to try and understand alkalinity:

https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/water-knowledge

[data790]

Hi and thank you for the link, it is very useful.

So I have the data back from the water supplier:
Alkalinity is 0.15-0.2 mg/l
pH is 6.8-7.7
Calcium 3.5 mg/l

So what do folks make of this compared to their water? Oh we don't have chlorine in the water either hence why it is wonderful to drink