grain brewing

[pongobilly]

i really want to get to know the grain brewing technique before i dive in so heres a couple of questions.

when mashing, how do you know how much water to use to mash

when sparging, do you keep collecting the runnings from the mash tun in a hydrometer to check the gravity is no lower than 1006, and is this the exact gravity for the temperature at which the liquer is running from the mash

cheers

[Aleman]

when mashing, how do you know how much water to use to mash

You want enough water to make it easy for yourself to stir the mash, but not too much so the enzymes are diluted, and you have to boil off a lot to get the gravity you want. This is probably served by about 2.5L/Kg

when sparging, do you keep collecting the runnings from the mash tun in a hydrometer to check the gravity is no lower than 1006, and is this the exact gravity for the temperature at which the liquer is running from the mash

No, as I get close to the pre boil volume That is when I start monitoring the Gravity. the quoted 1.006 is temperature corrected to 20C from whatever temp the wort is at. For convenience a refractometer is much easier to use at this point.

[edit1now]

I have a cheapo refractometer, and stop sparging at about 2 degrees Brix. Last time this resulted in slightly too much wort - I had to boil in two boilers.

One fine day I may start taking note of how much water, I mean liquor, I'm using, as this may allow me to calculate my brewhouse efficiency.

[fivetide]

Pongo - I know you've heard it again and again but it really is as simple as buying a boiler, a coolbox, and some ingredients and going for it. Get all the gear, sterilise everything that needs it, make sure all the taps are closed, seals work and you've got plenty of spare bits and pieces of kit lying around, then find a day to yourself and get a brew on. You'll breeze it.

Use 2 to 2.5L of treated water per KG of grain. After the mash return several litre jugs of murky runnings, collect about 30 -32L, and boil for 90mins to get the 23L brew length you're after once the hops and air take their bit You can start checking the gravity, always adjusting for temperature, towards the end of the sparge, but the rough volumes I suggest will serve you okay as a starting point.

I am a bit of a worrier and my equipment is all a bit knocked together, but all my brews have been very gluggable and so will yours. Get a nice pint ready to drink for when the hops go in, and make sure you've got some good brewing music to hand.

Also, give BeerSmith software a try. I have ProMash etc... but BeerSmith is nice and simple and the printed sheets are dead handy.