Are you actually measuring your mash water?

[Homebrewer11777]

Curious about how people are developing and especially describing recipes on this site.

I'm only making bourbon, generally using 2/3 corn and 1/3 malt. I measure the amount of water I start with for gelatinization of the corn (about 23 gallons) so I don't overfill my mash kettle. But at end of process I transfer the mash to my fermentor, rinse my mash tun and wort chiller with unknown amount of water that goes into the fermentor, and the top up the fermentor to about 2-3" from the rim. My fermentor is a 32 gallon brute trash can. So I don't actually know for sure how much water I use. I guess my mash volume is between 27 and 29 gallons and there are 60 pounds of grain in there. So pretty close to 2 pounds grain per gallon of mash. But water is more like 24-25 gallons. 2.4 to 2.5 pounds per gallon of water but not really sure.

Question is for those that share recipes or comment on things like typical pounds of grain per gallon...are the gallons you mention actual gallons of water used to make the mash or total gallons of mash into the fermentor?

[8Ball]

I top off to an exact level, take gravity, pH, & temperature readings, then pitch the yeast starter.

This way it is scalable & repeatable, I think

[SW_Shiner]

I also just top off to a known level. I know that for any given recipe i create, X amount of grain topped up to a certain line, gives me enough to fill my boiler with cleared beer and all the rest( the grain and slop) goes into thumper. That method has worked well so far and i keep track of how much low wines i end up with. I usually end up within 1-2L of my target low wines amount.

[subbrew]

I measure everything. I have some buckets which have markings on them and I have a boil pot I electro/acid etched volume markings into. Grains are all weighed using a luggage scale that is easy to hang a bucket from.

[Corn Cracker]

Mash into the fermenter here, I would sparge with a gallon of hot tap water for a 5 gallon mash, for a total of 6 gallons used, 5 gallons go to the fermenter

[Homebrewer11777]

Mash into the fermenter here, I would sparge with a gallon of hot tap water for a 5 gallon mash, for a total of 6 gallons used, 5 gallons go to the fermenter

So not fermenting on grain?

[Twisted Brick]

The benefits (for some) of measuring strike water, grain ratios, enzymes, backset, yeast counts etc is for repeatability, troubleshooting, process efficiency and recipe development. Doesn't mean you have to though.

[Corn Cracker]

If fermenting on grain I ferment with extra water so I can get what I need to fill the still. On a 5gl mash a gallon did the trick.

[jonnys_spirit]

I weigh the grain and eyeball the water regarding exact measurements. Close enough = not too thick, not too thin. The grain eventually turns into likker, not the water. I spend good effort removing all that water lol.

Cheers,
j

[OtisT]

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Question is for those that share recipes or comment on things like typical pounds of grain per gallon...are the gallons you mention actual gallons of water used to make the mash or total gallons of mash into the fermentor?

It’s the Total gallons of mash into the fermentor.

[shadylane]

If trying something new, I'll measure the water.
Normally I'll guesstimate the grain weight and fill the mash pot up to a mark that is a welding blemish I never got around to grinding off.
On aside note,
For bourbon, usually I'll mash @ around 3 pounds per gallon, then add water to cool and dilute the mash to around 2lb/gallon.

[Homebrewer11777]

Thanks for the responses...looks like majority are measuring about like I am...weighing the grains and adding water to reach a target mash volume. Not 100% sure but looks possible even those that are measuring water are then targeting a given mash volume.

So second question is what do we mean by mashing at 2lb/gallon? I am thinking it generally means pounds of grain per gallon of fermenting wash (mash). That makes sense to me and is pretty understandable and repeatable. I can believe my mash thickness with 60# grain to make 29 gallons fermenting mash is pretty close to what @Shadylane is doing at his reported 2lb/gallon.

Reason I am digging into this is it is opposite of how I learned to brew as a homebrewer. In commercial and home brewing mash thickness is usually described by the amount of water to the amount of grain. "liquor-to-grist ratio" either expressed as liters to kg or commonly in US homebrewing units quarts of water to pounds of grain. Beer brewing apps such as Beersmith and Brewer's Friend also follow this approach. While Beersmith will provide estimate for total mash volume, Brewer's Friend does not.

[Powder Monkey]

I have ballpark grain weights and water volumes but ultimately I add cooling water until my OG gets to 1.075. More out of convenience as it’s easier to measure but I also figure that consistency is more important.

[subbrew]

Reason I am digging into this is it is opposite of how I learned to brew as a homebrewer. In commercial and home brewing mash thickness is usually described by the amount of water to the amount of grain. "liquor-to-grist ratio" either expressed as liters to kg or commonly in US homebrewing units quarts of water to pounds of grain. Beer brewing apps such as Beersmith and Brewer's Friend also follow this approach. While Beersmith will provide estimate for total mash volume, Brewer's Friend does not.

I started out as a beer home brewer. So my numbers all follow that logic, measured water volume and measured grain weight, total volume ..all I care about is it fits the mash tun or fermenter. To me that makes sense as that is how I know to make gravity calculations work.

I have wondered if the difference is the fact that distilling seems much more forgiving. After a couple of years on wood I doubt I can tell the difference between a bourbon distilled from a 5.5% mash and one distilled from an 8.5% mash. But I can certainly tell the difference between beers with that much difference in ABV.

[PalCabral]

Reason I am digging into this is it is opposite of how I learned to brew as a homebrewer. In commercial and home brewing mash thickness is usually described by the amount of water to the amount of grain. "liquor-to-grist ratio" either expressed as liters to kg or commonly in US homebrewing units quarts of water to pounds of grain. Beer brewing apps such as Beersmith and Brewer's Friend also follow this approach. While Beersmith will provide estimate for total mash volume, Brewer's Friend does not.

Homebrewer, thank you! I have been wondering the exact same thing as you but been too shy to ask.

I started out as a beer home brewer. So my numbers all follow that logic, measured water volume and measured grain weight, total volume ..all I care about is it fits the mash tun or fermenter. To me that makes sense as that is how I know to make gravity calculations work.

I have wondered if the difference is the fact that distilling seems much more forgiving. After a couple of years on wood I doubt I can tell the difference between a bourbon distilled from a 5.5% mash and one distilled from an 8.5% mash. But I can certainly tell the difference between beers with that much difference in ABV.

This is me too. For me the pounds for water ratio is backwards but I believe you are correct with your assumptions why it is preferred.