Centennial Blonde is going to be first all grain. If I understand correctly I need about 6.5 gal of water for 5 gal batch. How much water for should mash, and I guess an hour and then sparge the rest of the water thru?
Here is what works for me. Mash at 1.25qts per pound of grain. When you drain that off measure what you get. Sparge with the amount you need. For example if you mash with 3.5 gallons and get 2.5 in the kettle because of grain absorbtion and dead space. If you know your boil off rate, say for example 1.5 gal per hour then you will need 6.5 gal in the kettle. If you got 2.5 gal at first then you need to sparge with 4 gallons to hit the 6.5 you need, because the dead space is already full and the grain will not absorb any more water. This will give you 5 gallons after boil. Adjust as necessary.
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