Over the weekend I brewed up an IPA with 3 pounds of maris otter then after mashing used dme for the rest of the fermetables. My OG (and brix) readings showed that I hit my target OG according to BrewersFriend. I took a stab in the dark by using 2/3 RO water, and 1/3 city water with 2 teaspoons gypsum. My question is did I really convert the starch in the grain to sugar just by looking at the gravity of the wort? I don't have a water report to be able to use the proper calculators to know what I should add, and I don't have a PH meter to check the water either. I know I took a stab in the dark with trying to mash, but I had enough dme to add at the end of the boil if my OG fell short.
First Partial Mash Brew
- Thread starter BugEyedValiant
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Did you do a BIAB mini-mash? If you hit your numbers perfectly, then you converted all available starch.
FYI
Water treatment is an entire study on its own; lots of discussion on here. I wouldn't get too bogged down in it if you are just starting.
Extract batches don't need water treatment, you can just use 100% RO water. The extract has already been treated with the required minerals.
If you do a complete 5 gallon mash, use 100% RO water with 2 tsp CACL and 1 tsp GYPSUM. This will put you right for most styles, IPAs like a little magnesium so you can add 1 tsp of epson salts if you like.
FYI
Water treatment is an entire study on its own; lots of discussion on here. I wouldn't get too bogged down in it if you are just starting.
Extract batches don't need water treatment, you can just use 100% RO water. The extract has already been treated with the required minerals.
If you do a complete 5 gallon mash, use 100% RO water with 2 tsp CACL and 1 tsp GYPSUM. This will put you right for most styles, IPAs like a little magnesium so you can add 1 tsp of epson salts if you like.
I used the bag that I used for steeping the grains. I didn't want to use the 1.5 lbs of DME that I had but wanted higher gravity so I used the 3lbs of Maris Otter that I have no idea why I bought it. If I remember correctly, I hit better numbers than BrewersFriend predicted using 70% efficiency. I have used RO water for most of my brews, but have started using plain city water with good results. I used the city water in addition to the RO water to add minerals even though I'm going in blind. I only had gypsum so that's the reason for the addition of it. I'm putting in an order at LHBS tonight (probably not supposed to advertise here for them but it's HomeBrewIt.com and last day for 25% off) for some things and will get the other water treatment necessities. My trouble is I don't have a mentor for the all grain so I'm reading as much as I can and trying to get good results without wasting a batch. This forum is great but sometimes it's hard to find "the right way" due to differing opinions.
ericbw
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2012
- Messages
- 3,592
- Reaction score
- 1,225
There are 1000 right ways.
The way to check for conversion is with iodine. It stays black with starch or if its converted... I forget. Google iodine test.
But if you had the right temp and time, then it should be converted.
The way to check for conversion is with iodine. It stays black with starch or if its converted... I forget. Google iodine test.
But if you had the right temp and time, then it should be converted.
"the right way" really depends on the equipment you have available, how much time you have, and what efficiency you wish to achieve.
You will find lots of help in this forum, just ask.
For water minerals you just need a small amount of CACL and GYPSUM.
You can get some epson salts at any drug store, a little goes a long way. Seal them in mason jars and they will last a long time.
If you hit your number a little higher then adjust the efficiency up in the program. Your efficiency is unique to your system, ingredient source, and techniques. The higher your efficiency the cheaper the batch because you require less grains for the same resulting OG. Note that brewhouse or mash efficiency is not the same as conversion efficiency.
Similar threads
