Session IPA Mash In

[UpsetsBrewing]

We know to keep your quarts of water to grain weight around 1.25/1 but when making a session IPA with around 9 lbs of grain should I change that ratio when mashing in or just keep the same ratio and add sparge to make up the difference?

 

[nickbrew]

I had great results with this, just adjusting grain bill and hops using this guide:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=6844015#post6844015

Still medium-bodied, great color and final abv will be around 4.4%; exactly where I wanted for a sessionable IPA.

In terms of mash in and sparge volume I still did a 1.25q/lb ratio and my calculated sparge volume to hit pre-boil volume as normal.

At first I thought about just scaling down the total number of grains to get that OG down from my standard IPA but I have found it to be a bit watery and thin. Adjusting by decreasing base malts and maintaining specialty malts was a big help, and the rest of the brew process just continued as usual.

 

[UpsetsBrewing]

Thanks a ton.

 

[peterj]

I don't think mash water ratio really matters that much. I usually shoot for around 1.5 qt/lb. But people who do full volume BIAB can end up at around 2.5 - 3 qt/lb. I've never noticed any change when I've mashed at a lower ratio vs a higher ratio. So I would just go with whatever is most convenient for you.

 

[gregkeller]

I even have taken to upping the body malts slightly. I want my session IPA's to finish in the 1.012-14 range, so I'll play with lighter crystals to get it there. I really don't like these session IPA's that have no body to them. I kinda want to make a beer that tastes like a standard gravity IPA but is only 3.5-4.5 ABV. the lower the abv, the higher i push the unfermentable stuff.

As for mash thickness, i've taken to doing a modified no sparge brew for almost all beers under 1.050. I usually will mash in around 2.0-2.5 qts/lb or whatever will let me hold onto around 2.5 gallons of water. and I'll use that 2.5 gallons to do a mashout. That will usually bring the mash temp up into the 165-168 range, help dissolve a few more sugars and bring the efficiency up a little bit. I really like doing it this way for smaller beers. Saves some time of only having to do one runoff, and I can just boil the 2.5 gallons on my stovetop in a 12 quart pasta pot.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

We know to keep your quarts of water to grain weight around 1.25/1 but when making a session IPA with around 9 lbs of grain should I change that ratio when mashing in or just keep the same ratio and add sparge to make up the difference?

We do? Not sure the we of which you refer.

I'm all over the place. on big beers I try to get around half of my wort from the first running and sparge to get the rest of the volume. Grist ratio is not set in stone and there is no major single cure.

 

[Falcon3]

I generally don't keep my ratio to anything. It's really the crush and ph that will get your efficiency consistent. I usually just calc the mash water so I can sparge with 5g so the spare water covers my herms coil. No problems with consistency or conversion yet.


Some of my small beers I even do single infusion no sparge to keep things simple. Always makes tasty beer.

 

[bigdongsr94]

The purpose of ratio is for pH considerations. When I build a recipe I use Bruin water can see how the ratios I want to affect pH. It's not the only consideration, but I just the ratio to something that I want and try to add as least amount of additives to the water while still hitting my profile.

 

[MEPNew2Brew]

I moved from 1.25 to 1.5 to try to address some sparging issues. I have kept it at 1.5 because my mash temp holds better with more more water.

 

[UpsetsBrewing]

Thanks to all of you for the insight. I will be trying this recipe in the near future and will fill you in on how the wort came out. We're trying an out of season American Stout Saturday but a session sounds a lot more appetizing in these already steamy afternoons here in South Louisiana. Cheers!