May be a dumb question but I have seen this referenced a few times how is this determined?
The amount of water in the mash divided by the amount of grain. Usually measured in quarts of water to pounds of grain.
PS. There are no dumb questions.
If you mean what ratio to use, it’s your choice. I’ve found that a higher ration increased my efficiency. These days I average about 1.65 qt./lb.
If you are asking what the appropriate thickness is, the answer is what works for you. I’m about 1.7 qt/lb. I used to be 1.4 qt/lb, but find I get an easier runoff without having to thin thin the mash ahead of time after my sacc rest.
I’m using around 1.6 -1.8 qts/lb nowadays for most beers, if that’s the question.
I’m usually around 2.4 qts/lb. last brew was only 1.051 OG so I could pull off 2.8 qts/lb. I like to mash as thin as I can for a few reasons.
1) mash overnight so the temp holds better
2) easy to stir and drain
3) small batch sparge = minimal tannin extraction possible
4) most of my water in the mash = I can push Ca, sulfate, and Cl up as high as I need to (my water is low in most things)
efficiency is still typically between 75% and 85% which is good enough for me.
Or liters to kg if your into the whole metric thing.
The plot thickens…
Do you add Mg?
I mash at between 1.25 and 1.4 quarts per pound. I continuous sparge.
And us BIABers mash much, much thinner than traditional mashes with no ill effects. It really doesn’t matter as long as you account for pH.
I do not. I had always heard the malt provided that.
eta: it’s old info but my water report said I had 3 ppm of Mg. Are you suggesting lack of Mg caused my slow ferm start? Are the requirements different when pitching a smaller number of cells? I have been using the “same” water for years now.
I just add Wyeast nutrient and dont really worry about the Mg
While I believe that culture itself was the reason for the slow start, adding Ca without adding Mg does not help when one is using soft water. Mg and Zn are the key metal ions in brewing. Mg impacts the rate of yeast cell division, sugar consumption, and ethanol production (Ca improves flocculation, but suppresses ethanol production). The problem with relying on malt as the sole source for Mg is that modern intensive farming practices have to led to crops with lower trace minerals (i.e., the amount of Mg found in malt does vary based on where and how it was grown). My current water supply is low in Mg, and the beers to which I do not add Mg take longer to ferment and finish higher. I add 1/4 tsp of Fermax per liter to my starter wort to make up for the lack of minerals in my water supply. I usually try to bump my brewing liquor up to around 10ppm (higher for some styles).
Here’s a link to a presentation that was made at NHC: http://www.ahaconference.org/wp-content/uploads/presentations/2009/Tobias-Fischborn-NHC2009-Yeast%20nutrition.pdf
While the entire presentation is very good, the slide entitled “Yeast nutrition potential problems for fermentation” provides a synopsis of nutritional problems.
how are you adding Mg?
MgSO4, or more commonly referred to as epsom salt.
MgSO4 (Epsom salt) or MgCl2
I don’t brew in a bag but I mash about as thin, usually 6 litres water per Kg (nearly 3 quarts per pound). I get about 82% efficiency. Mashing thick followed by a long sparge is a huge time-waster with no benefits. As you say, you need to control mash pH as the dilute mash has a higher pH untreated.
For those that do mash thin/have a high water to grain ratio have you noticed a difference in mouthfeel of the beer?..Compared to a thicker mash of course. When I do mash thinner I see a bit more effeciency but there seems to be a realationship between mash thickness and mouthfeel in the finished beer. To me it’s similar to diferences in mash temp. I know some feel it’s negligible but I feel it’s enough of a factor. Just wanted to see if anyone has compared a difference?
I haven’t noticed a difference, but in the absence of a blind tasting trial, feel free to disregard my biased and anecdotal report.
What I can say with confidence is that mashing thin simplifies and shortens my brew day. Bear in mind also that a dilute mash has less buffering capacity than a thick one so you need to take care with water chemistry to hit your target mash pH.
Charles what works for you is what its all about. I have done the same many times. Even tried a few no sparge batches. Just wondering if anyone noted a difference.