philm63
Grandmaster Brewer
Gonna do my pumpkin ale this weekend and was doing a final check on my BeerSmith numbers; and I noticed the volume for mash-in seemed a little high for the amount of grain, (the recipe includes 3 Lbs of canned pumpkin for the mash) so I took the weight of the pumpkin from 3 Lbs down to zero and my needed mash water dropped about a gallon.
Seeing as BS sees the pumpkin in the water-to-grain ratio calculation, I zeroed it to ensure I was getting the desired ratio for the grain (the stuff that will actually use the water during the mash) as I am going to be adding the pumpkin to a pan with some water to make it soupy, heat it to mash temp, and pour it in after I mash-in which will dilute the mash even more, albeit only a little.
I'm also throwing a pound of rice hulls into the tun to make for an uneventful sparge, and this, too, increased the water needed for mash-in by a small amount, so I zeroed that too seeing as they're use for filtration and shouldn't absorb much water, if any.
Seems the water-to-grain ratio calculator is tied to "<mass> of whatever goes in the tun". This will be my first all-grain pumpkin ale using canned pumpkin and rice hulls. I'm looking for a ratio of 1.3qt/Lb for the mash, and if I zero the weight of the pumpkin and rice hulls, BS will give me the water needed for the mash to hit that ratio - it looks right to me.
BUT - the tun will also contain a pound of rice hulls and 3 Lbs of canned pumpkin with enough water to make it soupy before tossing it in.
Should I;
A) Add enough water in the mash to account for the pound of rice hulls (about a quart)?
B) Subtract enough water from the mash to account for what I use in the "pumpkin mixture" (about a quart)?
C) Relax, don't worry, have a home-brew?
D) All of the above?
E) A and C?
F) B and C?
G) Let "A" and "B" cancel each other and go with "C"?
Seeing as BS sees the pumpkin in the water-to-grain ratio calculation, I zeroed it to ensure I was getting the desired ratio for the grain (the stuff that will actually use the water during the mash) as I am going to be adding the pumpkin to a pan with some water to make it soupy, heat it to mash temp, and pour it in after I mash-in which will dilute the mash even more, albeit only a little.
I'm also throwing a pound of rice hulls into the tun to make for an uneventful sparge, and this, too, increased the water needed for mash-in by a small amount, so I zeroed that too seeing as they're use for filtration and shouldn't absorb much water, if any.
Seems the water-to-grain ratio calculator is tied to "<mass> of whatever goes in the tun". This will be my first all-grain pumpkin ale using canned pumpkin and rice hulls. I'm looking for a ratio of 1.3qt/Lb for the mash, and if I zero the weight of the pumpkin and rice hulls, BS will give me the water needed for the mash to hit that ratio - it looks right to me.
BUT - the tun will also contain a pound of rice hulls and 3 Lbs of canned pumpkin with enough water to make it soupy before tossing it in.
Should I;
A) Add enough water in the mash to account for the pound of rice hulls (about a quart)?
B) Subtract enough water from the mash to account for what I use in the "pumpkin mixture" (about a quart)?
C) Relax, don't worry, have a home-brew?
D) All of the above?
E) A and C?
F) B and C?
G) Let "A" and "B" cancel each other and go with "C"?