Volumetric Concerns - Newbie

I have some basic volume concerns:

To preface my post and provide context "I'm a newbie" and this is my first time using any brewing software and only my 2nd all grain batch.  I had some “Issues” on the first batch so I’m now seeking the help of Beersmith and its legion of followers.

Sooo.

I plan on brewing up a 5 gallon batch of IPA with about a 15 lbs grain bill.

The details:

Batch Size: 5.00 gal and Boil Size: 6.82 gal

Mash In: 3.88 gal H20 @ 173.3 F – 60 minutes
Mash Out: 2.33 gal H20 @ 197.4 F – 10 minutes
Batch Sparge Round 1: Sparge with 3.81 gal @ 168 F

Sooo. My total mash & sparge volume is 10.02 gallons of which some will stay in the grain 10.02 - 6.82 = 3.2 gal remaining in the grain. I guess this is about right?

Kicker: Using the “Boil Off” calculator with a starting volume of 6.82 gallons for 60 minutes my final volume is 5.96 gallons.  What happened to 5 gallons?

Is this correct and I will end up with 5 gallons of bottled/kegged beer once it’s finally been racked from primary and pulled from the secondary?  This relates to my first all grain beer “issue” where I ended up with 7 gallons of wort for a 6 gallon batch, after a 75 minute boil, and an OG that was low.

Also, I think I got the recipe attached if anyone really wants the details.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance!

Cheers, Joe

sickbrew said:

To preface my post and provide context "I'm a newbie" and this is my first time using any brewing software and only my 2nd all grain batch.  I had some “Issues” on the first batch so I’m now seeking the help of Beersmith and its legion of followers.

Click to expand...

We were all NEWBIE's at one time. Welcome to the forum! BTW, Great Name for this beer!

Sooo. My total mash & sparge volume is 10.02 gallons of which some will stay in the grain 10.02 - 6.82 = 3.2 gal remaining in the grain. I guess this is about right?

Click to expand...

Actually the math should be 15.5lb grain X .125(Grain Absorption) =1.93 Gal (Absorbed by the grain), Then 10.02 (Per your equipment settings) - 1.93=8.09 Gal. Next part is very dependent on your equipment setup and you should read http://www.beersmith.com/equipment_setup.htm to get a base setting for your equipment. Per your equipment settings, 2.62 gallons will be lost to Deadspace, Trub, boil, and cooling. Which leaves you with 5.47Gal to transfer to primary, IMO is acceptable. I would hazard a guess that it will be closer to 5 Gal than 5.5.

Is this correct and I will end up with 5 gallons of bottled/kegged beer once it’s finally been racked from primary and pulled from the secondary?

Click to expand...

No. I always set my batch size to 5.5 that way I have 5 gal to put into bottles/keg. There will be some loss when transferring from primary and secondary.

This relates to my first all grain beer “issue” where I ended up with 7 gallons of wort for a 6 gallon batch, after a 75 minute boil, and an OG that was low.

Click to expand...

I would need to see the recipe to help. You know what they say "The devil is in the details"

Cheers
Preston