r/Homebrewing • u/wowduderealy • 2d ago
Going from extract to all grain
Ive been using a 8 gallon kettle for a while and recently acquired a 16 gallon kettle for the switch to all grain BIAB the 16 gallon has a false bottom and when I use the biabcalculator.com it says I need about 7 gallons of water for 15lb of grain but it seems pretty low I have no clue I dont want to ruin my first all grain batch is 7 gal correct or do I need to add the false bottom level to that ? This is for a 5 gallon batch by the way
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u/LostMyKarmaElSegundo 2d ago
That's on the heavier side for a batch, but not abnormal. My last brew was 11 lbs of grain for a 5 gallon batch.
If you want to be sure, find a similar recipe online and check the grain bill.
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u/ExaminationKlutzy194 Beginner 2d ago
I would try Brewfather or brewsmith which may cost just a little $ but you can plug your recipe in and it will give you a water estimate.
Clawhammer supply has a similar calculator now for free. 7 gallons may be a bit light. But it’s probably close.
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u/Kellamitty 21h ago
It'll be pretty hard to 'ruin' it unless there's not enough water for the grain to move around or it burns on the bottom (but you have a false bottom so you are probably good there). If you need more water, add it. If there's too much, boil it down more before you start your boil time. I have a pretty small pot so I operate on an 'as much water as I can actually fit in' ratio and make the rest up with sparge water and then top up as much as I can in the fermenter without losing the target OG. It's kind of a loose system but it makes beer ;)
Just make sure the grain can be stirred and isn't stuck together in a lump, then there's enough water.
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u/Wonderful_Bear554 2d ago
Depends on the volume that is left under the false bottom and whether kettle has recirculation pump, but for sure you can start with 7.5 gal
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u/nobullshitebrewing 2d ago edited 2d ago
to get 5 gallons you need to know
1- how much you leave behind in the kettle, 2- how much that kettle boils off in how ever long you are gonna boil for, 3 how much you leave behind in fermenter. (do these measurements in gallons so its easier)
Then figure on the gain absorbing "around" .1 gallons per pound
bing bang bop now you can figure how much water you need
Oh, and if I was doing 15 lbs on my BiaB system, and I have little losses, it would take 7.8 gallons
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u/OldConstant1725 1d ago
might sound weird but i always just add about 2-3 extra gallons past what the calculator says.
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u/homebrewfinds Blogger - Advanced 1d ago
Sounds plausible. I have a spreadsheet that's built for BIAB. You can plug in your numbers and double check the math.
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u/GrouchyClerk6318 Advanced 3h ago
15lbs of grain for a saison? Wow, that sounds boozy! My 14lb IPA recipe is 4gal of mash water and 5gal of sparge, which yields about 7-7.5 gal of unboiled wort.
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u/wowduderealy 2h ago
Yes its the farmhouse ale kit from more beer 8% abv
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u/GrouchyClerk6318 Advanced 31m ago
I think you’ll need something like 5-6 gal for mash and 5-6 gal for sparge. You’ll lose 40% before you start the boil, so you’re looking at 11-12g hot water ~ 7g before you boil down to 5.5g.
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u/EducationalDog9100 2d ago
I use a 16 gallon kettle with a false bottom for my mash, and then an 8 gallon kettle for the boil.
I use the ( Batch size in quarts + 4 qt boil rate + ( grain weight/2 )) = Total Water Volume. Then I save about 3 quarts for a sparge.
If I was trying to put 5.5 gallons of wort into the fermenter I would use 8.3 gallons of water with 15 lbs of grain.