Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

So I'm thinking of doing a 100% heavy peated single malt wash and as I want the filthiest smokiness possible I would like to ferment on the grain.
My grain bill will be 12.5kg Baird's Heavy Peated with 38l strike water.
I would like to end up with 40l in the boiler and as there will be 12.5kg of grain in the fermenter does that mean I need to fill the fermenter up to 52.5l to take into account for grain absobtion?

My keggles are 50l and I can only really mash to about 38l in total before things get too messy so with 12.5 kg of grain remaining that means that once I chuck it in the fermenter I can only rack off 25.5l into my still boiler.

If i wanted to aim for an OG of 1.072 would I mash for longer until my OG is sky high and then dilute it down with water to get a total of 52l in my fermenter? If so how can I work out what gravity to aim for before topping up to 52.5l?
Should I reduce some strike water to reach a higher gravity and then dilute it?
What's are my options guys?

Hi,

Are you using any brewing software? (beersmith or brewmate etc)

They have tools for calculating dilution amounts.

Yes if fermenting on the grain just dilute at the end with water, since you wont be sparging..heres a calculator that may help
https://www.brewersfriend.com/dilution-and-boiloff-gravity-calculator/

I honestly don't understand why you would ferment on the grain. Are you worried you can't mash and lauter properly?

bluc wrote:Yes if fermenting on the grain just dilute at the end with water, since you wont be sparging..heres a calculator that may help
https://www.brewersfriend.com/dilution-and-boiloff-gravity-calculator/

Thanks for the calculator, bluc! I ha dnt come across that one and it's exactly what I needed. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

pat_00 wrote:Hi,

Are you using any brewing software? (beersmith or brewmate etc)

They have tools for calculating dilution amounts.

I downloaded the paid version of beersmith some time ago and I couldn't make any sense of it. I finally worked out how to drive brewers friend since you post so thank you.

orcy wrote:I honestly don't understand why you would ferment on the grain. Are you worried you can't mash and lauter properly?

That's exactly what I was concerned about. The last mash was my first attempt in my system and it was a total flop but at least I now know where I went wrong.

My advice is keep trying you will get there. Fermenting on grain doesnt nessacarly mean more yield more so it changes the flavour. Worst case you can always makd a sugarhead from the failed attempts. What is your mashing setup.. :-B

bluc wrote:My advice is keep trying you will get there. Fermenting on grain doesnt nessacarly mean more yield more so it changes the flavour. Worst case you can always makd a sugarhead from the failed attempts. What is your mashing setup.. :-B

I've recently bought a secondhand 3 vessel herms set up using 3 50l kegs. Not sure how I can manage getting a 40l wash with a gravity of around 1.072-1.080 after I sparge, though. Hopefully it's capable of it otherwise I might need to get a bigger tun.

Why do you want such a high SG?

TasSpirits wrote:Why do you want such a high SG?

I've been reading that a lot of guys aim for a gravity around that area. What would you suggest I should aim for?

Mormash wrote:

TasSpirits wrote:Why do you want such a high SG?

I've been reading that a lot of guys aim for a gravity around that area. What would you suggest I should aim for?

You want around 1.065 after sparging at most IMO, quality over quantity. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

TasSpirits wrote:

Mormash wrote:

TasSpirits wrote:Why do you want such a high SG?

I've been reading that a lot of guys aim for a gravity around that area. What would you suggest I should aim for?

You want around 1.065 after sparging at most IMO, quality over quantity. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Ok ill aim for that and see how it goes. Is it possible to achieve that gravity in a 40l wash using a beer kegs without boiling the wort?

You want around 1.065 after sparging at most IMO, quality over quantity. :handgestures-thumbupleft:[/quote]

TasSpirits wrote:

Mormash wrote:

TasSpirits wrote:Why do you want such a high SG?

I've been reading that a lot of guys aim for a gravity around that area. What would you suggest I should aim for?

You want around 1.065 after sparging at most IMO, quality over quantity. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-+1: