mash temp calcs ?

[newToBrew]

so.. I usually try and hit 67 -68 degrees when I mash - and batch sparge at @ 72 ( think i originally got that from a homebrew company mash kit instructions  )

I have mashed at 64 once or twice in the beginning

I use a coleman cooler - it seems fairly good at holding the heat,
i think i recall either reading or from the homebrewcompanies demo  - that room temp grain drops the heat @ 4 degrees - although tbh I could have made that up and convinced myself i read/heard it

so I usually bring the strike water up to @ 74  - figuring that the transfer from kettle to tun will drop a few degrees(have no hose on the kettle tap ) and also adding the grain

anyway
now that i store the grain in a fairly cold attic - I'm guessing it wil bring temps down further &  i have it in my head that i'll brew tomorrow night but for various reasons wont get the grain down till tommorow

so...... 2 questions i guess -

1. in general what do you guys do  -

2. what do you aim for in degrees for your strike water - mash temps - ( prob changes based on beer type, pale ales , brown ales and stouts are my regulars now it seems

3. how much of a drop do you anticipate when adding the grain ?

4. how much do you reckon the drop will be for the cold attic stored grain ?

5. do people use an actual calculation ? i guess I could stick the thermo into the grain once i've weighed it out  and  get a rough figure for a calc if there is one

I lied - thats five questions !!!!

[Ciderhead]

Use beersmith, plug in your variables and it will work it all out for you, simples!

[newToBrew]

argh !!!!!
just downloaded the trial - I work in IT and last thing I want is to figure out another god damn app !!

just looking at the mash adjust tab and seeing qrts & franheight  is already givin me a head ache  !!!!
seriously John - Brewing is a tangible thing - one of the reasons I ask inane questions here is so I don't have to spend hours looking at the Laptop researching !!

Ah -  the App is probably worth using and figuring out, maybe for the next brew i'll figure it out -this time round i'll just wing it

thanks for the heads up   

[newToBrew]

edit - sorry for the rant ! - maybe now is a good time to create a "its wednesday what are you drinking post" !!!

- too much brewdog IPA and HB Pale Ale Sherry !!!

[Ciderhead]

I use the program not the app thats a watered down version
You specify metric or imperial
I plug in my grain temp
vol of mash tun, type of mash tun and it does it all for you
Ambient temp
Hop Bomb started using it as well anyj thoughts Hop Bomb?

[newToBrew]

ahem 

... dear John .....

please forgive my rant last night - I had a particularly bad day in work deploying servers & apps and when I looked at the brew App Last night - I had a figary

please accept my most humble and sincerest apologies - upon mature reflection this morning I realised that I sir  - am an arse !!

yours sincerely

.... the arse

[Hop Bomb]

Its fuck!n class! Once you get all your variables dialed in its bang on the money. Use the drop down box to select your style of beer you want to brew. Then google "beersmith.com + whatever beer you are doing" & chances are the guy from beersmith has written an article on it giving suggested % of grains etc. You can build your own recipe from there.

The most important thing is to calculate the deadspace in all your vessels plus calculate your evaporation rate & loss to trub in your FV. If you get those wrong you'll end up with 8 extra litres of wort like I did & that'll have a big impact on your OG & ABV. Its best to set up a new equipment profile for yourself & dial it all in there. Then save & only use that profile for brewing. There are videos showing how to do it on beersmith.com. 

It also helps to take the temp of your mash tun & adjust your strike water for that as the beersmith default temp is a little on the high side if you brew in the shed or outside. (I add 2[ch730]c to the beersmith calculation & i swish a kettle of boiling water around the mash tun - I hit my target mash temp bang on last brew doing that - its different for everyones set-up though)

Im no expert on it but Ive done 4 AG brews with it & Ive made all the mistakes. I got my volumes & temps perfect last brew so now I just need to get my mash right & hit my target OG. This weekend fingers crossed!

Thanks to Ciderhead for the help so far. I owe you a 6 pack at least 

[Ciderhead]

ahem 

... dear John .....

please forgive my rant last night - I had a particularly bad day in work deploying servers & apps and when I looked at the brew App Last night - I had a figary

please accept my most humble and sincerest apologies - upon mature reflection this morning I realised that I sir  - am an arse !!

yours sincerely

.... the arse

No Sweat we are all arses on this site so you are in good company!!