I hope you enjoy this second installment to The BrewCam Project.
I've gotten a couple questions regarding why I only bother to collect 10 gallons then top up with fresh water for boil off instead of just collecting 11.5 - 12 gallons from the mashtun.
My reasoning is: At 10 gallons, I have the volume I want and my Origonal Gravity is close enough to whatever the recipe called for it to be. However, the gravity of what is coming out of the mashtun after 10 gallons is beginning to fall pretty low.
I figure, why risk pulling tannins and other nappies from the grain trying to squeeze it for every last drop of it's sugars.
By just stopping at 10 gallons, the volume I want to finish with, the wort's gravity coming from the mashtun is still well above the tannin extraction point.
I can honestly tell you that, by changing to this technique, my beers have actually improved.