Hi Some short comments.....
The 75 degree mash out is done in order to "kill" off all enzymes so the balance of fermentable sugers and other stuff remains fixed - in other words it is a control measure. We usually do it - but sometimes it is forgotten. No significant "sideeffects has been observed. The tempeture of the sparging water is mainly a question of easy dissolvent of sugar - however to hot water might extract bitter taste components from the husk of the grains - that is why it is recomenden to keep it below 80c. About "round" numbers. When I calculate recipies I also use "round" numbers - but not in grams. I calculate on the basis of percentage of fermantable suger in the wort. A method described in Ray Daniels excelent book "Designing great beers". So the actual gram numbers do look odd. Especially with very dark grains I try to be pretty precise, but not with the big numbers. (5123 or 5198 grams of Pale Ale malt - who cares ?, but 25 or 50 grams of choclate malt you really should care!) I think your Idea about using 5l bottles for a batch is really cool. I have been wanting to do the same myself for some time, I know Klaus has made a 4l brewing setup. The point is i _love_ to experiment, and experimenting with 25 liters at a time is a bit of a gamble.... Happy brewing ! - Martin
