With drought an ongoing issue here in the Southland - how can home brewers do their part while still being water efficient?
In case you hadn't noticed - this is the third very mild (and currently freakishly warm) winter in a row for LA. With the warmth comes a decided lack of rain. Now, this in and of itself wouldn't be a bad thing except that the drought like conditions have extended all the way to other parts of the state that provide a large amount of our water. The Northern California snow melt that normally fills reservoirs and aqueduct is at 20% it's normal levels.
Mashing out. Lots of homebrewers don't do it; all homebrewer's should. Why? Many reasons. First of all, raise your hand if you have ever had a stuck sparge? One of the key benefits to mashing out is lowering the viscosity of the liquid inside your mash tun. In other works, thinning it. This is especially important if you are using lots of non-barley grains such as wheat or rye (or pretzels). Also, many brewers tend to mash at a 1 quart per pound of grain ratio. Which, if not hot enough, could stick. Better put, is more likely to stick.
