Single Kettle AG Brewing

JBStith · 03-21-2009, 09:16 PM

Basicially, I want to dual purpose my 10g kettle as both an HTL and boil kettle. Let me see if I can adequately describe what I want to try, and see if anyone has tried it before, or if this idea just really sucks.

Not getting into much detail, I want to scale down some equip and use a single kettle and burner as an HLT/Boil kettle while using my pump to recirculate "sparge" water from the proposed HLT/Boil up to the MLT, and then gravity feed the sparge runnings from the MLT back down to the HLT/Boil. Essentially, I would be continuously "fly" sparging (after mashing is complete) using the pump, then feeding back into the HLT/Boil.

The basic idea is that eventually the entire system will consist of wort equal in SG and I would finish with the exact right amount of total runnings (with a bit of luck). I could foresee using the HLT/Boil to step mash (though I admit this would probably not be the most efficient way to accomplish this). And this would eliminate the need to have a second kettle and burner for fly sparging. And having said all of this, I have no intention of batch sparging because I just don't like batch sparging.

Any thoughts...good or bad?

The Pol · 03-21-2009, 09:35 PM

It is doable, but Id imagine pretty miserable efficiency. You can do the Aussie "Brew In A Bag" system and accomplish the same thing with ONE vessel... though you need a 15 gallon vessel.

Also, FWIW, this is a batch sparge... for all intents and purposes. You arent really rinsing the grains... Id liken it to draining the soapy water from a washing machine... it isnt really going to get the soap out of the clothes, and this isnt going to get the sugars out of the grist very well.

JBStith · 03-21-2009, 10:47 PM

Poor efficiency definitely crossed my mind. I've worked too hard to get to where I am now to take a hit in that department.

I've seen the BIB before, but it really doesn't interest me.

Thanks for the input. Just trying to think of ways to get rid some equipment without sacrificing in other departments.

**Bobby_M** · 03-22-2009, 12:14 AM

You're basically describing the Brutus 20 design. It's not sparging unless you're adding zero gravity water and extracting higher gravity wort. You can do single kettle brewing as long as you batch sparge and collect wort in a bucket temporarily until you dump out the last of your sparge water. I did that probably 10 batches and it works fine.