Sparging: hit water targets before target sugar extraction

Hi All! I've been extract brewing for quite a while (10+ years), but took the leap to all-grain about a month ago. Been absolutely loving it, but have been having some issues with efficiency.

I have found tons of advice on the topic of efficiency and I'm on my way to improving through several methods, but I have a question on a specific example.

I was brewing yesterday and ended up with a stuck sparge (I cracked the grain too finely trying to improve efficiency). I was eventually able to recover and move on, but ultimately ended up with about 10 gallons of wort (my target was 6.25) and my running were still coming in at 1.018 (not my target of 1.008). FYI was batch sparging.

My final boil missed my target of 1.084 and instead hit I 1.072. No big deal, I'm sure it will still turn out fine, but I couldn't help but wonder if I could have taken the last gallon or 2 of runnings and recirculated them 3 or 4 times through the grain bed to extract more sugars. Then test again with plain sparge water to see if I hit my 1.008 target. I know could have just checked to see if I hit my pre-boil SG target, but bear with my circumstance of having WAY too much water in different kettles

I know I'm not solving my root problem... I will still work on that. But I'm curious if this workaround would have been viable. I ended up boiling for 4 hours to reduce my wort down to 7 gallons which I believe is going to sweeten things a bit, but oh well

If you need to know specifics I was using 16 lbs of grain and came up with the following on a beer calculator:
Runoff Volume (gal) 8.45 gallons
Total Water Needed (gal) 11.01 gallons
Mash/Strike Volume (gal) 6.25 gallons
1st Runnings (gal) 3.85 gallons
Sparge Volume (gal) 4.76 gallons
Strike Temperature 161°


Thanks in advance!!!

Jay

Why do you think you should have a "target" of 1.008? That really isn't a thing for batch sparging.

As to your question, no - recirculating part of a batch sparge won't increase your efficiency - assuming you stirring the batch sparge step well to begin with. The theory of batch sparging is that you add the sparge water and stir until the sugar content equalizes everywhere. Once that point is reach, you literally can't extract any more sugar from the grain because the sugar content of the water is the same as the sugar content of the grain.

For future batches, I suggest you just use the correct amount of water. Keep some DME on hand in case you don't hit the gravity target. Keep good notes and calculate your efficiency. Use that efficiency number to calculate your next recipe. Remember, the end goal is consistency (and consistently good beer!) It is almost impossible to develop consistency if you are monkeying with water volumes and making multiple process adjustments from batch to batch.

hatterdude said:

If you need to know specifics I was using 16 lbs of grain and came up with the following on a beer calculator:
Runoff Volume (gal) 8.45 gallons
Total Water Needed (gal) 11.01 gallons
Mash/Strike Volume (gal) 6.25 gallons
1st Runnings (gal) 3.85 gallons
Sparge Volume (gal) 4.76 gallons
Strike Temperature 161°


Thanks in advance!!!

Jay

Click to expand...

To absolutely maximize efficiency, you could sparge way more and boil way more- but most homebrewers simply sparge up to their boil volume. Any savings you have by squeezing every bit of sugar from the grain will be eaten up by fuel consumption, so it's a good trade-off.

Instead of calculating it all out- think of it this way. Mash in with 1.25-1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain, and then sparge up to your boil volume. It's much easier, and less time consuming, and you will get efficiencies into the low 80s once you nail down your system.

In the case you gave, 16 pounds of grain at 1.5 quarts/pound is 24 quarts. That's 6 gallons.

The grain tends to absorb .125 gallons/pound in the mash and that should be two gallons or so, so your runnings should be +/- 4 gallons. Measure them the first few times so you know what your system generally does.

If you want to start your boil with 7 gallons, then you'd need 3 gallons to sparge. Most people boil off 1-1.5 gallons per hour, but that is dependent on many factors like the strength of your burner and your climate. You may find that you boil off 1.25 gallons per hour, so want to start at 6.5 gallons in the kettle so you end up with a bit more than 5 gallons.

I have a big long spoon that I etched with the gallon markings, and then stick it in my boil kettle to measure how much wort I have. Many people use a dowel or a stick, or have a sight glass. It all works!

Why on earth your calculator told you to have those huge amounts, I cannot say. But you can definitely simplify your life and your brewdays with a tiny bit of simple math.

Yooper said:

To absolutely maximize efficiency, you could sparge way more and boil way more- but most homebrewers simply sparge up to their boil volume. Any savings you have by squeezing every bit of sugar from the grain will be eaten up by fuel consumption, so it's a good trade-off.

Instead of calculating it all out- think of it this way. Mash in with 1.25-1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain, and then sparge up to your boil volume. It's much easier, and less time consuming, and you will get efficiencies into the low 80s once you nail down your system.

In the case you gave, 16 pounds of grain at 1.5 quarts/pound is 24 quarts. That's 6 gallons.

The grain tends to absorb .125 gallons/pound in the mash and that should be two gallons or so, so your runnings should be +/- 4 gallons. Measure them the first few times so you know what your system generally does.

If you want to start your boil with 7 gallons, then you'd need 3 gallons to sparge. Most people boil off 1-1.5 gallons per hour, but that is dependent on many factors like the strength of your burner and your climate. You may find that you boil off 1.25 gallons per hour, so want to start at 6.5 gallons in the kettle so you end up with a bit more than 5 gallons.

I have a big long spoon that I etched with the gallon markings, and then stick it in my boil kettle to measure how much wort I have. Many people use a dowel or a stick, or have a sight glass. It all works!

Why on earth your calculator told you to have those huge amounts, I cannot say. But you can definitely simplify your life and your brewdays with a tiny bit of simple math.

Click to expand...

Thanks very much for your response! Sounds like I have to start taking better notes of my process to get a better idea of things like evaporation times, etc. I also purchased a new mill (was using the corona style one) which I think will help me have more consistent/measurable results.

I used the calculator from the brewgr website, but will follow your guidance for the next batch!

Cheers!
Jay

billl said:

Why do you think you should have a "target" of 1.008? That really isn't a thing for batch sparging.

As to your question, no - recirculating part of a batch sparge won't increase your efficiency - assuming you stirring the batch sparge step well to begin with. The theory of batch sparging is that you add the sparge water and stir until the sugar content equalizes everywhere. Once that point is reach, you literally can't extract any more sugar from the grain because the sugar content of the water is the same as the sugar content of the grain.

For future batches, I suggest you just use the correct amount of water. Keep some DME on hand in case you don't hit the gravity target. Keep good notes and calculate your efficiency. Use that efficiency number to calculate your next recipe. Remember, the end goal is consistency (and consistently good beer!) It is almost impossible to develop consistency if you are monkeying with water volumes and making multiple process adjustments from batch to batch.

Click to expand...

Thanks Bill. Interesting point about not aiming for 1.008. Leaves me wondering if I'm gathering information from too many sources and confusing myself. I'll have some DME on hand for the next round. Thanks again for your two cents!

Cheers,
Jay