batch sparging times

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lokiua4

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alright here is the deal.i am seriously contemplating moving on to AG brewing and have decided that i want to batch sparge vs fly sparging.i have read a ton and watched videos on doing this and pretty much get it.step your grains for 1hr or so then add your first batch of sparge water to that ,mix and let it sit for 10 min or so.reciculate and then do your first run off.then add your second batch of water,mix well,but now here is my question.evreywhere i have looked nobody says how long they let it sit befor the second run off?other than that question i am doing this correct right?
 
There is a diversity of practices. Some let the grain sit in the sparge water, as you suggest, for both sparges. Others drain the wort out right away after adding the sparge water. I tend towards draining more quickly.
 
IMHO, it is more critical to thoroughly stir in the sparge water to fully rinse the grain bed, than letting the mash sit for a prescribed period of time.
 
What I've eventually settled on with batch sparging is roughly this:

  • Add strike water into your mash tun, if a cooler, add ~10F hotter than your target strike temp. It is easier to allow the cooler/tun to cool off a few degrees than to add hot water and screw the volume up.
  • Once the water in your mashtun is at strike temp, dough in, stir for a few minutes to get it all mixed in, then cover and wait.
  • Stir a few times during the mash period.
  • At 60 min, I usually add some redetermined about of boiling water for mash-out, in an attemt to get the mash up to about 170F.
  • I'll wait 10 min, vorlauf, then drain into my boil kettle.
  • Once completely drained, I'll measure the volume of liquid in my kettle. The difference between that and my target boil volume will be added into the mash tun at about 170-175F for sparge.
  • I'll stir that again, wait a few minutes, then drain completely into the kettle.

Your mileage may vary! :)
 
IMHO, it is more critical to thoroughly stir in the sparge water to fully rinse the grain bed, than letting the mash sit for a prescribed period of time.
I'll firmly agree with this. Stir until you're tired of stirring. Then once you've vorlaufed until your runnings are clear, the sparge water's been there more than long enough, so drain away.
 
What I've eventually settled on with batch sparging is roughly this:

  • Add strike water into your mash tun, if a cooler, add ~10F hotter than your target strike temp. It is easier to allow the cooler/tun to cool off a few degrees than to add hot water and screw the volume up.
  • Once the water in your mashtun is at strike temp, dough in, stir for a few minutes to get it all mixed in, then cover and wait.
  • Stir a few times during the mash period.
  • At 60 min, I usually add some redetermined about of boiling water for mash-out, in an attemt to get the mash up to about 170F.
  • I'll wait 10 min, vorlauf, then drain into my boil kettle.
  • Once completely drained, I'll measure the volume of liquid in my kettle. The difference between that and my target boil volume will be added into the mash tun at about 170-175F for sparge.
  • I'll stir that again, wait a few minutes, then drain completely into the kettle.

Your mileage may vary! :)
and you dont have to worry about wort loss to grain because it is already saturated, correct?
edit: how do you measure your hot sparge water?
 
My system is a little less complicated. When my mash time is over I stir the mash check temp and take first runnings. I then add half my sparge water at 180 degrees stir for 2 minutes and drain. Then add the second half now closer to 170 degrees stir for 2 minutes and drain. l vorlauf each time. Gets me to about 75-78% efficiency.
 
Add strike water, stir well. wait til conversion is done (I find I can reach conversion in 30 min, but usually let it go longer to do other tasks), vorlauf and runoff.

Add strike water, stir, let sit 5-10 min to set grainbed, vorlauf and runoff.

No need for 3 water additions, IMO. 2 is sufficient.

FWIW I average 80-90% eff. In full disclosure I actually recirc for 10-15 min vs. vorlauf- the joys of a pump!
 
I have considered dropping the second addition and will probably give it a try on the next batch.

Add strike water, stir well. wait til conversion is done (I find I can reach conversion in 30 min, but usually let it go longer to do other tasks), vorlauf and runoff.

Add strike water, stir, let sit 5-10 min to set grainbed, vorlauf and runoff.

No need for 3 water additions, IMO. 2 is sufficient.

FWIW I average 80-90% eff. In full disclosure I actually recirc for 10-15 min vs. vorlauf- the joys of a pump!
 
alright here is the deal.i am seriously contemplating moving on to AG brewing and have decided that i want to batch sparge vs fly sparging.i have read a ton and watched videos on doing this and pretty much get it.step your grains for 1hr or so then add your first batch of sparge water to that ,mix and let it sit for 10 min or so.reciculate and then do your first run off.then add your second batch of water,mix well,but now here is my question.evreywhere i have looked nobody says how long they let it sit befor the second run off?other than that question i am doing this correct right?

See www.dennybrew.com for techniques and equipment
 
See www.dennybrew.com for techniques and equipment

Denny,

Thanks for making AG seem so approachable. I just got into it thanks in part to your site and your posts on this and other forums. Previously I had thought AG would be a much larger investment, but you can start out very cheaply when doing batch sparging. I'm looking forward to my second AG batch later this month. First batch went smoothly, but efficiency was much lower than I expected. Hoping I can hit the 60s (and more importantly the expected gravity) with the next one.
 
Thanks for the reply Denny. So far the homebrew shops have been doing my crushing (NB last time and AHS this time), but another homebrewer in town has a mill that I might be able to use.
 
After the mash, measure how much runoff you got. Subtract that from your total boil volume. The number you get is how much sparge water to use. Heat that water to 185-190F. Stir it in, vorluaf, and runoff. There is nothing to be gained by letting the sparge water sit before vorlauf and runoff.
 
After the mash, measure how much runoff you got. Subtract that from your total boil volume. The number you get is how much sparge water to use. Heat that water to 185-190F. Stir it in, vorluaf, and runoff. There is nothing to be gained by letting the sparge water sit before vorlauf and runoff.

it will take 10-15 minutes to heat the water, will that be a problem?
 
I measure all my water for brewing using the graduation marks on the sight glass of my HLT. They were done at room temperature water, so technically when the HLT is hot, my measurements will be off, but I'm OK with that. It's better than nothing.
 
I measure all my water for brewing using the graduation marks on the sight glass of my HLT. They were done at room temperature water, so technically when the HLT is hot, my measurements will be off, but I'm OK with that. It's better than nothing.

yea, I planned on using my boilermaker as a HLT for the mash then using my old 8 gal pot as the HLT for the sparge
 
Nope. Resting is OK is you want to do it, but there's nothing to be gained from it, either.

yeah, im thinking about using my blichmann as my HLT through out the mash and sparge. I will just drain my first running's into my bottling bucket that has volume indications on the side. Then I will use my site glass to make two equal batch sparges
 
Or take a spoon/whatever and mark out each gallon w/ a permanent marker. I'll get a sight glass eventually, but it's worked just fine for me so far. :)

it would also help to be able to use the valve to xfer the water. I think i will just use my blichmann as a HLT and then collect my first runnings in a bucket
 
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