Partial Mash - Do I need to sparge twice?

About to start a partial mash. 3.75 lbs of grain, and 6 lbs of LME.

I plan on mashing with ~ 5 quarts water (1.33 qt/lb ratio).

I have read that many people sparge with about 0.5 gal water per pound of grain.. this would only be 2 gallons of water for me.

Can I just sparge my 3.75 lbs of grain in 5 gallons of water so that I end up with my pre-boil volume? Or does that risk doing bad things, and should I instead sparge my 3.75 lbs of grain twice in smaller amounts of water?

I think I could also just sparge in 2 gallons of water, I'll have about 1 gallon from the mash, and then top-off with 3 gallons before the full boil, but I want the best flavor and extraction possible which I'm guessing requires more sparging.

Thanks!

You can sparge with sufficient water to bring the total volume up to your pre-boil volume. That is a lot of ladling though. If you sparge with the same volume as your mash in water you will see the color fade from your grains. Take a hydometer sample at this point for conversion SG and taste the wort. Sweet and sticky with the starches converted to sugar. A half gallon per pound of grain would be enough extra security for removing all of the sugars. Make sure your sparge water does not exceed 170° or you will extact tannins from the grain hulls.

unionrdr said:

So if sparge water amount equals mash water amount you're saying the color will be lighter?

Click to expand...

I meant the color will have faded from the spent grains for a visual indication the good stuff has been sparged out. Thanks for the post. It did look a little confusing.

I'm a two timer guy using around 2 gal of water for both depending on how much grain i got.

I don't subscribe to the idea that sparging with hotter then 170 extracts tannins. I won't debate anyone about it either...because all my experience is anecdotal and comes from brewing and speaking with professional brewers...

But ultimately, if we BOIL wort in a decoction and it doesn't extract tannins, to me, that means the tannin extraction is a factor of PH, not temperature.

unionrdr said:

I was beginning to wonder about that myself after seeing it on brewing tv. Must be a factor of water volume & ph?...

Click to expand...

I think, the way I understand it anyway..I don't want to hold myself out as an expert....that tannins are related to PH and PH is affected by sparge volume...but I think unless you sparge in 3 or more batches...and you batch sparge..you're safe. If you fly sparge, you can extract tannins by oversparging...

Here's a great post by Yooper about it:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/over-sparging-373951/#post4678796