Continuos Sparging

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BrewHogDeluxe

BrewHogDeluxe

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How does continuos sparging work? Do you do this with the initial water that you put in the mash tun or after you drain off your first wort into the boil kettle.
I will have a pump with the wort circulating through a coil in the HLT so that I will be able to maintain temps.

Another question...definitions please
Lauter, batch sparge, fly sparge...what are these and the difference?

Thank you in advance for any advice :D
 
Continous sparging is the same thing as fly sparging. You add your initial strike water, let the grains convert for ~60 minutes, and then you start sparging. With fly sparging you drain your mash tun slowly and add water from a separate hot liquor tank at about the same rate as you're draining the mash tun. With batch sparging you drain all of the initial strike water and then add another big batch of hot water all at once, and then drain that second batch of water (all drained in to the boil kettle).
 
Oh, and, lautering is the process of separating the liquid from the grains after you mash.
 
Commercial breweries tend to fly sparge. It's slightly more efficient and they need every ounce of sugar they can get. Batch sparging is almost as good and a lot easier for the average home brewer. I've had better efficiencies with a fly sparging setup consisting of a spaghetti strainer perched over the mash tun and some paper towels lining the strainer.
 
afr0byte said:
Continous sparging is the same thing as fly sparging. You add your initial strike water, let the grains convert for ~60 minutes, and then you start sparging. With fly sparging you drain your mash tun slowly and add water from a separate hot liquor tank at about the same rate as you're draining the mash tun. With batch sparging you drain all of the initial strike water and then add another big batch of hot water all at once, and then drain that second batch of water (all drained in to the boil kettle).
Click to expand...

So does this mean that you use mash out temperatures of say 170 F for instance with your sparging water that you are slowly trickling in on top of the mash? And I suppose you fly sparge until you get the correct volume in your boil kettle?
 
BrewHogDeluxe said:
So does this mean that you use mash out temperatures of say 170 F for instance with your sparging water that you are slowly trickling in on top of the mash? And I suppose you fly sparge until you get the correct volume in your boil kettle?
Click to expand...

Generally, you raise the temperature of the grainbed/mash to 170 first, either by direct heat or infusion or HERMS or RIMS to mashout temperatures of 168-170. Then you start sparging with 170 degree water.
 
Yooper said:
Generally, you raise the temperature of the grainbed/mash to 170 first, either by direct heat or infusion or HERMS or RIMS to mashout temperatures of 168-170. Then you start sparging with 170 degree water.
Click to expand...

Just so I have it straight....

Strike water of 150F (or so)
Circulate original strike water through coil in HLT to maintain 150F (or so) for 60 mins.
After 60 mins bring mash up to 170F by circulating through the coil in the HLT
Slowly start transferring to boil kettle at the same rate that the sparge water is coming in at until you have your boil kettle at the desired volume.

Does this sound like the right method?
Thank you for explaining it :D
 
BrewHogDeluxe said:
Just so I have it straight....

Strike water of 150F (or so)
Circulate original strike water through coil in HLT to maintain 150F (or so) for 60 mins.
After 60 mins bring mash up to 170F by circulating through the coil in the HLT
Slowly start transferring to boil kettle at the same rate that the sparge water is coming in at until you have your boil kettle at the desired volume.

Does this sound like the right method?
Thank you for explaining it :D
Click to expand...

Yep! The strike water probably needs to be at least 11 degrees warmer than the desired mash temperature, though. Preheat the mashtun, so you don't lose too much heat, and then the 11 degrees difference (assuming room temperature grain) should be ok.
 
Recirculating for 60 minutes is going to produce lipids. The beer will not age well. If you're going from boiler to belly in 4-6 weeks it won't matter. Sparge until yor pH rises to 6 or using gravity 1010-1012.
 
VladOfTrub said:
Recirculating for 60 minutes is going to produce lipids. The beer will not age well. If you're going from boiler to belly in 4-6 weeks it won't matter. Sparge until yor pH rises to 6 or using gravity 1010-1012.
Click to expand...

Many many brewers (including pro brewers) recirculate continuously- can you provide a link with the information that recirculating is harmful to the wort? Thanks!
 

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