I am an all grain brewer and have brewed about 10 all grain batches. For about the last 5 batches I have used distilled water and added salts to get my desired water profile. I batch sparge but have recently switched to no-sparge brewing because of off flavors (A harsh aftertaste that only seems to happen when I batch sparge). When I no-sparge brew I get no off flavors of any kind, but my efficiency sucks. Actually my efficiency sucks if I batch sparge or no-sparge. I cannot figure out why my efficiency is so horrible.
I recently switched from a steel braid to a copper manifold, but that did not seem to make it better, according to the batch I brewed today. I brewed Edworts hefe and I increased the wheat malt by 1 lbs and the pilsner by about a half a lbs to compensate for the no-sparge and bad efficiency and I still had to add some DME to get it to 1.050, I would have been about 1.45 without it. I did a 90 minute boil and started off with a little over 6.5 gallons and ended up with only about 4 to 4.5 gallons.
I bought a new thermometer and calibrated it so I believe my temps are ok. I do not weight out the brewing slats, I use teaspoons to measure out the amount I need. I really cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. Can anyone please give me some pointers or ideas as to how to improve my efficiency. Should I fly sparge, or go back to batch sparging? As a side question, does anyone else notice a harsh off flavor, or aftertaste when they batch sparge? I have gotten it everytime, and have narrowed it down to sparging. When I no-sparge I get no off/harsh flavors.
Thanks in advance
I recently switched from a steel braid to a copper manifold, but that did not seem to make it better, according to the batch I brewed today. I brewed Edworts hefe and I increased the wheat malt by 1 lbs and the pilsner by about a half a lbs to compensate for the no-sparge and bad efficiency and I still had to add some DME to get it to 1.050, I would have been about 1.45 without it. I did a 90 minute boil and started off with a little over 6.5 gallons and ended up with only about 4 to 4.5 gallons.
I bought a new thermometer and calibrated it so I believe my temps are ok. I do not weight out the brewing slats, I use teaspoons to measure out the amount I need. I really cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. Can anyone please give me some pointers or ideas as to how to improve my efficiency. Should I fly sparge, or go back to batch sparging? As a side question, does anyone else notice a harsh off flavor, or aftertaste when they batch sparge? I have gotten it everytime, and have narrowed it down to sparging. When I no-sparge I get no off/harsh flavors.
Thanks in advance