Batch Sparging

I did my first AG this weekend. All went well although I only got about 4.5 gallons instead of 5. I didn't top it off with water because my starting gravity was on.

A couple questions on batch sparging:

Is it worth mashing out when batch sparging? (I added hot water to bring the temp up to 168 for the last 10 minutes of the mash but realized that is the same temp as my sparge)

How long do you let the batch sparge cook and is 2 short sparges better than 1 long sparge?

At what point do you need to worry about tannins?

Thanks all!

Some don't bother with a mash-out when batch sparging, but if you can handle the extra water it is a really good idea. First, sugars dissolve more readily in the warmer water, so you will extract a bit more from your mash and potentially increase your efficiency a few points. Second, the warmer water thins the mash and makes for easier recirculation and lautering.

I posted a recent thread on two vs. one batch sparge. Doesn't really matter much. One is easier, so that is what I shoot for.

For batch sparging, tannin extraction isn't really a concern unless you are using a lot of sparge water. It is much harder for batch spargers to reach the high pH in the mash the fly spargers do.

Thanks,

How long do you let the sparge soak? I let it go for about 20 min.

I let mine set 10 minutes and all went well.

I usually do 2x10 minute and get around 75-80 eff.

i always do two batch sparges, because i'm using a 5 gallon cooler, and have to do two sparges to reach 6gallons for boil. i let the first sparge sit for ten minutes, varlouf, then drain into the kettle, then the second sparge, i just pour it in, stir, and immedieatly let it out into the kettle. works fine for every brew.


brian

First, you don't need to let a batch sparge sit at all. Pour it in, stir it for 2 minutes, vorlauf and drain. That's my method anyway and I'm hitting 80-86% efficiency. I tried it just for the heck of it one batch and efficiency was not affected at all.

From my empirical perspective, a mash out plus two sparges yields the highest efficiency. Here are some combinations I've tried and recorded:

No mash out, single sparge = 75%
Mash out, single sparge = 80%
Mash out, double sparge = 86%

No mash out, single sparge = 75%
Mash out, single sparge = 80%
Mash out, double sparge = 86%[/QUOTE]

Interesting. Thanks for posting! Will you help clarify for me:

On the double sparge, I take it other than recirculating the vorlauf for clarification, you sparge with fresh sparge water the 2nd sparge?

When double sparging, does each sparge have less water than you would use if you were only doing 1 sparge? Is it half of what you would use for single sparge?

Do you build in the extra, 2nd sparge water volume gain for your total boil volume, and reduce a little water in the mash to account for this 2nd sparge and hit your boil volume target?

Thanks for any help on these basic questions. I'm gearing up for all-grain in the very near future and I liked your "real-world" data above.

Let me see if I can expand on my current process.

Assume 12lbs grain, 3.5 gallons infusion (the rate would be like 1.16 qt/lb). I like to round off my infusions to the .25 gallon marks as long as it's between 1-1.3 qts/lb.

Beertools tells me after the mash, I have 2.13gallons first runnings available. I want 7.75 gallons preboil. 7.75 - 2.13 = 5.62 gallons that I have to infuse between mash out and two sparge rounds. It would be nice to have all 3 separations about equal, but I'm more concerned with reaching a high mash out temp. I play around with the software to see how little boiling water I can use to mash out while getting the temp up in the high 160F area.

In this case, 1.25g of 212F mash out will get me up to 167F. Good enough.

First runnings will be 3.38 gallons. Don't forget to vorlauf the first 2 qts or so.

So, 7.75g desired kettle volume minus 3.38 is 4.37g sparge. I'll go with 2.25 on the first infusion, stir, vorlauf, drain. Then finish up by infusing 2.12 gallons, stir, vorlauf, drain.

In any case, that's approximately what I did to hit the 86%. By the way, this is brewhouse efficiency, but with only a 60 minute boiloff.