First all grain question

This weekend i am going to attempt my first all grain brew, i made a mash tun and bought a new turkey fryer and a larger kettle, my question is i dont yet have a sparge arm and will batch sparge for my first attempt, how long should i let the sparge water sit on the grain before collecting it, i know the directions that came with the kit says for a continuous sparge should take 90 minutes but it doesnt give a time for batch sparging, i looked online and most say just long enough to let the grain bed settle but that doesnt seem right.

I always batch sparge, and I let mine sit for 15-20 mins while I do other prep or cleaning. You could likely just stir it good and start draining right away, though.

I stir it very well, then let it sit 10 minutes, then drain. I think the stirring is key.

Thanks for the advice, i also thought of another question, if i do need to add water to the mash to control the temp, do i need to subtract the amount of water i add from the amount of sparge water?

slindsay-1 said:

Thanks for the advice, i also thought of another question, if i do need to add water to the mash to control the temp, do i need to subtract the amount of water i add from the amount of sparge water?

Click to expand...

Yes, but you can still make a little extra sparge water in case you end up short on your pre-boil volume. I always make an extra gallon in a separate, small pot just in case. Only add it if you can tell you haven't collected enough in the kettle...

Pappers_ said:

I stir it very well, then let it sit 10 minutes, then drain. I think the stirring is key.

Click to expand...

+1 stir the crap out of it and vorlauf each time.

Thanks everyone for the advice, lets hope everything goes well! Cheers!

+1 to stirring and vorlauf at each point.

Stauffbier said:

Yes, but you can still make a little extra sparge water in case you end up short on your pre-boil volume. I always make an extra gallon in a separate, small pot just in case. Only add it if you can tell you haven't collected enough in the kettle...

Click to expand...

+1 this is always a good thing i do it every time