Sparge or grain bag

gimli30 · Jan 4, 2013

Hi all
I am looking to start my first all grain batch this weekend.
And I am confused if I need to sparge or not.
I have read two separate books and one suggests the sparge method. a more recent one states to place the grain in the grain bag during the boil and remove like a tea by at the end of the process. This method seems much more simple and cleaner. Am I missing something

Thanks in advance
Owen

mcwilcr · Jan 4, 2013

the second method you are talking about is called Brewing in a bag or BIAB. Many people do it because it allows you to do AG brewing in a single kettle. Personally, I prefer the more traditional mash and sparge method but the link below is a very nice review on the BIAB process.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/biab-brewing-pics-233289/

gimli30 · Jan 5, 2013

Thanks a million for the feedback.
This has clarified a few things for me.
I think I will go with the sparge method.

Cheers

Frogmanx82 · Jan 5, 2013

Also grains are never boiled.

unionrdr · Jan 5, 2013

To clarify,here's what I do with partial mash. I get 1.5 gallons of distilled or spring water up to about 155F. Put my 5lbs of crushed grains in a grain bag,& drop it in. I use a plastic paddle to get the grains soaked as evenly as possible. Then cover & set the timer for 1 hour to mash the grains. Maintain that mash temp! That's the hard part for me right now.
I do this part in my 5G SSBK. I use the 3 or 4 gallon pots to heat sparge water,again 1.5 gallons of distilled or spring water.
After the one hour mash,I pull & drain the bag in a SS collander I got from bed,bath,& way beyond perched on top of the BK. Then use the 165F sparge water & a sanitized pyrex 2C measure to slowly pour the sparge water over the grain bag in the collander. Takes about 10-15 minutes. This rinses more sugars or "runnings" off the now mashed grains. Allow to drain well,maybe squeeze a lil bit.
Then raise the heat to bring to a boil. Right before it boils,you get the mad foamy hot break. Keep a long spoon or paddle handy with a spray bottle of plain water. This will help keep the foam from turning into beersuvious. The wild part is,mine finally went down about a quarter inch (the foam),then all of a sudden POOF! it just dissapeared in the blink of an eye. Then proceed with hop additions.

gimli30 · Jan 5, 2013

That's excellent feedback... Cheers.

Looking forward to trying this next weekend. Just have to find a decent 30l SS boiler before then.

C-Rider · Jan 5, 2013

gimli30 said:
That's excellent feedback... Cheers.

Looking forward to trying this next weekend. Just have to find a decent 30l SS boiler before then.

Last time I was at Target they had a nice selection of SS pots. Not cool w/metric. LOL

Sparge or grain bag

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