Sparge Speed?

GoGreenEric said:

I just finished my second AG batch brew day this past weekend. I am concerned I may be doing my runoff when sparging too fast. The first batch turned out tasting like watered down beer. The latest batch only got an OG of 1.032. I don't know what it was supposed to be (Midwest supplies red lager) but I would have guessed it would have been higher.

I'm starting to think that I may be sparging too fast and getting low efficiency as a result. I'm searching for advice. I have been batch sparging. Please help.

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BrewMU said:

You could try a fly sparge. I got around 75% efficiency the first time I did. Doesn't take any special equipment, but a refrac helps tell you when to stop without wasting any wort. Otherwise, just restrict your drain-cock until you have a steady trickle, then observe how fast it's draining and adjust so that you will have your projected volume in 45 min. or an hour. Pour sparge water at a rate that just keeps your grain bed covered, stirring all but the bottom few inches occasionally to prevent channeling. If you have a refractometer, just collect until the gravity drops under 1.010. I don't do it, but if your set-up allows you can have the pot heating while you sparge to cut boil time down.

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BrewMU said:

You could try a fly sparge. ...Doesn't take any special equipment,

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tre9er said:

You fly sparge over the course of 45 minutes? Wow, I didn't realize it takes quite that long. I assumed as fast as the wort ran out, you can run the water in that fast until your sparge volume is done and voila. Shows what I know.

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imrook said:

First off, don't sweat it. Your results sound exactly like mine when I started AG. I was also worried about sparge speed and a lot of other things back then. I have found that sparge speed is a very minor factor in my efficiency if at all. There is a good sticky on this already. The information there is great and I suggest you read it:https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/maximizing-efficiency-when-batch-sparging-77125/

A few minor tweaks helped me go from 50% to 72-74% efficiency (where I'm currently at.)

Measure water volumes accurately
When I first started AG I didn't have a way to measure more than 2 quarts at a time. I guessed at water volumes in the tun and kettle. Turns out I was using way too much water, thus diluting my wort. My efficiency was better than I thought, I was just making a bunch of weak beer.

Get a good grind on your grain
Most folks will say this is _the_ most important factor when improving efficiency. I found that accurately measuring my water helped more, but that's probably because the grind from my LHBS wasn't too bad to begin with. I did end up buying my own mill and get a good -- but more important: consistent -- crush now.

Sparge in two batches
I believe Bobby_M has a post on here about batch sparging in 2 batches. Hopefully someone else can help with a link. The basic point is if you have 4 gallons to sparge with, do 2 sparges with 2 gallons each. The idea being that you'll rinse more sugars off the grains that way. I haven't done extensive testing on this, because I implemented a number of changes to my process and my efficiency numbers started getting good so I kept them all.

Practice
When you first start out, there is a lot going on in an AG brew day. After a while, you get comfortable with the process and are able to focus on smaller details and improve your process. I guarantee that if you follow the guidelines in the sticky post and brew 2-3 more batches your efficiency will be up and you'll be happy with your results.

One other note that I want to put in here for completeness is regarding your brewing water. I started looking into the water chemistry side of AG brewing and found that Calcium is a critical mineral needed during the mash. The water reports from my municipal water supply show that my water is very poor in calcium. I have since started supplementing my mash water with CaCl2 to provide the calcium level needed for proper enzyme activity during the mash. Of course, I know I'm probably an outlier here and most people won't need to do this.

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Bobby_M said:

Generally disagree. Fly sparging with a small stainless braid is much less efficient than batch sparging as it does encourage channeling. I wouldn't want to stir the mash more than the top inch or so in the middle of a fly sparge. I guess everyone has their own preferred methods though.

Again, I think the OP should explain what HE thinks a batch sparge process is. I find that many people read and read and advice about proper technique gets blurred between fly, batch, hybrid and no sparge BIAB methods.

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BrewMU said:

I don't know if that much time is necessary - I do it as much as anything in order to keep splashing to a minimum to avoid oxidation. Again, don't really know if that is a serious concern - do you get good efficiency with a quick sparge?

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Cromwell said:

It looks like there's some confusion between batch and fly sparging going on here. My understanding is that when you're fly sparging, you need to run it at a trickle and it can take 45 minutes to over an hour. When you're batch sparging, you can drain the mash tun as fast as it will drain. With a batch sparge (this is what I do) you drain the first runnings, close the valve, pour in sparge water and stir, wait about 10 minutes, then drain. Then repeat if you double-batch sparge.
Draining slowly keeps the grain from channelling, but you don't care about channeling in a batch sparge. The sparge water soaks up all the sugars it's going to during the 10 minute rest, and once that's done you can drain it as fast as your valve will let you.

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BrewMU said:

I would like to use something that picks up wort across a broader area though.

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