Mash out and batch sparging

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cweston

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On my latest batch, I did something I hadn't done before. After my sac. rest, I added enough boiling water to bring the grain up to 168 immediately, then let the remaining water cool to serve as sparge water.

I got about 5% better efficiency on the batch (about 75% instead of my usual 70%).

That was the only thing different from my usual method. I'm not quite certain why doing a mash out should increase efficency--any thoughts on that?
 
The boiling water dissolves sugars better. So, until you got it mixed in, it was working for you. The downside is tannins, which also dissolve better in boiling water. I do my batch sparges much the same way, although I use pH 5.2 in the sparge water to avoid the tannin problem.
 
I've done the same thing with my brews this year. I figure that the higher temperature lowers the viscosity of the wort and allows the sugars to be rinsed easier. Before I would recirculate then start sprinkling the sparge water over the mash. I never took a temp reading but I'll bet it never got over 160 degrees.

I actually discovered this by accident. My HLT is only 5 gallons and I did a batch that required 7 gallons of sparge water. I dumped 2 gallons of 180 degree water into the tun so the rest would fit in the HLT. The temp went up to about 168 or 170 and the light bulb went off in my head. I do this every time now.
 
david_42 said:
The boiling water dissolves sugars better. So, until you got it mixed in, it was working for you. The downside is tannins, which also dissolve better in boiling water. I do my batch sparges much the same way, although I use pH 5.2 in the sparge water to avoid the tannin problem.
I don't think he will be dissolving tannins at 168 degrees. Most books I've read say to mash out and sparge at 170 degrees.
 
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