Batch sparging problem - question

After doing exclusively fly sparging for years, I did my first batch sparge today but I think I did something wrong. After adding the first bunch of water, I had a hard time getting the runnings clear again. I added the water, stirred, and waited 10 minutes, then recirculated about a gallon and a half. I seemed to be clearer after that, but it was apparently still very cloudy. I noticed when I took my pre-boil gravity that I had all of these chunks floating in it, like the little white bits that are in the mash (not sure the technical term for them - it looked like something coagulated in the wort). I tried to filter them out of the kettle, but they would not settle and I wasn't going to empty the entire kettle. I figured that my false bottom in the kettle with 4 ounces on leaf hops on it would filter them, but a bunch still came through. They are in my primary now. Is this bad? Should I do an early rack to secondary?

What kind of mash tun are you using? Are you putting hops in your mash?

I've found that the smaller my mash volume, the harder it is to clear it by recirculating. I have a 5 gallon upright cooler mash tun and if I mash at least 8 lbs of grain with 2-2.5 gall water, I'm okay. It never gets really clear, but all that settles out in the primary. I've never had a problem with it. It's quite clear in the bottle.

monk

EdWort said:

What kind of mash tun are you using? Are you putting hops in your mash?

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No hops in the mash. Mash tun is a 10 gallon Rubbermaid with false bottom. I'll put some pics in my gallery.

Monk said:

I've found that the smaller my mash volume, the harder it is to clear it by recirculating. I have a 5 gallon upright cooler mash tun and if I mash at least 8 lbs of grain with 2-2.5 gall water, I'm okay. It never gets really clear, but all that settles out in the primary. I've never had a problem with it. It's quite clear in the bottle.

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My grain bill was 12 pounds. I usually get pretty clean runnings when I fly sparge by recirculating the first 2 or 3 quarts. That is why I thought I screwed something up since I recirculated 6 quarts and it was still chunky (less compact grain bed?).

I kind of figured it might eventually settle, but I am concerned that I may have gotten some type of off flavor by having all of that stuff in the boil and the primary. Glad to hear you never had a problem. Makes me feel better.

Bearcat Brewmeister said:

Mash tun is a 10 gallon Rubbermaid with false bottom. I'll put some pics in my gallery.

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I use the same setup, and get clear runnings after 2 quarts when batch sparging. Maybe you knocked your false bottom loose when stirring?

Bike N Brew said:

I use the same setup, and get clear runnings after 2 quarts when batch sparging. Maybe you knocked your false bottom loose when stirring?

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I thought the same exact thing since it happened on a batch I made 6 weeks ago when poured the grain onto the mash water without holding the plastic false bottom down - huge clog right after opening the valve. It is possible I knocked it loose, but I checked when I cleaned it out and there wasn't any debris under it. You got me thinking, could be I had a small chunk that wedged under one part while stirring and kept it from seating flat. Then junk continued to flow under it even though I recirculated 6 quarts. Thanks.

I use a 10 gallon Rubbermaid water cooler with a stainless braid. My vorlauf never goes more than 2 quarts before it is very clear when batch sparging. I'm getting into the 80's on efficiency, so I don't see a reason to switch to fly. The beers I brew are the ones I drink and they taste pretty darn good.

Give a stainless braid a try. I tried the false bottom once and had the same issue. I switched and never looked back.

I think the problem with some false bottom designs is that they don't seat/seal well around the edges. I've got one of these in my MLT. Their design included a little rubber o-ring to hold it in place. You've gotta be kidding! My first brew with it was a disaster. I figured out how to hold it tight against the bottom with a hose clamp. This only works because I've got the rigid siphon tube. I know some for coolers are made to fit tight against the walls, but I still bet some of the problems people have are from grain getting by the edges one way or another. I like my setup now - it works great now, but a false bottom is not without its draw backs.

Bearcat, I don't know for sure, but you might want to think about how to secure/seal your false bottom better.

EdWort said:

The beers I brew are the ones I drink and they taste pretty darn good.

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That would be a great bumper sticker!!!:rockin: Can I use your line?

67coupe390 said:

That would be a great bumper sticker!!!:rockin: Can I use your line?

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Sure, go ahead. Just send me some stickers if you are in the business.

If my runnings take more than two recircs to run clear, I just run it through my funnel strainer.

EdWort said:

" The beers I brew are the ones I drink and they taste pretty darn good."-Ed Wort

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I Love it!

EdWort said:

I use a 10 gallon Rubbermaid water cooler with a stainless braid. My vorlauf never goes more than 2 quarts before it is very clear when batch sparging. I'm getting into the 80's on efficiency, so I don't see a reason to switch to fly. The beers I brew are the ones I drink and they taste pretty darn good.

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LOL, well you have me beat on efficiency (I'm usually at 75%) and usually I vorlauf 2 quarts, sometimes 3, then fly sparge. I have never seen a reason to switch to batch sparging but for trying to save time on a two brew day. And to plagiarize, the beers I brew are the ones I drink and they taste pretty DAMN good.

Seriously though, I have been kicking around the idea of a braid for a while and I think you have me convinced Ed. Thanks for the input.

I think Kinkos will do bumper stickers. I'll keep you posted!