Overall technique......mash dry? Then sparge?

I swear I have over a year watching, anticipating an AG brew.

Tomorrow is my first.

I am hooked up with beersmith and am doing a great brew from AHB.

Once conversion has happened, and then vorlaufing....do I let that run basically "dry" until I carefully pour the sparge water in and don't channel?

This is the only question I have on the process.

Tomorrow will be great b/c I have a date with AG, some loud AC/DC and SWMBO is otherwise spoken for.

Sweet.

~Diz

Yes, that's what I do

Yep, let it run dry. If you're batch sparging, you'll need to vorlauf again for each batch, then let it run dry again. My beginner's mistake was to forget to close the spigot on the MLT when I poured in the sparge water. That hurt.

Congrats on going AG. It's a lot of fun.

Channeling is not a concern if batch sparging, only when fly sparging. I am a batch sparger and feel it is a good foolproof and effective route for a first timer.

You say you'll run it dry so I'm guessing it's a batch sparge. I this case a "carefully pour" is not necessary. Just add your sparge water, stir the mash good to free the sugars. Let it settle. Vorlauf again. Drain.

And here's a tip. Gauge your sparge amount by how much you get from that first running. In simplified numbers, if you need 6 gallons pre-boil and you lauter 2 gallons the first time, you'll need two 2 gallon sparges.

Good luck!

Hi, should have given you this link if you haven't already seen it http://www.suebob.com/brew/index.htm

Its from Bobby M here on hbt - great batch sparging overview

+1 to AnOldUR for batch sparging, and don't forget to stir really well.
If you are fly sparging, then don't drain the first runnings before starting the sparge, and try to match the inflow of the sparge water to the outflow of the wort.
I would recommend batch sparging for your first few attempts as it is much easier to screw up a fly sparge than a batch.

-a.