Batch sparging - mix or don't mix?

SSBrew - 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
X

XDeus

Member
Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
20
Reaction score
1
Location
Monterey
My first AG a few months back came out very astringent which I believe was due to too many tannins. I have since adjusted a few techniques which I think has reduced the tannins (larger gap on my mill, one rinse instead of two during sparge, and minimal stirring during sparge).

However, I have been wondering about that last adjustment. Does aggressive stirring during the sparge release tannins? And if not, does it dissolve the sugars that are supposedly already in solution during the mash? I would think just adding the sparge water and giving it a few minutes for the dissolved sugars to distribute coupled with a slow drain would be enough.
 
Are you sure the astringency isn't from your water profile or mash PH? I mill at .025", double batch sparge and stir the piss out of my mash and sparge additions, I keep my mash PH in range and profile my water accordingly. no issues at all with astringency, I have read that tannin extraction is mostly a product of mash PH as opposed to temp or crush. you can also get a harsh bitter or astringent taste from water chemistry as well.
 
When batch sparging, yes stirring is part of the process as it helps release the sugars. Rule of thumb is to stir very thoroughly but gently.
 
You must stir in the sparge water or you will not get effective rinsing of the grain.

There are 3 main factors that effect tannin extraction

High pH above 6 is bad
High Temp above 170 is bad
Low Gravity below 1.015 is bad
 
azscoob said:
Are you sure the astringency isn't from your water profile or mash PH? I mill at .025", double batch sparge and stir the piss out of my mash and sparge additions, I keep my mash PH in range and profile my water accordingly. no issues at all with astringency, I have read that tannin extraction is mostly a product of mash PH as opposed to temp or crush. you can also get a harsh bitter or astringent taste from water chemistry as well.
Click to expand...

That could be. My water is somewhat alkaline at pH 8.0, but I do use the 5.2 stabilizer so I didn't think that was factor. However, on that batch I only added the buffer directly to the mash per instructions and I now add it to the sparge water. It may have been the alkaline sparge water or I over sparged which leeched out the tannins.

I was more curious about the effects of stirring. I'm wondering if anyone has actually tested it or is it just one of those things that everyone parrots because so many people say it's so? It just seems that the sugars would dissolve into the sparge water pretty easily without needing a lot of stirring. My efficiencies have been pretty high with or without stirring. Of course I always want to get the most out of my grain, but not at the cost of spoiling the flavor.
 
I would say that a fine crush or stirring would have minimal affect on astringency. Water chemistry and ph, or sparge water temp would be more likely.

If you have not done so, I highly recommend taking the next step of having Ward Lab give you a water report. Playing with your water profile is fun and educational and may improve your beer flavor as well. It's at least a chance to understand a bit more about mashing and how different salts can affect the flavor and mash process.

And it costs less than $20.
 
XDeus said:
That could be. My water is somewhat alkaline at pH 8.0, but I do use the 5.2 stabilizer so I didn't think that was factor. However, on that batch I only added the buffer directly to the mash per instructions and I now add it to the sparge water. It may have been the alkaline sparge water or I over sparged which leeched out the tannins.

I was more curious about the effects of stirring. I'm wondering if anyone has actually tested it or is it just one of those things that everyone parrots because so many people say it's so? It just seems that the sugars would dissolve into the sparge water pretty easily without needing a lot of stirring. My efficiencies have been pretty high with or without stirring. Of course I always want to get the most out of my grain, but not at the cost of spoiling the flavor.
Click to expand...

The pH of your water is not so important. It's the alkalinity or bicarbonate level that is much more telling. It may be that you need to add food grade acid (lactic or phosphoric) to your sparge water to keep the sparge pH down.

There is pH buffering capacity in the grain. Stiring during the sparge will help mix the grain with the water and allow the buffering to lower the overall pH. So stiring will help your pH issue (if you have one).

Lastly dark grains are much more acidic then light grains. People who have highly alkaline water find that making a dark beer is much easier but with light beers they need to take extra steps to get the pH under control.

I'd suggest you get a full water report and confer with other brewers in your area who are using the same water source.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. For some reason I thought I read somewhere that over-stirring would release more tannins. It sounds like that may not be as big of an issue as I thought. I will focus more on my water and see if I can do more than just adding a buffer.
 
XDeus said:
I was more curious about the effects of stirring. I'm wondering if anyone has actually tested it or is it just one of those things that everyone parrots because so many people say it's so?
Click to expand...

Well, we stirred at the brewery I worked at, so I'd say if anyone was to research it, it would be the big boys, so I think you should stir, gently.
 

Similar threads

rdavidw
Looking for advice on converting from a 3 vessel HERMS to a 2 vessel setup.
Replies
16
Views
425
Bobby_M
Bobby_M
L
First time Mead - how does it sound
Replies
1
Views
259
MightyMosin
MightyMosin
K
Wine that tastes like clear Rum! (Killer Kilju Recipe)
Replies
0
Views
1K
KiljuBrew
K
Unicorn_Platypus
Forgot Whirfloc - Young Beer Tastes Tannic - will it fade with cold crashing?
Replies
3
Views
853
VikeMan
VikeMan
L
First time process - rate my plan
Replies
7
Views
591
Raptor99
Raptor99
Yakima 300

Latest posts

Back
Top