No sparge efficiency... and more

Alright, I've made many a partial mash and sparged them of course and also several all-grains now but I learned from someone who doesn't sparge (I use their MLT) so I haven't either. The grain bill goes up, yeah, but the mechanics of the whole thing haven't been real clear to me.

I just got ProMash and I'm trying to figure out how to do my own recipes, but I don't know what efficiency I was getting in the past so what's a typical no-sparge efficiency? Guess I need to know so ProMash can adjust the recipes. I'm not sure I want to start sparging unless there's something special I'm missing out on. Thanks

-RS

Hmmm.... I think the no-sparge method adds like another >30% to the grain bill because efficiency is about 50-60% as opposed to 75% of batch sparging and 80% for fly sparging. My understanding of the no-sparge method is that it's basically a huge steeping of the grains. You just let the grains sit in a large amount of water (what would be strike plus sparge water in fly- or batch-sparge methods), and then just drain it and boil away. To me it seems like a big waste because batch sparging is so easy. Batch sparge is the same thing as no-sparge except you let it sit in less water, drain it, top it off with water again and drain it once more. So you do it in 2 or 3 stages rather than all at once. You get much better efficiency with batch sparge because only so much sugar can dissolve into water.

60%, that sounds about right and it's true, batch sparging would increase that efficiency quite a bit and without a lot of added effort, which is nice. I'm going to do all my calculations with a single batch sparge, see how that goes. What's the worst that could happen, I buy too much grain? Thanks!

I think most recommend around 55% efficiency with no-sparge, but it has a lot to do with your setup and process. The calculator section of Tastybrew.com has a web calculator where you add your standard recipe, and it will return the additional grain required for both batch-sparging and no-sparging. If you really want to make your head spin, check out the links on the Tastybrew page for the formula source. Ken Schwarz provide probably the most robust and in-depth explanation I have ever seen. Sharpen your pencil and bust out the calculator