Batch sparge amount

I read a thread on the internet where a brewer measured the amount of wort from the mash, then subtracted that amount from 6.5 gallons (which was his boil target), divided by two,and that was his amount for 2 separate batch sparge amounts. I have never had any luck with the sparge amounts in BS. Could it be that simple? If the spent grains are saturated with water, then theoretically they should hold no sparge water?.... right??

I usually assume that grains absorb 0.1 gallon/#, so I subtract that from my dough-in volume and that result from my starting volume, to calculate how much sparge water to use. I am usually pretty close.

ColoradoXJ13 said:

I usually assume that grains absorb 0.1 gallon/#, so I subtract that from my dough-in volume and that result from my starting volume, to calculate how much sparge water to use. I am usually pretty close.

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Yeah, me too. But it's really as easy as just subtracting the amount of the first runnings from the desired boil volume and dividing it by two. The problem is that you want the sparge water hot before you run off the volume, so it's easier to calculate it in advance.

As Colorado xj13 said, you can guestimate that your grains will absorb about .1 gallon per pound and that's a good guess. So, if you're using 10 pounds of grain, and mashing in with 1.25 quarts per pound:

Mash in with 3.25 gallons of water (rounded up a bit). Assume that the grains will absorb 1 gallon of that water. That will leave you 2.25 gallons of runnings. You need 4.25 gallons of sparge water to get you to 6.5 gallons for your boil volume, so use 2.13 gallons for each sparge.

After messing around with Beersmith for several years now, I find that it does give me correct volumes for my system, though, so I rarely actually do the math anymore.

I use ..... Brewheads.com - Batch Sparge Calculator ..... because me and math don't gets along to well.....

McCuckerson said:

I read a thread on the internet where a brewer measured the amount of wort from the mash, then subtracted that amount from 6.5 gallons (which was his boil target), divided by two,and that was his amount for 2 separate batch sparge amounts. I have never had any luck with the sparge amounts in BS. Could it be that simple? If the spent grains are saturated with water, then theoretically they should hold no sparge water?.... right??

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That is exactly right.

-a.

No math involved here at all...collect first runnings, sparge to fill kettle.

After the first sparge, it's really not that difficult to accurately estimate how much of a final spparge is required to hit your pre boil volume. Leaving a quart or so in the mash tun is not the end of the world either...at this point you have most of the sweet liquor anyways.

McCuckerson said:

I read a thread on the internet where a brewer measured the amount of wort from the mash, then subtracted that amount from 6.5 gallons (which was his boil target), divided by two,and that was his amount for 2 separate batch sparge amounts. I have never had any luck with the sparge amounts in BS. Could it be that simple? If the spent grains are saturated with water, then theoretically they should hold no sparge water?.... right??

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It is absolutely that simple....even simpler, in fact, since there's almost never a reason to do 2 batch sparges.

Denny said:

It is absolutely that simple....even simpler, in fact, since there's almost never a reason to do 2 batch sparges.

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Yep. I used the explanation on Denny's website to create my own spreadsheet for my system and my volumes.

I'm still fairly new to brewing, but so far, here's what I've done.
I have 2 5-gallon pots that I heat my sparge water in on my stove. I heat up about 2.75 gallons in each. After collecting my first runnings, I subtract that from 7 gallons, divide by 2, then see how close I am. Since I mash pretty thin >1.5 q/lb, my first runnings have been 2-2.5 gallons. I usually end up with a little water left in the mash tun from the final sparge, which is pretty clear anyway. Except for my last brew this weekend, which was a couple points low, my gravity has always exceeded expectations.

Is there any advantage to doing multiple batch sparges versus one big one? How come BS doesn't tell you what temp the sparge water should be at? is this critical? Has anyone ever used boiling water to sparge? Sorry for all the questions, but I am plagued by low efficiency

McCuckerson said:

Is there any advantage to doing multiple batch sparges versus one big one? How come BS doesn't tell you what temp the sparge water should be at? is this critical? Has anyone ever used boiling water to sparge? Sorry for all the questions, but I am plagued by low efficiency

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I found a "work around" for the sparge temps. I leave the mash out instructions in there. I don't actually do a mash out when I batch sparge, though. What I do is use that temperature and amount to get my grain bed up to 168 (that's what the mash out addition does) and then add 168 degree water to get up to my sparge volume. Since it's already in the brewsheet from Beersmith, it's just a matter of adding XXX amount of nearly boiling water to get the grainbed up to 168 (and that's already spelled out for you).

I hope that makes sense. It does to me, but I drink.

I wish I had read this thread last night. It's been about two months since I last brewed and with only 2 AG batches under my belt, I felt a little underprepared (could be because I WAS underprepared) and if I had stopped to think about it, this would have made pretty good sense.

McCuckerson said:

Is there any advantage to doing multiple batch sparges versus one big one?(

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I do a double batch sparge, mainly because I agree with Bobby_M's analogy seen under "My Way or the Highway" -> "Double Sparge" on this page:
All Grain

A single batch sparge would shave some time off my brewday, but think the potential increased efficiency is well worth it.

masonsjax said:

I do a double batch sparge, mainly because I agree with Bobby_M's analogy seen under "My Way or the Highway" -> "Double Sparge" on this page:
All Grain

A single batch sparge would shave some time off my brewday, but think the potential increased efficiency is well worth it.

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That is a great tutorial! Turns out I use Bobby's method as well, but stil unsure of how to get BS to do the work for me.

I like Bobby's method of starting to heat the first runnings while sparging the grain. Saves time and who wouldn't want to do that?

masonsjax said:

A single batch sparge would shave some time off my brewday, but think the potential increased efficiency is well worth it.

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Just curious....have you tried a single batch sparge to see the difference? In my system, I only gain maybe 2% by doing more than one, so it isn't worth my time to do 2. The only time I do more than one is if I'm using such a large grist bill that I can't fit all the sparge water in at once.

I personally have not tried a single sparge, but I'll probably give it a shot next time and see how it comes out. I'm not usually in a real hurry while brewing, so to me it's worth the extra sugar, even if it is a negligible amount. Besides, I love having more steps to worry about, it's all part of the fun.

My difference works about to be about 4-5%. It's admittedly difficult to isolate it down to just that one variable because I don't repeat exact recipes often enough to be sure.