Batch Sparging and mashing

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Yooper said:
Switch it over to a profile that uses a mash out, set up for fly sparging. Then it'll have the "mashout" step in there.

But of course, don't fly sparge, just batch sparge with the volume of mash out water + fly sparge water.

I hope that makes sense!

Why not just use the batch sparge option in beersmith?
 
Yep, that's it exactly!

How I figure the sparge water temp is sort of a work-around in Beersmith. If I'm batch sparging, I look at the "mash out" volume and temp. And I use that for my first sparge addition (it'll say something like "mashout with 9.5 quarts of water at 202 degrees). I stir well, and it almost always makes my grainbed 168. Then add the rest of the sparge water at 168-170 to keep the grainbed there. I hope that makes sense.

Since I have a larger MLT now, I just do one round of batch sparging. On Monday's brew, I got 75% efficiency- which is exactly the same I get when I fly sparge.

When you are doing the single sparge do you still use the mahout temperature that BeerSmith states for all of your sparge water, or do you not do the full 202 degrees for example?
 
That makes sense to me. So would it be OK to do a single sparge with all the water at 185? Otherwise I guess you would do the first sparge at 185 to raise the grainbed and the second sparge at 170. I only do double sparges if I have a large grainbill and can't fit all the water into the first sparge.

Thats what i do!
 
When you are doing the single sparge do you still use the mahout temperature that BeerSmith states for all of your sparge water, or do you not do the full 202 degrees for example?

In my short brewing experience I have been adding the sparge water around 180ish-190ish and my beer has been good.
 
168 is what I shoot for. You don't want to sparge higher than 170f.

Why don't you want to sparge over 170F? I thought the goal of sparging was to raise the grain to over 170 to stop conversion and loosen up the sugars.

This seems to be getting WAAAYYYY too complicated. Here's what I do....mash with about a 1.5-1.75 qt./lb. ratio. At the end of the mash, drain into your kettle and measure how much wort you have. Subtract that from the boil volume you want. Heat that much water to 185-190F. Stir it well into the mash, vorlauf a bit and run it off into the kettle. That's all there is to it. Beersmith is a great tool, but it's NOT instructions about how to brew. Use it for what it is and don't let it boss you around! ;) For more info on batch sparging, see www.dennybrew.com. I've done it for 426 batches and nearly 15 years. I wouldn't consider any other technique for sparging. I average 85% efficiency.

He says to run off as fast as possible, why is that? I thought that is a no-no?
 
Why don't you want to sparge over 170F? I thought the goal of sparging was to raise the grain to over 170 to stop conversion and loosen up the sugars.

The purpose of sparging it to remove, either through rinsing or draining, and sugars left in the mash. A mashout is to stop enzyme action, but is seldom necessary or helpful at the homebrew level. But sparging wiht water in the 190F range can help ensure full conversion and might increase your efficiency a bit.



He says to run off as fast as possible, why is that? I thought that is a no-no?

I think there may be a misconception here. In batch sparging, a fast runoff is an advantage but not a necessity. You can runoff as fast as your system will allow. In batch sparging, unlike fly sparging, a slow runoff will not increase your efficiency. Fly sparging is a rinsing process, not draining, and therefor a slower sparge is advantageous.
 
The common knowledge of sparging is that at temps above 168F you will start to extract tannins from the grain.

Common unfortunately does not necessarily equate to correct. pH is the factor to worry about. If it was temp alone, you couldn't do a decoction mash, where you boil the grain. Batch sparging pretty much eliminates the pH rise you get in fly sparging, which is the real culprit behind tannin extraction.
 
Not really. You can use boiling sparge water if you want to if your pH is in the right range.
Hey Denny
If I have no way to check pH should I keep the sparge water temp at the lower end, or can I crank it up to maybe 180 - 190 and not worry about it ?
 
Hey Denny
If I have no way to check pH should I keep the sparge water temp at the lower end, or can I crank it up to maybe 180 - 190 and not worry about it ?

Are ya feeling lucky? :) If your water isn't too extreme you'll probably be OK. But there's no way to know for sure. I think trying to make sure your grain bed stays under 170F is the best thing to do in that situation.
 
Has anybody checked the temp of the mash after you add 185ish degree water to it? I have a few times and it ends up right around 170. Makes sense if you think about it right? 12 lb Grain bed that's 150+, adding a few gallons of 185 degree water.

Everyone is paranoid thinking that high temp is extreme because of everything they've read on fly sparging. It's a completely different process. I'd argue that 170 degree water is too low, and that if there's a correct temp for batch sparging, it's whatever temp leaves your mash at 165-170.
 
biestie said:
Has anybody checked the temp of the mash after you add 185ish degree water to it? I have a few times and it ends up right around 170. Makes sense if you think about it right? 12 lb Grain bed that's 150+, adding a few gallons of 185 degree water.

Everyone is paranoid thinking that high temp is extreme because of everything they've read on fly sparging. It's a completely different process. I'd argue that 170 degree water is too low, and that if there's a correct temp for batch sparging, it's whatever temp leaves your mash at 165-170.

Exactly!!! A lot of guys posting in this thread have been brewing for ever, take their word. Denny's website is how I learned to batch sparge. Simple easy process to make good beer!
 
+1 on Denny's website. That where I learned how to batch sparge. Also read BobbyM's paper on batch sparging. He lays out a very good step by step process. I get 70 - 75 % all the time.
 
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