ultravista
Well-Known Member
"Sparging is trickling water through the grain to extract sugars from the grain. This is a delicate step, as the wrong temperature or pH will extract tannins from the chaff (grain husks) as well, resulting in a bitter brew. Typically, 50% more water is used for sparging than was originally used for mashing. Sparging is typically conducted in a lauter tun."
The purpose of sparging is to pull the sugars off the mashed grains, and efficiency of the wort is influenced by the sparging process, right? Optimal sparging extracts the most sugar from the mashed grains.
We know that tanins are extracted at or beyond 170 degrees (f), not by squeezing or disturbing the grains during the sparge process. Correct?
Thinking outside of the box and foregoing traditional methods; what about dumping the grains (post mash) into the sparging vessel and allow the grains to move freely in the (appropriate volume) sparge water. Good stirring will "wash the hulls" and pull off the sugars. With a good post-sparge filtering process, the runnings should run clear.
As long as the sparge water volume is accurate and the runnings are filters (post-sparge), wouldn't this process produce greater efficiency?
The purpose of sparging is to pull the sugars off the mashed grains, and efficiency of the wort is influenced by the sparging process, right? Optimal sparging extracts the most sugar from the mashed grains.
We know that tanins are extracted at or beyond 170 degrees (f), not by squeezing or disturbing the grains during the sparge process. Correct?
Thinking outside of the box and foregoing traditional methods; what about dumping the grains (post mash) into the sparging vessel and allow the grains to move freely in the (appropriate volume) sparge water. Good stirring will "wash the hulls" and pull off the sugars. With a good post-sparge filtering process, the runnings should run clear.
As long as the sparge water volume is accurate and the runnings are filters (post-sparge), wouldn't this process produce greater efficiency?