Where is my grain bed??? I cant find it!!!

I'm such a n00b,

could someone confirm where the grain bed actually is? I’ve read so many posts about people fly sparging with 2-3 inches of water "ABOVE THE GRAIN BED" creating a pool of water in the MLT. I have also read somewhere that the grain bed is actually at the bottom of your cooler!!! so you should be sprinkling 170f water over a dry heap of grain in your MLT maintaining a SUB water level of 2-3 inches which we cannot see. My first 2 all-grain batches had this "POOL" of water and when you think about it sprinkling water onto a pool of water is pointless. Now it made more sense that the grain bed is actually 2-3 inches from the bottom of the mash tun so i started doing it that way

The grain bed is simply the grain in the MLT. It settles during the mashing process and forms a 'filter bed'.

You need to create that "pool" at the top. By pouring the water directly on dry grains, you're ruining the compact bed that the grain has formed to filter your beer.. A grain bed is just what it's called when you grains settle at the bottom of the MLT. Pour water like you first did.

Then why do we need to "Sprinkle" water? cant i just gently drain it in from the HLT???

The point of sprinkling is to get the pure water on top of the grain and let it drain downwards, carrying the sugars with it. What you don't want to do is roughly pour huge quantities of water on top of the grain bed - it will plunge the pure water down into the middle of the grain and you won't be rinsing the sugars that are still in the top of the grains. So any method you have of getting water on top of the grain bed is good.

You really don't need to sprinkle. It was just one method of getting the water onto the grain without drilling down through. Blichmann and Sabco systems just have a piece of tubing sitting on top and it swirls around.

Instead of "grainbed" think of it like "bed of grain".

It's all irrelevant if you batch sparge by the way.

So from what I have read the only downside to not "Pooling" water on top would be a possibility of a stuck sparge or inefficient grain filter?

I also don't see how pooling water properly rinses the grains. Guess I need to read the Palmer book again :cross:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoxcLP1C-j4&feature=related]YouTube - SPAAAAARGE!!![/ame]

These doods have no pool of water above the visible bed. hmmmm ill have to experiment myself and see what has a better outcome.

The grainbed sits on top of the grain box spring.

Grains at mashing temperatures will readily oxidize. Exposing them to air greatly increases the chances of harming your beer. Couple that possibility with worse sparge, more likely channeling, and all the other downsides and it makes no sense to not leave 2 inches of water on top of the grains.

I think those whirligigs are a waste of time, I use the Sabco method.

JKoravos said:

The grainbed sits on top of the grain box spring.

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That is GREAT!

Schnitzengiggle said:

That is GREAT!

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA so is the name Schnitzengiggle!! sorry! i'm at work and needed to laugh

JKoravos said:

The grainbed sits on top of the grain box spring.

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Wouldn't that be the grain mattress? and together the grain bed?

JKoravos said:

The grainbed sits on top of the grain box spring.

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In the grain bedroom. Or maybe the grain master suite.

klamz said:

These doods have no pool of water above the visible bed.

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Yes...those doods are doing it wrong!!

And I quite like my spinning arm...no it's not strictly necessary, but brewers love gadgets. Besides, it was a gift from my girlfriend, and I don't want to hurt her feelings.

[youtube]Z8yfXE4kH-s[/youtube]

BlindLemonLars said:

And I quite like my spinning arm...

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Which one do you have? I've heard mixed reviews (the negative is mostly that the water flow is not strong enough to spin the arm). I currently just use a length of silicone tubing, but I'm considering gadgetizing the process a little.

beilber said:

Wouldn't that be the grain mattress? and together the grain bed?

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Well, only if ya wanna get technical about it.

Another new guy learns that pointless things are published in books. You are right, there is NO reason to sprinkle water... on water. But, it sells sparge arms doesnt it?

I have a HERMS that uses a 1/2" dia tube for the HERMS return line, and the sparge water line as well for fly sparging. It just runs the sparge water into that 2" deep pool on top of the grain bed.

There is no point in sprinkling sparge water. The only thing that it accomplishes, is cooling off your sparge water and your mash... nice!

JKoravos said:

The grainbed sits on top of the grain box spring.

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You stole my thunder dude !!

Buffman said:

Which one do you have? I've heard mixed reviews (the negative is mostly that the water flow is not strong enough to spin the arm).

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It's from Northern Brewer. I use a March pump, and I just barely open the ball valve to get the sparge arm spinning.

It's not "pointless" to sprinkle water...the point is to gently and evenly introduce the water without disturbing the grain bed, and sprinkling is one means to that end. There are others.

I had the sparge arm from NB at one time... it sucked when gravity fed. It also sucked that I had my lid off my cooler, allowing heat to escape. Sucked even more that I was sprinkling water and letting it fall... furhter cooling the sparge water. All in all, it was about the most inefficient way to deliver sparge water.


Doesnt the Sabco Brew Magic just use a 1/2" dia tube too?

I think you're a lot more emotional about sparging than I am.

BlindLemonLars said:

I think you're a lot more analytical about sparging than I am.

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Fixed that for ya

The Pol said:

Fixed that for ya

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Probably so! (Let's see, what's the root word of "analytical?")

Did you ever push down on your sparge arm? There is a wide range of adjustment, you can position it so it's right above the water, eliminating nearly all of that sucky heat loss. You can also drape a towel over the cooler, and virtually eliminate heat loss out the top...that's what I do, and I haven't noticed my gas bill spiking.

Thanks, Lars. My system is gravity-fed. I think I'll stick with a tube on top of the grain bed (ala The Pol). It works fine, but I do love gadgets.

Buffman said:

Thanks, Lars. My system is gravity-fed. I think I'll stick with a tube on top of the grain bed (ala The Pol). It works fine, but I do love gadgets.

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I think most of us love gadgets! But if you're getting good results with what you've got now, I see no real reason to change.

The reason that it works to rinse grains is simple and easy to do a bit of an experament with. Take the first runnings from your hlt, a 1/2 cup or so. Pour them into a hydrometer tube. Now carefully (CAREFULLY!) pour a bit of clean water SLOWLY down the side of the tube. They will seperate, because the sugar laden "water" we know as wort is significantly heavier than the water.