Batch sparging - sparge temp?

Ok, so I've got a couple of AG batches under my belt, and I'm batch sparging using a cooler and SS braid. What I have been wondering, since all the recipes I see always say to heat the sparge water up and sparge for 15 min, does the temp matter, or does it just need to be hot, but not boiling? I understand the initial mash temp needs to be set to whatever the recipe calls for, but after I drain those first runnings, do I even need to worry about the sparge temp for the 2nd or 3rd runnings, or can I just heat up some water and dump in, or could it even be cold water?

Sparge water needs to be hot enough to bring your mash up to 168-170F or so. The internet is filled with calculators to help http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php or better yet get some brewing software.

I picked that site at random - I use Beer Tools Pro

sparge temp is VERY important. get the water to 165-170, so when you dump it in, it stops enzyme activity. no hotter, tho, since if it passes 170, you start breaking down grain husks, and it turns tannic

I've got the tools and the links.

Though my question is, is that temp important, or can I just heat some water up until it's just about to boil and sparge with it. Or does the 168-170 temp actually make a difference for sparging? At that point all the conversion should have happened, at which point I'm just rinsing the left over sugars off the grains.

lumpher said:

sparge temp is VERY important. get the water to 165-170, so when you dump it in, it stops enzyme activity. no hotter, tho, since if it passes 170, you start breaking down grain husks, and it turns tannic

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Disregard my last post, you already answered my question about getting too hot when I was typing.

above 170, it makes it bitter (and not in a good way)

You need the mash to be at those temps. If you dump 170F water into 152F mash you won't be hot enough. A lot depends on your equipment & grain amounts. Sometimes you will need to dump in 185F water and other times you might need 200F water.

+1 to what sam said. With my system (48qt cooler and ss braid) I heat my sparge water to 185-190 and almost always get the grain bed up to 168-170. I used to not worry about reaching mash-out but was having problems with body and attenuation. My beers were turning out too thin and I was getting extremely high attentuations because enzyme reactions were still happening inside the boil kettle prior to reaching the the 168 degree mark. If you're trying to achieve a specific fermentability in your wort (especially when step mashing) it's pretty important to reach mash out.