So, Pretty Much, Batch Sparging is...

I just printed out a 14 page Spread Sheet on No Sparge and Batch Sparging, and I just wanted to get a little straight about it before I go Head first into my reading.


Essentially, Batch sparging is adding all the Sparge water to the Mash Tun, emptying, then doing it again. Sound about right?


I guess I get confused about it due to the fact as I just can't see how the water is addedc to the grain bed without disturbing it. But then again, with Batch Sparging, maybe it doesn't matter?


Anywho, off to the basement for a Cigar and some Beer reading. Thanks EdWort for the kick in the right direction with this in your recipe for Haus Pale Ale.:rockin:

Pretty much. And there are lots of variations on this basic theme.

In a very general sense, fly or continuous sparging is a continuous and gentle rinse of the grains by slowly applying water at the top of the mash tun and letting it drain out the bottom. On the other hand, batch sparging is just adding a bunch of sparge water to the mash, mixing it up to get the sugars into solution, and then draining off that solution. Not sure if that helps.

You want to stir the water after it is added to the grainbed to get the grain back into suspension so that more extract is washed from the grain. That is the whole purpose of the sparge.

And yup. Batch sparging is just that. Because of my mash tun limitations, I have to add my sparge water 1/2 at a time and basically do 2 sparges to get my volume.

Yes, you disturb the bed & have to settle & clear each time.

Hmm, i have only ever rinsed the grains once while batch sparging and had great eff.

Are you suggesting to rinse a second time using the first sparge water?

JC, I've seen both methods espoused, but I'm with you. I usually just toss my entire sparge volume in once, stir it really, really well, wait 10 minutes, then drain. I've been getting about 85% efficiency lately.

Some people drop in half the sparge water, drain, then dump in the other half and do it again. I've never bothered, but there might be a good reason for it.

I just did this "double sparge" yesterday and got a crappy eff at 62%. Just seems to me that the second sparge is really too low of a gravity to get much out of it. That was my first time brewing on this rig, so there may be other factors involved. I always did fine with just a single sparge, so I may go back to doing that.

It's interesting how our experiences can be so wildly different. When I've done single sparge even after a mashout + first runnings, the gravity is still in the 1.020-1.25 area. That leaves a lot of sugar behind. Have you check the gravity at the tail end of your sparge? What is it? Maybe it depends on what your recipe OG/grain bill is. All my experimentation has been on relatively small beers like 1.040 - 1.055.

I typically will add enough water to the tun after the mash so that I get the initial runoff and 1 sparge that are of equal volumes. Works well for me and I get around 80% efficiency most of the time.

Evan! said:

Some people drop in half the sparge water, drain, then dump in the other half and do it again. I've never bothered, but there might be a good reason for it.

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Yep there is a good reason for it. Volume limitations. With a 5gal cooler and 12# of grain it takes 2 sparges to get a good starting boil volume of 6.5 to 7 gal.
I really need to find a 10gal cooler at some point.

Craig

ScubaSteve said:

I just did this "double sparge" yesterday and got a crappy eff at 62%. Just seems to me that the second sparge is really too low of a gravity to get much out of it. That was my first time brewing on this rig, so there may be other factors involved. I always did fine with just a single sparge, so I may go back to doing that.

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For me it is the mash tun size that makes me do two equal sparges. Like was said 12 pounds of grain in a 5 gallon tun........

And if you got such a low gravity out of your second sparge, then I guess you got it all with the first sparge and you need to look elsewhere to see where you can improve your efficiency. Like you said, perhaps a single sparge works on your system best.

Cheers

The "Batch Sparge" Is when you run 2 sparges, and the second Sparge is of Clean Water. Not the Wort that you Sparged the first time. That goes into the Kettle, then the second Sparge is done with Fresh Sparge Water. Edwort has the goods on a link to a really good article on these "No Sparge" and "Batch Sparge" Methods.