El Pistolero
Well-Known Member
I've been reading this article on Cheap 'n' Easy Batch Sparge Brewing. I'm not ready to move to all-grain yet, but I was thinking that this method could be used to turn "steeping" into "partial mash", without have to buy or build a mash tun. Here's the gist of the article.
What i focused on in the above is this: "...and the mashtun is completely drained as quickly as possible". So what if you mashed your specialty grains, along with some 2-row, for 90 minutes at the proper temp, then just dumped the wort into your brewpot thru a strainer, then dumped the grains into the sparge water, let them set, then dumped that into the brewpot thru the strainer again. I realize that this is going to affect clarity, but I'm aiming for an imperial stout so that doesn't concern me too much.
With the 90 minute vs 30 minute steeping time, and the addition of some 2-row, is this turning steeping into mashing? Would one expect to get reasonable efficiency this way? Would a second sparge help?
Batch sparging is like partigyle brewing or the English method described in Palmers How to Brew, but instead of a separate beer being made from each runoff, the runoffs are combined into a single batch. In batch sparging, mashing is done at the normal ratio of
anywhere from 1 to 1.3 qt./lb. After conversion, the sweet wort is recirculated as normal and the mashtun is completely drained as quickly as possible, and an addition of sparge water is added. This is stirred into the mash, allowed to rest for a few minutes,
thoroughly stirred again, and after recirculation is once more drained as quickly as the system will allow. Sometimes, multiple batches are added if necessary or an additional infusion is made before the first runoff is begun. The advantages of batch sparging are no (or reduced) worries about pH because youre not continually diluting the buffering power of the grains, inefficient lautering systems dont really affect the extraction rate since the sugars from the grain are in solution, a mashout is seldom necessary (though may still be
desirable) since the wort will be in the kettle more quickly and enzymes denatured by boiling, and extraction rates that range from slightly less to slightly more than fly sparging. The more inefficient your lautering system is for fly sparging, the bigger the gain in extraction youll see from batch sparging.
What i focused on in the above is this: "...and the mashtun is completely drained as quickly as possible". So what if you mashed your specialty grains, along with some 2-row, for 90 minutes at the proper temp, then just dumped the wort into your brewpot thru a strainer, then dumped the grains into the sparge water, let them set, then dumped that into the brewpot thru the strainer again. I realize that this is going to affect clarity, but I'm aiming for an imperial stout so that doesn't concern me too much.
With the 90 minute vs 30 minute steeping time, and the addition of some 2-row, is this turning steeping into mashing? Would one expect to get reasonable efficiency this way? Would a second sparge help?