Anyone Just "No Sparge"

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I do no sparge whenever possible. I only have a mash tun and a boil kettle. It makes it nice and easy. Mash with full volume and run into boil kettle. Shorter brew day and less transfer in and out of buckets.

I haven't really noticed much of a drop in efficiency. In fact, the thin mash makes it really easy to detect and avoid dough balls. Some people who don't stir enough might even get a efficiency bump! :)
 
Most of the talk has been about maintaining efficiency (despite the change in method) and the saved time, rather than the view, whether real or perceived, that there is an improvement in malt flavour through this method.

What are your thoughts and experiences with this aspect of no sparge?

My thoughts are that this would be the very best reason, hands-down, for using it - if there is evidence to back up it up.
 
I have not noticed a change in the malt profile at all doing this. But I do have a bottle from before I was doing this that I could compare with a bottle no sparged. I have to wonder though how time has affected it and if that is what I would be tasting
 
I no sparge BIAB and get 75-85% efficiency. The lower efficiencies are bigger beers with thicker mash, an average 1.050 Pale Ale I easily get 80%. It also cuts down my brew day time by about an hour.
 
I've done a couple no-sparge batches and I agree that it definitely yields a richer malt character. I didn't do it because I wanted to save time, but because I wanted to see if it made a difference in the quality of the wort. My results were so exciting that I started looking into a much larger mash tun so I can easily do full 5-10 gallon batches using this method. (My ten-gallon cooler was full to the brim and I got 4.75 gallons in the fermentor.)

As far as brewhouse efficiency, on my last no-sparge I got 78%, which is 5 points higher than my typical batch sparging method. Granted, my fermentor volume was low at 4.75 gallons for an OG of 1.067. But the same efficiency could have also yielded a 1.057 beer at 5.5 gallons, which is actually more in line with my recipe!
 
My last few batches (an extra stout, a mild, and a dubbel) were all no sparge. It seemed like the malt flavors jumped out more clearly in the finished beers, especially the stout. I have made the stout and the mild recipes prevously. I got 65% efficiency on all three with no sparge. I typically get 70-75% with a sparge.
 
So a few questions. First is should I or should I not bump up all grains by, say, 10%. Also let's say my recipe calls for 10lbs grain. Normally I use 1.5qt/gal mash so I would initially add 3.75 gallons water expecting to draw about 2.25 gallons on the first draw. So if I want a boil measurement of 6.5 to finish with 5.25 I would simply use 8 gallons of water all at once at the given mash temp, say 152, for an hour then stir it up real good and drain to boil kettle to begin boil?
 
With BIAB, it's called a passive sparge. BIAB is not a no-sparge, however.

All the water (liquor) required for the brew is added at once, instead of in stages.

It's a lautering (rinsing) process, went you are ready for the bag pulling.

It's how I brew.

Cheers
 
So a few questions. First is should I or should I not bump up all grains by, say, 10%. Also let's say my recipe calls for 10lbs grain. Normally I use 1.5qt/gal mash so I would initially add 3.75 gallons water expecting to draw about 2.25 gallons on the first draw. So if I want a boil measurement of 6.5 to finish with 5.25 I would simply use 8 gallons of water all at once at the given mash temp, say 152, for an hour then stir it up real good and drain to boil kettle to begin boil?

Yes, I would bump at least the base grain by 10% to start, since most people seem to have a bit lower efficiency. You would not use your typical mash thickness ratio. You would add all the water you need for your brew in the first addition. On my last no-sparge, this ended up being 2.67 qts/lb.

To see how it works, use this: http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php
Keeping all the default values, start increasing the Mash Thickness value for a thinner mash, and see how it drops your Sparge Water Needed value. When it gets to zero, that's the thickness you'd need for a no-sparge. Now change all the other values according to your recipe and do the same thing. But keep in mind, if it says you need say 9 gallons of water, make sure that will fit in your tun along with the grains. Go here: http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml And use Can I Mash It? If you can't then, you'll need to lower your end volume, or get a bigger tun.
 
Personally, I have been getting in the 80's with the BIAB technique.. I mash in at 2qpp, stir the living crap out of it..let er sit for 30mins then add the remaining water needed to bring the total volume up to around 165 Stir the crap out of it again then pull the bag, Set it in a collender to drain, squeeze out then start the boil.. I never got better than low 70's with my all grain setup.
 
I've done a couple no-sparge batches and I agree that it definitely yields a richer malt character. I didn't do it because I wanted to save time, but because I wanted to see if it made a difference in the quality of the wort. My results were so exciting that I started looking into a much larger mash tun so I can easily do full 5-10 gallon batches using this method. (My ten-gallon cooler was full to the brim and I got 4.75 gallons in the fermentor.)!

I have thought of trying no sparge with a 12 lb grain bill ... I have a 10 Gal Rubbermaid ... are you saying I need a bigger cooler ??

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml says I only need 4 gallons of cooler space -- I must be missing something, because I would need at least 6 gallons of liquid, before calculating grain absorption ...

Is there a no-sparge calculator ?
 
I have thought of trying no sparge with a 12 lb grain bill ... I have a 10 Gal Rubbermaid ... are you saying I need a bigger cooler ??

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml says I only need 4 gallons of cooler space -- I must be missing something, because I would need at least 6 gallons of liquid, before calculating grain absorption ...

Is there a no-sparge calculator ?

In beersmith(or other programs) treat it like boil in a bag.
 
I just do the simplest form of batch sparge.

1) Heat my water based upon my calculated pre-boil volume, grain absorption, evaporation (so I have exactly how much I need).
2) Mash in based on 1.5 qt/lb of grain. Stir. Let sit for an hour. Stir again.
3) Vorlauf once or twice, then drain to my BK.
4) Heat my remaining water to 165-170 (simulatenous with step 3).
5) Dump all the remaining water into the MT. Stir. Wait 5-10 minutes. Drain to BK.

Done.
 
I have thought of trying no sparge with a 12 lb grain bill ... I have a 10 Gal Rubbermaid ... are you saying I need a bigger cooler ??

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml says I only need 4 gallons of cooler space -- I must be missing something, because I would need at least 6 gallons of liquid, before calculating grain absorption ...

Is there a no-sparge calculator ?

Because you're not inputting the higher mash thickness number you would have with a no-sparge. Use this:
http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php

And keep adjusting your "mash thickness" upward until the "sparge water needed" field gets to zero. That's when you know your mash thickness without sparging because all of that water will be added at once. If I put 12 lbs of grain into the brew365 calculator and adjust the mash thickness like I'm telling you, I wind up with about 3 qts/lb. I then go to the Can-I-Mash-It calculator, insert 12 lbs and 3 qts/lb, and it says the mash will take up about 10 gallons of space. With a ten gallon cooler, you can do it, but it will be filled to the brim.

Also, keep in mind that you will not likely get a full 5.5 gallon batch in the fermentor after the boil and everything (you might get 4.5 gallons), because your pre-boil wort amount will not be the same as with sparging. The solution to this is to get a bigger mash tun, or to just deal with a slightly smaller batch size. The last time I did this, I got about 4.3 gallons in the fermentor using a 10 gallon cooler for the mash.
 
If your efficiency is good and you overshoot your target gravity, you can also top up pre-boil (or post boil) to make up any lost volume due to mash tun limitations. I've done this.

Supposedly, grain absorption is .2gal/lb. So if my math is correct, for 12lbs, thats 2.4 gallons. So subtract that plus any dead space from the water that the calc says you'll get and thats how much pre-boil volume you'll have.

If all of this is a pain in the butt, beersmith will tell you how big of a tun you'll need in the mash tab.
 
I have the water heating now on the porch -- looks like the rain/cloud situation in S VT has gone away ..good day to brew

I am going to test the cooler today with the 12 lbs, and no mashout - just a straight no-sparge..

thank you all for your guidance on this ...looks like the cooler is going to be tested today ,I will ddef let u know how it went (ED Wort's Pale Ale, with a few extra pounds of 2-row)

this will let me know for sure that I need bigger equipment (I have already started a blichmann fund :) )
 
Lucky day - Wound up there was 11 pouinds instead of 12. (new person at the HB shop .? No plm...I did a no sparge with 9 gallons (had room for a bit more .. got a little over 6 in the BK ... and a little under 5 at the end of boil ... I added 1/2 gal makeup water and have 5.5 in the Better bottle...gravity around 1.054 (before adding the half gal and pint of starter, so I am really pleased with my first no-sparge... next time I will do 9.5 gal in the cooler ..
 
Lucky day - Wound up there was 11 pouinds instead of 12. (new person at the HB shop .? No plm...I did a no sparge with 9 gallons (had room for a bit more .. got a little over 6 in the BK ... and a little under 5 at the end of boil ... I added 1/2 gal makeup water and have 5.5 in the Better bottle...gravity around 1.054 (before adding the half gal and pint of starter, so I am really pleased with my first no-sparge... next time I will do 9.5 gal in the cooler ..

nice... what did you brew?
 
Triple decoction BIAB 84% consistently, won't go back to any other method. Considering adding parti-gyle second running to get a real monster in the fermentor. .5 gal starters of course.
 
I'm seeing a lot of really high efficiencies in here! Tests have shown (claims Jamil Z) that efficiencies in the 85+ range can actually have detrimental effects on your beer's flavor profile (I think he said 85+ imparts harsh flavors when compared to around 70%). He said ideal efficiency is 70% - so I'm thinking that 65-75 is what you should be shooting for.
 
jfolks said:
I'm seeing a lot of really high efficiencies in here! Tests have shown (claims Jamil Z) that efficiencies in the 85+ range can actually have detrimental effects on your beer's flavor profile (I think he said 85+ imparts harsh flavors when compared to around 70%). He said ideal efficiency is 70% - so I'm thinking that 65-75 is what you should be shooting for.

That's a bit of an oversimplification. Over-sparging can lead to problems, but I can't for the life of me imagine a mechanism by which high conversion or lauter efficiency would be a bad thing. We tend to talk about efficiency as if it were one thing, but most of the time we'd be better off understanding its components individually.
 
That's a bit of an oversimplification. Over-sparging can lead to problems, but I can't for the life of me imagine a mechanism by which high conversion or lauter efficiency would be a bad thing. We tend to talk about efficiency as if it were one thing, but most of the time we'd be better off understanding its components individually.

Exactly. Many (all?) commercial breweries are north of 90% efficiency.
 
AZ_IPA said:
Exactly. Many (all?) commercial breweries are north of 90% efficiency.

hmmmm... i wonder if it's a homebrew thing?

"I ain't often right, but I've never been wrong" :)
 
Is anyone using the no sparge method with continuous recirculation of the mash?

I recirculate through my boil kettle through out the mash, using a BCS 460 controlled heating element to maintain the mash temp. I then raise the temp to mash out, and average 73% efficiency. I think I would have higher efficiency, but I seem to be getting some channeling along the edges of the grain bed.
 
I tried this past weekend. Had some hiccups but managed to save it. We'll see in about 10 days from now. I have to reconfigure my pex manifold. Think my holes were too large & clogged my recirculation & draining
 
Parti-Gyle Brewing!! The best of both worlds.

A few batches ago I brewed a 5 gallon Strong Scotch and hit 1.100 (post boil) with my first runnings. Followed by a 10 gallon small Scottish session ale.

I split my next batch between an IPA and a Stout by adding steeping grains before the sparge.

There is a smooth quality that I get from unsparged grains that I like.
 
Dont have a clue if this thread is still alive, but i have been doing full volume no sparge for 5 months now and WILL NOT go back to sparging.
I love the simplicity, time savings and i believe the beer to be much nicer, just my opinion but i have LOVED every single brew i have made this way, hell, even light lagers turn out great, im generally about 70% eff with no sparge
 
What are your batch sizes, grain amounts, and are you using HERRMS RIMS?


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I BIAB and have done both normal mash with a dunk/sparge AND full volume mash with no sparge. For me, there is too much of an efficiency loss with no sparge. At least with my BIAB system. One plus to BIAB is the fact that there are no stuck mashes or sparges. Pull the sack, dunk in a second pot, give it a good stir and pull again. So there is very little time savings to no sparge. With no sparge my efficiency is around 65-70%. With a sparge I'm around 80% give or take 5%. It's just way to efficient to sparge and get all those extra sugars.... but of course this is just my opinion and using my system.
 
I alternate between 23ltr and 46ltr, no r
RIMS or HERMS, just a simple single infusion, 90 min mash, stir, vorlauf and drain.
Done 23ltr batch this last weekend with 6kg of grain and got 1.054 so a little more than 68% this time.
Hete is a picture of my homemade setup using central heating equipment, the mash tun is a 117ltr copper hot water vessle with twin elements and 3 inches a foam insulation and a 21kw burner from a boiler ( furnace )

IMG_20140216_220117.jpg


DSC_1152.jpg
 
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