batch sparging method question

I've seen a few different methods for batch sparging. The method I have been using seems to work well, but I was hoping someone could double-check me and see if there is any glaring problems that I haven't realized. Here's what I do:

Equipment: 52 qt. Igloo Cooler with SS braid and ball valve

Steps:
1. Bring strike water(1.25 qt./lb. ratio) up to 177F and dump in cooler.
2. Wait for water temp to stabilize down to 169F.
3. Dump in the grain and stir well and check that temp is at 155F.
4. Mash for 60 minutes.
5. Bring 2 gallons of water up to 200F and dump in the cooler.
6. Stir in and hold for 10 minutes to raise mash temp up to 168F.
7. Vorlauf and drain first runnings.
8. Measure wort volume to determine sparge volume needed.
9. Heat that much water up to 170F.
10. Pour in, stir well and hold for 10 minutes.
11. Vorlauf and drain second runnings.


Does this method look ok?

That's pretty much how I do it.

It looks fine. The only thing I do different is I divide the sparge vol. in half and do it twice. It may be in my head but I believe in raising the grain twice. My efficiency also went up - 80 to 85% - when I started doing it twice.

In the end it is what works for you

Cheers!

I'm glad you started this thread. I'm just getting ready to do my first AG. When you determinre your sparge volume are you suppose to stir everything up when you add it, or just let it drain through slowly without stirring?

I do a slight variation. I drain the tun once before I mash out. Then I add water back in to raise the temp above 160 for 10 mins to sparge. There's no one correct way as long as you are hitting your intial mash temp, and you are hitting your gravities.

Odds are that given your 2 gallon "mash out" addition, you won't have enough sparge volume left to split into two. Just use a single sparge addition.

Rugen, you're talking about fly sparging with draining slowly. Two different things.


It's easy to predict the volumes.

Water in is say 1.25qt/lb = 10lb of grain = 12.5 quarts of strike.
Wort out is .5 qts/lb less = .75 x 10 = 7.5 quarts available to drain out.

If you add 2 gallons/8 quarts before draining, you'll have 15.5 quarts to drain out.


You probably want to start with 6.5 gallons preboil so the sparge volume would be 2.5 gallons or so.

Thank you...not sure I'm ready to tackle AG yet

Bobby_M said:

Odds are that given your 2 gallon "mash out" addition, you won't have enough sparge volume left to split into two. Just use a single sparge addition.

Rugen, you're talking about fly sparging with draining slowly. Two different things.


It's easy to predict the volumes.

Water in is say 1.25qt/lb = 10lb of grain = 12.5 quarts of strike.
Wort out is .5 qts/lb less = .75 x 10 = 7.5 quarts available to drain out.

If you add 2 gallons/4 quarts before draining, you'll have 11.5 quarts to drain out.


You probably want to start with 6.5 gallons preboil so the sparge volume would be 3.5 gallons or so.

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That's actually what had me confused - whether to drain the first runnings and then sparge with 170 degree water, or raise the whole mash temp to 168+ before taking the first runnings. You're saying that either way is ok?

BTW, I think you meant 2 gallons/8 quarts, but I see what you mean.

RugenBrau said:

Thank you...not sure I'm ready to tackle AG yet

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I've never done an extract brew. We started with AG from the get go. I've done two batches now and they both turned out great. I'm sure it's possible to mess up a batch, but I think you'd have to really do something crazy.

This video gave me a lot of confidence. This guy walks through each step and shows how easy it is:



I just wrote down all the steps that he did and followed them on brew day. The terminology was a little hard to follow when reading Palmer's book, but watching someone do it made it all clear.

That video is pretty good but I with he would have emphacised stirring after adding the mashout water and sparge water. He doesn't say it or show it but it's extremely important.

wheatgerm said:

That's actually what had me confused - whether to drain the first runnings and then sparge with 170 degree water, or raise the whole mash temp to 168+ before taking the first runnings. You're saying that either way is ok?

BTW, I think you meant 2 gallons/8 quarts, but I see what you mean.

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If you drain first runnings without the mashout addition, the sparge temp can be upwards of 190F as the existing grain will sap out a lot of heat. If you do the mashout addition, it would be around 200F and then the followup sparge would be about 170F.

Bobby_M said:

If you drain first runnings without the mashout addition, the sparge temp can be upwards of 190F as the existing grain will sap out a lot of heat. If you do the mashout addition, it would be around 200F and then the followup sparge would be about 170F.

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Ah, I see. Just a matter of how you want to divide it up I guess. I like the smaller mashout addition before sparging. I'll probably keep doing it that way for now. Thanks.

In the video he doesn't show what he does with the first two quarts of wort. Does he just dump it back into tun?

kstatemallards said:

In the video he doesn't show what he does with the first two quarts of wort. Does he just dump it back into tun?

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Yes.