Batch Sparge Temp...Low

Hey guys,

Just started using a new MLT, and am trying to get the temps dialed in. I got a perfect 154 in the mash, so all good in that regard. I went to batch sparge, which I generally do at 170*F for ten minutes, and got 160*F after it equalized (yikes). It's pretty much too late for me to do anything, but will this low sparge temp negatively impact anything other than efficiency?

I use two seperate sparges at 185 degrees, and I let them sit for 20 mins a piece.

Depending on how long it took to bring the wort to boil your enzymes would have continued to work to a degree. This would have the effect of increasing your fermentability and lowering your FG.

All in all not that big of a deal. Just keep it in your batch notes in case you end up with a batch that you want to repeat.

Sounds good. Thanks much...

If you speaking to a mash out it is not that critical with badge sparging. You will know next time to raise the temp a bit.

RDWHAHB - you will be fine. The mash out does 2 things for you. First it denatures the remaining enzymes thus "locking" in your fermentable sugar profile and second it helps reduce the viscosity of the wort so it flows out of your mash better. The latter is much more important in high gravity worts then in moderate or low gravity ones. Hitting 160 was probably enough to stop further enzymatic activity and plenty to help reduce viscosity.

GT

I get quite a hit on my efficiency when I'm lazy with the temp. 160F isn't bad, but 170F sparge is way low. Use 185F next time.

185* sparge water usuallu ends up @ about 165 for me, grainbed temp.
i did my first sparge today @ 185, but i had only a 148* mash, the grainbed temp only went to 162.
second sparge was @ 190, and grainbed ended up at 172.
much better than the last 6-8 brews.

im mashing the second step now, and boiling like mad to fit 16 gallons of water into a 10 gallon pot!

Very cool, very cool. I was doing stove-top all grain before this, and 175*F got me about 165-170*F in the mashout. I wanted to play it safe and went with the same 175*F...but there were a number of things I did differently this time that I should have account for, a completely new method and equipment being first and foremost.

That said, even with the goofy mash-out temp I still got something to the effect of 77-80% efficiency. Quite a jump from the ~60% I was accustomed to with stove top.

Pelikan - -

This is going to be but I have to ask....

How in the world did you join HBT in Oct 2008 and already rack up 721 posts?!?!?!?

That is to say even if you joined on Oct 1, that's an average of 5.768 posts... every day!!!

tokolosh said:

Pelikan - -

This is going to be but I have to ask....

How in the world did you join HBT in Oct 2008 and already rack up 721 posts?!?!?!?

That is to say even if you joined on Oct 1, that's an average of 5.768 posts... every day!!!

Click to expand...

Yeah Pelikan, that is totally ridiculous.

Pelikan said:

That said, even with the goofy mash-out temp I still got something to the effect of 77-80% efficiency. Quite a jump from the ~60% I was accustomed to with stove top.

Click to expand...

That jump sounds about right on target between the two methods. I am running at 77-78 every time I mash now. I am no longer trying to tweak it in any way.

tokolosh said:

Pelikan - -

This is going to be but I have to ask....

How in the world did you join HBT in Oct 2008 and already rack up 721 posts?!?!?!?

That is to say even if you joined on Oct 1, that's an average of 5.768 posts... every day!!!

Click to expand...

Lot's of questions and lots of answers, I suppose. I've learned a lot during the few months I've been on HBT.

That said, when I joined I very distinctly recally Revvy having somewhere north of 5800 posts -- back in October -- and now he has 10245. Average of 28+ posts a day since he's been on HBT, and about 4500 posts since October. He's def got me beat.

Pelikan said:

Lot's of questions and lots of answers, I suppose. I've learned a lot during the few months I've been on HBT.

That said, when I joined I very distinctly recally Revvy having somewhere north of 5800 posts -- back in October -- and now he has 10245. Average of 28+ posts a day since he's been on HBT, and about 4500 posts since October. He's def got me beat.

Click to expand...

Yeah. Revvy obviously doesn't get as much sex as he claims to. No time for it with all his post whoring on this site.

(j/k Revvy! Most of your posts are quality. You're all right by my book )

Most homebrewers don't hold a high enough temp for a long enough time to truly denature the enzymes. The main benefit of a "mashout" step is to reduce wort viscosity, which may gain you a bit of efficiency. My experience is that it gets me maybe a point or 2.