I am thinking about stepping up from my turkey fryer/cooler MLT AG system to a 2 vessel brewing system and wanted some opinions from the experts on whether or not my process will work. My main concern is the way I plan on sparging. My understanding is that this is basically the brutus 20 system. I don't want to be limited in what I can and cannot brew. Any comments will be appreciated before I pull the trigger on the equipment to set this up. The process will be (I will use an example 5 gallon batch):
1) Heat 4 gallons water to 165 in MLT.
2) Add grain, stir, and mash for 60 minutes at 152.
3) Calculate grain absorption (lets say its 1.5 gallons in this case) and start heating 3.5 gallons sparge water to 170 in HLT.
4) When mash is finished add sparge water to MLT on top of mash.
5) Recirculate to set the grain bed.
6) Drain MLT to HLT for a collection of 6 gallons total wort.
7) Boil etc etc!
So is it possible to add my sparge water to the mash tun before I collect any wort at all and then simply collect it all at once?
1) Heat 4 gallons water to 165 in MLT.
2) Add grain, stir, and mash for 60 minutes at 152.
3) Calculate grain absorption (lets say its 1.5 gallons in this case) and start heating 3.5 gallons sparge water to 170 in HLT.
4) When mash is finished add sparge water to MLT on top of mash.
5) Recirculate to set the grain bed.
6) Drain MLT to HLT for a collection of 6 gallons total wort.
7) Boil etc etc!
So is it possible to add my sparge water to the mash tun before I collect any wort at all and then simply collect it all at once?