Noob question on Sparging

I've done one AG so far using Bobby_M AG Primer (Thanks Bobby). I used his No mash out double batch sparge method. As I was doing this I was thinking of any other ways that would work for sparging and started wondering. What if you put all your grain in a big grain bag and mashed it at a fairly low ratio (leaving more water for sparging), then after you drain, then add all your sparge water at once then kind of move the grain bag around in the sparge water the same as you do for steeping grains, then after a period of time, just lift the grain bag out and let it drain (same as steeping) In theory that sounds like an effective way to get all those sugars from the grains. Assuming needing a fairly small grainbill, is there any reason this wouldn't work?

I apologize if this has been discussed before.

i actually thought about that same technique the other day.....im interested to see where this leads

It will lead nowhere, because if it worked better than traditional ways everyone would be doing it.

This might be exactly what your talking about

wildwest450 said:

It will lead nowhere, because if it worked better than traditional ways everyone would be doing it.

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And we'd all be riding horses, the world would be thought of as flat, etc...


Do you know from EXPERIENCE that this will not work?

It will work to a certain extent but at a much lower efficiency. It's the same as a single batch sparge. The reason I use and advocate a double batch sparge is because it's much more efficient. When you combine 1.000 gravity water with grain that is saturated with sugar water, the sugar diffuses into the water to become an equilized average of the two. Let's say 1.035 SG for examples sake. When you drain that out, a certain portion is left locked up in the pores of the grist (a typical rate is .1 gallons per pound). You can see how multiple discrete infusions will continue to pull the gravity down to the point where you don't mind the small bit of sugar you left locked in the grist. In other words, it's better to leave a gallon of 1.015 wort stuck in the grain than a gallon of 1.025.

Back to the OP though... what would be the motivation of an alternative method? If it's to save time, the next best thing is a mash out single batch sparge. You'd infuse about a gallon at 212F into the mash at the end, stir, vorlauf and drain, THEN infuse your single batch sparge amount. This ensures max efficiency by A)raising the grainbed temp and B) making both runoffs closer to equal volume.

Only motivation would be simplicity, but the question was more for curiousity than anything, I really have no intent on trying it. The whole idea of sparging is basically washing the fermentable sugars off the grain and my curiousity led me to wonder if this would yield acceptable efficiency.

wildwest450 said:

It will lead nowhere, because if it worked better than traditional ways everyone would be doing it.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the contribution..... I never asked if it would work better, I just asked if it would be effective.