Batch Sparge Temp Question

[engliska]

All,

First off, want to thank all of you for this tremendous resource. I started brewing last year, have 10 successful extract brews under my belt and did my first all-grain batch two days ago (tried Edwort's BeeCave Haus Pale Ale)...in no small part to the great advice available here.

Overall, first AG was successful...hit my mash in temp spot on and I totally underestimated my efficiency. I adjusted the recipe on BeerSmith to 65% to be conservative and ended up at 82%, so will end up with a fairly hefty pale ale. One question i did have and could not find an answer on via search was the temps on batch sparging. I did 2 sparges of equal volume with 170F water as per BeerSmith. Is 170 the actual temp I should be heating my sparge water to, or is it the temperature thats required in the mash, therefore I need to adjust my sparge temp up as I did for my mash in? I wasn't 100% clear on that point so went with 170F sparge water.

 

[dbhokie]

Someone else with much more experience than I will answer I am sure, but after asking around at much length and my LBHS, 168 has been the temperature I have stuck at (temperature of the sparge water), although because of my method of sparging (I pour into a resovoir with a sprinkler), I assume the pour into the resovoir will lower it approximately 1-2 degrees before it actually hits the mash, so I heat the sparge to 170 exactly, I tested this a few times and the water sprinkling down on my mash was 168-168.5. Your sparge temperature will be higher than your mash temperature.

 

[TyTanium]

...could not find an answer on via search was the temps on batch sparging. I did 2 sparges of equal volume with 170F water as per BeerSmith. Is 170 the actual temp I should be heating my sparge water to, or is it the temperature thats required in the mash, therefore I need to adjust my sparge temp up as I did for my mash in? I wasn't 100% clear on that point so went with 170F sparge water.

First of all, it doesn't make that much of a difference.

But, you're shooting for ~170F in the mash, meaning you need ~190F sparge water to raise the temp. Reason being that higher temps = more dissolved sugars, but too high temps = extracted tannins, so you want it as high as possible without extracting tannins.

But using 170F water for a 150ish mash brings it up to 160ish...so we're talking 10-15 degree difference. Your measurement error is larger than the difference in efficiency this makes, and you obviously had no problem extracting the sugars you needed.

 

[spenghali]

It depends on how much water you struck in with and how much grain you have. I usually sparge with water around 190-200. You want to get the temperature of the grain bed up to 168 to stop enzymatic activity (this is called "mash out"). If you get the temperature above 170 you risk extracting harsh tannins from your mash.

In my experience it is hard to raise my temp up to 168 for an average 5 gallon batch size mashing in with 1.25-1.5 qts/lb, with sparge water less than 190, usally closer to 200 works. You have to stir a lot and pay close attention to the temperature so you don't add too much water and get above 170.

 

[dbhokie]

Not to hijack the thread but this is something I have been confused about as well. I have seen people reccomend a 186 degree sparge or so, and I have seen people say never over 172 or this or that. Sometimes as a new brewer it is complicated, because many times people do not give you the full answer, they give you a generic one that they hope you can't screw up due to your lack of experience, fair enough and suited to the occassion but not to learning and or the critical evaluation of the process.

If your sparge water is at 200, even if it only raises the mash temperature to 168 to stop enzymatic activity, will the temperature of the water as it hits the grain bed, extract tannins from those grains which it comes in initial contact with?

It was somewhat confusing looking at mashing out, and I am sorry if I hijacked, but perhaps we can get help in the same place.

 

[TyTanium]

No worry about hijacking, (well, I'm not the OP, so easy for me to say) it's a good question.

If you're batch sparging, this is all far less important. You don't have an hour-long runoff to control. You're just draining the thing as fast as possible and starting the boil. And the difference in efficiency between sparging at 150 vs 160 vs 170 is trivial, at least in my experience.

I don't know much about tannin extraction, other than that magic 170ish number...but I've never had an issue. But again, I batch sparge in the 160's so I have no reason to be concerned.

 

[IffyG]

And the difference in efficiency between sparging at 150 vs 160 vs 170 is trivial, at least in my experience.

Same here. I don't think my batch sparge takes much longer than 10 or 15 minutes and I don't even bother to check the temp of the grain bed and I suppose my 'mashout' is the initial boiling of the wort.

 

[engliska]

Thanks folks, good info...and no worries on "hijacking"...I think your post helped as I had the same confusion as well based on what I've read here. So I guess it sounds like I'm good with 170F sparge water and dont really have to worry about bringing the mash up to 168-170F unless I'm fly sparging?

 

[TyTanium]

Here's another thread that has tons of good, helpful info:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/pros-cons-mashout-fact-fiction-310668/