10ACbrew said:
But not if you can recirculate the full volume.
No-Sparge Brewing and BYO
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But not if you can recirculate the full volume.
Good point Isch. Wasn't sure if OP uses pump system. Curious, do you take grav reading at some time during recirc? Then re-read until you get to grav you want. It seems it would finally reach a saturation point and not be able to get beyond that. Either way, I like your approach and may try to set up my system to try this soon.
10ACbrew said:Good point Isch. Wasn't sure if OP uses pump system. Curious, do you take grav reading at some time during recirc? Then re-read until you get to grav you want. It seems it would finally reach a saturation point and not be able to get beyond that. Either way, I like your approach and may try to set up my system to try this soon.
This is only my second attempt but that is what I did last time. Its pretty cool to watch the gravity creep up.
I am mashing a wheat as I type this. I mashed in at 122 and am now ramping up to 154. The ramp is going quick with both the hlt an bk elements in the circuit.
Isch, your previous quote mentioned "both the hlt and bk elements in the circuit". Just making sure I don't miss something but I thought the recirc only involved the mlt and bk making it a two vessel system.
I'm wanting to try this next brew session, so one last question, is your stopping point based solely on gravity reading or total time or temp, or combo?
Thanks for your help on this cause I'd like to find ways to streamline the process without losing quality.
I'm wanting to try this next brew session, so one last question, is your stopping point based solely on gravity reading or total time or temp, or combo?
Thanks for your help on this cause I'd like to find ways to streamline the process without losing quality.
10ACbrew said:
I have a HERMS coil in the HLT so I guess that element is indirect. I normally only ramp with that element but with this method, I can use the BK element also.
The photo above was intended to show the tubing connections. I sent it from my phone so it may be a little hard to see.
The wheat went well. 4 and 1/2 hours with the P rest and a 90 minute boil. I'm really liking this method. Good luck with your attempt.
Historically "no-sparge" referred to the method of mashing at traditional ratios with only a portion of the entire boil volume, draining the mash tun, and topping up the BK to the appropriate volume. Thus, a large percentage of the water *never* touches the grain.
However, this is an antiquated definition, much like gay = happy. Here in the US, no-sparge generally, but of course not always, refers to full-volume mashing - all the brewing water is added to the mash - exactly like BIAB.
While I agree sparging does refer to "rinsing" as opposed to "draining", I think most of use would also say that sparging requires the addition of additional water to the mash after the mash is complete - something that full-volume no-sparge AND BIAB don't feature.
Perhaps we need to differentiate between "no-sparge traditional" and "full volume no-sparge".
I know that "Pat" over at BIABrewer is obsessed with this topic and that people not refer to BIAB as "no-sparge", but that's his issue. He's apparently worried that people equate BIAB with low efficiency. Perhaps a valid worry, but insisting that a sparge is part of BIAB is ridiculous - unless you change the definition of "sparge", which is what he's trying to do.
Michael
BJCP National
However, this is an antiquated definition, much like gay = happy. Here in the US, no-sparge generally, but of course not always, refers to full-volume mashing - all the brewing water is added to the mash - exactly like BIAB.
While I agree sparging does refer to "rinsing" as opposed to "draining", I think most of use would also say that sparging requires the addition of additional water to the mash after the mash is complete - something that full-volume no-sparge AND BIAB don't feature.
Perhaps we need to differentiate between "no-sparge traditional" and "full volume no-sparge".
I know that "Pat" over at BIABrewer is obsessed with this topic and that people not refer to BIAB as "no-sparge", but that's his issue. He's apparently worried that people equate BIAB with low efficiency. Perhaps a valid worry, but insisting that a sparge is part of BIAB is ridiculous - unless you change the definition of "sparge", which is what he's trying to do.
Michael
BJCP National
Could you clarify this a bit? Are you saying that under this definition of no sparge you dump in all the water with the grain right at the beginning? My brewing science is a bit rusty, but I thought having that high a water:grain ratio would mess up enzyme concentrations or something.
In my no-sparge (or maybe it's "no-sparge") brewing I've done the mash at around 1.25 qt/lb as recommended in my HB books. Then after an hour I've dumped in all the remaining water required to drain off a full kettle.
Is that not how it's done these days?
That sounds like batch or fly sparging.
This is very true but if you want to improve your beer and experiment with a different technique, the name/description of said technique is important.
Yes, and it's the method as explained in the November BYO.
You're correct though, past thinking was that thin mashes would negatively affect the beer. Current thought and experiments (not too mention the thousands of BIAB batches) have largely dismissed this notion, or at least greatly reduced the significance. The mash seems to be much more affected by temperature and ph.
You might be interested in this link: Effects of mash parameters on fermentability and efficiency in single infusion mashing - German brewing and more
Michael
You can do it either way and it is still no sparge since you are not draining a first runoff before adding more water.
The way I do it in my Brutus 20 system is more like your idea of no sparge. I mash in with 1.5 QPP of water in one vessel while the rest of the water is heated to 170 in the boil kettle. After an hour I turn on the pump, open the valves and recirculate until the entire system has reached 170*. Then I shut the output valve on the boil kettle and drain everything into the BK.
!Beerthoven
Well-Known Member
My usual method is "no sparge" and I'm really happy with it. I mash-in at 2 quarts of water per pound of grain. I don't go any thinner than that because I have read that too thin of a mash is detrimental to the mash chemistry, resulting in low efficiency and poor beer.
After an hour, I basically do a big mash-out infusion with all the remaining water. This brings the whole mash up to about 168 degrees and fills my 10-gallon MLT cooler to the top. After letting that settle for 10 minutes or so, I drain all the wort I need in one long pull.
I like this approach because it is simple and easy to execute, with no need to measure, heat, and drain multiple infusions of water, and I reliably get 80% efficiency batch after batch.
After an hour, I basically do a big mash-out infusion with all the remaining water. This brings the whole mash up to about 168 degrees and fills my 10-gallon MLT cooler to the top. After letting that settle for 10 minutes or so, I drain all the wort I need in one long pull.
I like this approach because it is simple and easy to execute, with no need to measure, heat, and drain multiple infusions of water, and I reliably get 80% efficiency batch after batch.
