Question about sparge water temp

[domdom]

I did my first 5 gallon all grain batch recently and had a questions regarding the desired temp for sparge water. I heated 2 gallons to about 170-172-ish, which is the most common temp i've seen for most recipes. when i added it to the mashed grains and checked the temp, it went down to around 164-166.

what i was wondering is if the 170 target temp is for before you add the water to the grains or what you want after you add it to the grains. thanks!

 

[Ondori]

Your target temp is 170 after you add water to the grains. Be careful that you don't go too far over, or you will start to extract tannins from the husks.

 

[BobbiLynn]

170 is the temp of the water before you sparge. Pour 170 degree water evenly over the grain, it will cool 5-10 degrees depending on the amount of grain as it runs through. Assuming you mashed at 151-155.

You did it right.

 

[breweRN]

Your target temp is 170 after you add water to the grains.

170 is the temp of the water before you sparge.

Hmmm? Discuss.

 

[BobbiLynn]

I'm right, the other guy gave an incorrect answer.

We can discuss, but I'm right.

 

[Kayos]

Wellllllll........

Depends. If you want the starches to stop converting, then you want to raise the grains to 168F. This is the actual reason to get the grains to that temp. Most people here just do it because that's what they were told to do. If you sparge lower than that, say 150-160, then you are not stopping the starch conversion and the enzymes are still free to work away at the starches converting them to sugar. When you then pasteurize the wort at about 170 (automatically when the kettle is on it's way to the boil), it stops the enzymatic activity then anyway.

My opinion is that it really doesn't matter what you sparge at as long as it's between your mash temp and 170. But like Ondori said, don't go over that or the grains like to leach tannins from the husks.

 

[Stauffbier]

The goal is to get the grain bed between 168-170F, so you have to infuse with a higher temp depending on grain bill size, current grist temp, and amount of sparge water. You can use TastyBrew.com to figure out what your infussion temp should be.

I usually infuse with water around 185-190F depending on the batch.

 

[breweRN]

I guess I don't really get why you need to stop conversion. The wort will be drained in 10 minutes anyway and the grain is nothing but trash or compost. Does it really matter?

 

[BobbiLynn]

I guess I don't really get why you need to stop conversion. The wort will be drained in 10 minutes anyway and the grain is nothing but trash or compost. Does it really matter?

It doesn't matter. For an average recipe kit, heat water to 170 and use it to sparge. It'll be good.

 

[acidrain]

I guess I don't really get why you need to stop conversion. The wort will be drained in 10 minutes anyway and the grain is nothing but trash or compost. Does it really matter?

Stopping conversion really only applies to long sparges (fly sparging).
If all you're doing is rinsing sugars, then you could do that at room temp. I do it at 170F.

 

[RM-MN]

Stopping conversion really only applies to long sparges (fly sparging).
If all you're doing is rinsing sugars, then you could do that at room temp. I do it at 170F.

+1 to this. For batch sparging the temperature is not very critical. Some people claim that the hotter water makes the wort more fluid and easier to drain but others have done the sparge with cool water and got the same results.

 

[Varmintman]

You will not extract tannins from using hot water but only if your ph drops during the sparge. Batch sparging you do not run that risk for the average batch.

I have sparged with boiling water for 99% of my batches and the other 1% I used cold tap water since I forgot to get the sparge water heating up. It does not make a difference if you are batch sparging at all other than the wait time for the boil is shorter if you use boiling water.

Now if you fly sparge that is a whole different deal