Sparge Temp Question

[drakub]

Hi Everyone,
I'm getting ready to brew this banana beer that has had a lot of good reviews here on HBT. Here is a link for it https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/bananas-foster-creamy-ale-all-grain-pic-intensive-291125/
The question is ...

this person is sparging at 168 F by getting water all the way up to 196 F. Would that make any issues considering the grain that is in the mash tun? I was always under impression that you do not want the temp of the sparge to go over 170.

thanks for your help... again...

 

[JJL]

He's batch sparging. For this beer in his rig it takes 10.97 qts of water at 196F to raise the grain bed temp up to 168F. Your results may vary. Personally, I use 185F water to sparge most beers.

 

[COLObrewer]

No problems, that is the temp it takes to bring the mash from 150s to appx. 170F, this is for batch sparging.

 

[drakub]

ok... what about this aspect of nothing the grains over 170 because something gets released out of them... i am sorry for not being clear on this one but i just can't remember the technical terms right now.

the way i look at it is when you are pouring the 185 or 190 f onto the bed of grain some percentage of grain will be exposed to water that is over 170... am i seeing this right?

 

[tally350z]

ok... what about this aspect of nothing the grains over 170 because something gets released out of them... i am sorry for not being clear on this one but i just can't remember the technical terms right now.

the way i look at it is when you are pouring the 185 or 190 f onto the bed of grain some percentage of grain will be exposed to water that is over 170... am i seeing this right?

Yes you are correct. I usually add water that is about 190-195 degrees. The only time you are really concerned about adding water that is over 180ish is when you mash in. After the 60 minute mash when you add the sparge water your not concerned with tannin extraction. Tannin extraction is usually a result of the mash PH. I usually add the sparge water in equal sparges, stir let sit for 10 minutes and extract.

 

[drakub]

Cool.. thanks for clarification... i always added sparged water at 170F or even 169 for batch sparging. Would that have affected the efficiency percentage numbers since the grain was never brought up to the 170 mark?

 

[Denny]

Cool.. thanks for clarification... i always added sparged water at 170F or even 169 for batch sparging. Would that have affected the efficiency percentage numbers since the grain was never brought up to the 170 mark?

Not likely.

 

[drakub]

last batch i did only gave me sg at 1.056 where the recipe called for 1.086. not sure where i went wrong there except that i sparged at 169. The mash was for about 75 min at avg temp of 156.

 

[COLObrewer]

last batch i did only gave me sg at 1.056 where the recipe called for 1.086. not sure where i went wrong there except that i sparged at 169. The mash was for about 75 min at avg temp of 156.

Are you mixing in the sparge water? How is your crush?

 

[drakub]

well no.. what i do is i place water at about 165 F into a cooler (depending on lbs of grain but its about 6.4 gl) then i put the grain into it and stir it. Then it sits for about an hr and i do the iodine test. Once mash is completed i drain the cooler and then add water (it was at 170 and about 4 gal) then stir it and i let it sit for about 30 min and drain it until i get about 6.4 gal (which is what i think is needed to end up with 5 gal batch. I think my mistake was that the sparge water was too low in temp so my plan is to add water at about 195 rather then 170 during sparging. Does this sound like the correct process?

 

[drakub]

sorry... the crush gets done by the vendor i get my grain from. I do not have a mill at home.

 

[Denny]

well no.. what i do is i place water at about 165 F into a cooler (depending on lbs of grain but its about 6.4 gl) then i put the grain into it and stir it. Then it sits for about an hr and i do the iodine test. Once mash is completed i drain the cooler and then add water (it was at 170 and about 4 gal) then stir it and i let it sit for about 30 min and drain it until i get about 6.4 gal (which is what i think is needed to end up with 5 gal batch. I think my mistake was that the sparge water was too low in temp so my plan is to add water at about 195 rather then 170 during sparging. Does this sound like the correct process?

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by letting the sparge water sit at all, let alone for 30 min.! Check out www.dennybrew.com for batch sparge techniques.

 

[Denny]

sorry... the crush gets done by the vendor i get my grain from. I do not have a mill at home.

Ask them to run it through the mill twice, then. Crush is the #1 factor in efficiency.

 

[tally350z]

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by letting the sparge water sit at all, let alone for 30 min.! Check out www.dennybrew.com for batch sparge techniques.

Very true. When I started all grain I let the sparge sit for about 15 minutes. Now I just stir and drain, no drop in eff.

 

[COLObrewer]

well no.. what i do is i place water at about 165 F into a cooler (depending on lbs of grain but its about 6.4 gl) then i put the grain into it and stir it. Then it sits for about an hr and i do the iodine test. Once mash is completed i drain the cooler and then add water (it was at 170 and about 4 gal) then stir it and i let it sit for about 30 min and drain it until i get about 6.4 gal (which is what i think is needed to end up with 5 gal batch. I think my mistake was that the sparge water was too low in temp so my plan is to add water at about 195 rather then 170 during sparging. Does this sound like the correct process?

The only other thing you could do is split your sparge water in half and do two, mix/stir well each time, dont forget to vorlauf. The double rinse may get your yield up a little.

 

[oakbarn]

That is correct but you do not need to wait 30 minutes for the sparge water. 1. Add Sparge Water. 2. Stir 3. Wait 5 minutes. 4. Vorluft 5. Drain. You want to drain when the temp is higher as it makes the sugars flow better. You are only washing the grain for the sugars at this point. I use 185 degree water for sparge.

 

[drakub]

Can you just explain what is vorluft? Im assuming its stiring the mash....

 

[duboman]

Can you just explain what is vorluft? Im assuming its stiring the mash....

Vorleuf is a process where you slowly drain some runnings into a separate pitcher several times until you begin to get clear runnings. Each pitcher full gets returned slowly to the mash. This sets the grain bed to act as a filter and eliminates the fine debris that comes through initially. Once you get clear runnings you open the valve and let the wort drain into the kettle. You do this to collect first runnings and then again when you sparge.

 

[drakub]

thanks for all of your input. i will be trying these methods this sunday... we will see what happens.

 

[drakub]

Very true. When I started all grain I let the sparge sit for about 15 minutes. Now I just stir and drain, no drop in eff.

Hi,
i noticed that you have dog fish head 90 clone... how did it come out? Also would you be willing to share the recipe with me?