Thinking about "no sparge" brew

[Octavius]

The recipe is normally 18 lb of Maris Otter for 15 gal of session beer. I'll increase the grain to 24 lb for the "no sparge".

The mash tun is a Sanke keg (15 1/2 gal) so I'm limited to 13 gal of mash water.

After an hour, recirculate and drain to 2 boiling kettles (14 gal capacity, each) and top up each to 8 1/2 gal, to allow for 1 gal loss (each) over a 60 min boil.

Should I give it whirl or is there something you'd suggest.

Cheers!

 

[skunkfunk]

I don't understand. You are using 13 gallons of water and getting 17 out? Generally with no-sparge you do not use topoff water, you merely mash with all the water or add all the sparge water before draining. Upping grain by 33% should be totally unnecessary.

I suggest draining 8.5 gallons of the mash into one of the kettles and replacing that water with your sparge water, enough to get the other kettle to 8.5 gallons. You can then combine it all in the fermentor after the boil. Hell, you could drain it all into one of them and mix it back up, or something, to get even gravities, but I do two-pot boils all the time and it works fine to mix it later.

Let me qualify this by saying that I've never done a 15 gallon batch, but I have done similar procedure with smaller batches.

 

[Octavius]

Sorry for the confusion, skunkfunk.

I was thinking of completely draining what I could from the mash tun, equally into the two kettles. Then adding tap water to them both until I got up to 8 1/2 gal. Then just boiling with hops and that's the brew done.

Thanks for your suggestion - I'll save it as an option. But it seems to negate the advantages of a "no sparge". No sparging means a shorter brew day (my goal) and you won't run the risk of off flavors by over-sparging.

Here's a good read:

http://www.franklinbrew.org/wp/?page_id=139

 

[skunkfunk]

Sorry for the confusion, skunkfunk.
No sparging means a shorter brew day (my goal) and you won't run the risk of off flavors by over-sparging.

Well, you are limited by your vessel size here.

The article you linked explains that a batch sparge will not have any issue with off flavors either. It is true, you aren't going to get low gravity runoff issues unless you do something really, really weird when batch sparging. My proposed method is sort of a further hybrid between no-sparge and batch sparge, whereas typically batch sparging you would drain the entire mash and then wait a while after adding sparge water you could instead only partially drain before sparging and save yourself *some* time although perhaps not as much as a nosparge - giving it 10 minutes to mix with the wort should be plenty sufficient.[/runonsentence]

I suppose I just don't find 33% extra in grain costs acceptable. I got 72.5% efficiency on a 1.101 gravity beer (my biggest ever) with a no-sparge brew day. There isn't another 33% to be had there! I guess if money is no object (a lie brewers sometimes tell themselves) it is fine.

At the end of the day, do it however you want, but that is a pretty weird way to go about it. I'm not trying to be rude, I'm sure it will work, I'm just feeling quite verbose this afternoon. If you really want to do 15 gallon no-sparge batches you should get bigger equipment. Something like this could do it.

If you heat up all the water to your strike temp and just hold some back for sparging (fill up the mash tun as far as you feel comfortable and then hold the rest) you shouldn't have much time waiting for more water to heat.

 

[blizz81]

Well, you are limited by your vessel size here.
If you heat up all the water to your strike temp and just hold some back for sparging (fill up the mash tun as far as you feel comfortable and then hold the rest) you shouldn't have much time waiting for more water to heat.

Don't even really need to heat it if you don't want to waste the time / energy. I don't see why adding more water as you're running off your first runnings a) would be "more work" than topping off with water later and b) wouldn't be more beneficial than topping off, as you are going to wash out some sugars with it at least. You might not know the exact volume but that's something that can be calculated pretty closely and worked with, I'd think.

 

[Octavius]

Well, you are limited by your vessel size here.

I think you have figured it out, thanks.

I'll stick to regular sparging, or try your method.

Kinda hoping to shorten the brew day and so the "no sparge" method interested me.

Thanks for the critique!

 

[skunkfunk]

Don't even really need to heat it if you don't want to waste the time / energy. I don't see why adding more water as you're running off your first runnings a) would be "more work" than topping off with water later and b) wouldn't be more beneficial than topping off, as you are going to wash out some sugars with it at least. You might not know the exact volume but that's something that can be calculated pretty closely and worked with, I'd think.

Agreed.

That said, even a regular old batch sparge could save an hour over fly sparging. Typically I stir it up for a few minutes, stir again in a few minutes and drain it off at full speed. As for my last no-sparge, my big stout, it was not a good day and it was a very, very full coleman cooler. Let's just say my pregnant wife broke her foot while I was mashing in.

 

[Octavius]

Don't even really need to heat it...

Thanks for suggestion, blizz. One less thing to worry about.

And of course, you're right in that I might as well run some water through the grain.

Cheers

 

[youreanimpulse]

No reason to wait when batch sparging. Just pour it in, stir like a mother for a few mins, and let her rip.

 

[Bobby_M]

Take the water you were going to add to the kettles and just pour it in the mash tun, stir hard, then drain. It's no more than 5 extra minutes. The real way you'll speed up a brew day is getting more heat into the kettles than what a stovetop can do. Ever think about electric elements?

 

[Octavius]

Thanks for the input, guys.

...No reason to wait when batch sparging. Just pour it in, stir like a mother for a few mins, and let her rip....

Yeah, you're right. I chuck a mixer into a big-ass cordless drill and let rip. Then I use a beer pump to recirculate until somewhat clear.

... Ever think about electric elements?...

I have used a "5 gallon-bucket heater", a big electrical immersion element, just to heat up water but I'm worried it might get clogged up with leaf hops, short out or summit and fry me, if used in wort.

I'll be honest, I'm getting long in the tooth, and I'm beginning to dread brew days, hence the interest in no-sparge. I tried going back to using malt extract but it always has a 1970's home-brew tang to it. I'd give up brewing if I could find something in the store I like but it is all too dang strong and getting stupid expensive:



Yeah, that's a six pack!

Cheers!