18 months of AG and just now learned about proper Sparging

[tokerlund]

So I have been all grain brewing for about 18 months. Probably made 15 - 20 beers in that time. I have struggled with cloudy and sometime 'grainy' tasting beers. I thought I had a good handle on Sparging, but finally having some time I sat down to read today. I just realized I have been doing it wrong.

I used to get my mash done, then drain the wort until it ran clear. I would then throw the first runnings back on top. I would start to drain the tun into the brew pot and when the water level in the tun would get to the top of the grain bed, I would add all of my sparge water. I would often stir the mash to make sure I got higher efficiency.

From the way I understand batch sparging now, I should drain the whole tun or wort. Then add the sparge water and drain it a 2nd time. Then I can add both 'batches' of wort together to brew.

I am thinking I must have had my misunderstanding from confusing fly and batch sparging. In reading more on the topic I can see why I was struggling with cloudy and 'grainy' tasting beer.

 

[troy2000]

So I have been all grain brewing for about 18 months. Probably made 15 - 20 beers in that time. I have struggled with cloudy and sometime 'grainy' tasting beers. I thought I had a good handle on Sparging, but finally having some time I sat down to read today. I just realized I have been doing it wrong.

I used to get my mash done, then drain the wort until it ran clear. I would then throw the first runnings back on top. I would start to drain the tun into the brew pot and when the water level in the tun would get to the top of the grain bed, I would add all of my sparge water. I would often stir the mash to make sure I got higher efficiency.

From the way I understand batch sparging now, I should drain the whole tun or wort. Then add the sparge water and drain it a 2nd time. Then I can add both 'batches' of wort together to brew.

I am thinking I must have had my misunderstanding from confusing fly and batch sparging. In reading more on the topic I can see why I was struggling with cloudy and 'grainy' tasting beer.

I'm not all that experienced myself. But I tried fly sparging the first time and wound up with a stuck sparge, and I've been batch sparging ever since. Turned out the stuck sparge was because I had too much flour in my grain and needed to tune up my Corona mill, but the batch sparging has worked so well I stick with it.

I divide the total water I'll be using roughly in thirds, and mash with one portion. I batch sparge twice with the other two thirds; the second one runs pretty clear. It all goes into the brew kettle as it comes out the spigot, but I don't turn the heat on until all three portions are in it.

Supposedly that's less efficient than fly sparging, but I've been hitting my numbers just fine.

 

[acidrain]

Looks like you combined fly and batch sparging with the ultimate goal being batch sparging.
You're not the first.
I just learned that there is another aspect to batch sparging that I have not been doing...
Denny says to mash with the normal 1 to 1-1/3 qts. per lb.
Figure the grains will absorb 1 gal. per 10 lbs. of grain, so subtract that out to calculate expected wort available from the mash.
You want about 1/2 of the pre-boil volume, so you'll need to add a little water back into the mash just before you drain. This is the part I missed until I saw it in the example below.
After draining the first running, add enough sparge to make up the final runnings needed for the pre-boil volume.

Example from Dennybrew.com:
The things that you need to know to figure your water volumes are:

Total grain weight - in this case, 19.3 lb.
Strike water volume - in this case, 1.24 qt./lb or 6 gal.
Absorption of water by grain - in my system, it’s 10 lb. of grain absorbs 1 gal. of water. Some systems absorb 1 gal. for 8 lb. If you don’t know your absorption volume, measure your first runoff volume the first few brews. By knowing how much water you put in and how much wort you got out, you can easily figure your absorption. Pre-boil volume - how much sweet you need to start with. For this batch, we want 10 gal.

OK, we’re ready to brew!

1.) Mash in with 6 gal. of water for 1.24 qt./lb. I use the pitcher to pour water from the 7 gal. kettle (4th row 1st photo) until the kettle is light enough to lift and pour the rest of the water in. I predict that the grain will absorb 1.9 gal., so I should get just about 4 gal. out of the mash.

2.) Since I’d like to get 5 gal. out of this runoff, I infuse with 1 gal. of water at the end of the mash, before the first runoff. I add boiling water to get as close to the 168F mashout temperature as I can and stir it in.

3.) I begin to recirculate the mash by draining into the pitcher (5th row 1st photo). I only open the valve partially at first, then as the runoff clears I open it up fully. With the hose braid, I usually only have to drain about a quart or so until it’s clear. Keep draining and recirculating until the runnings are clear and free from pieces of grain.

4.) Once the runnings clear, direct the runoff to your kettle, and slowly pour the contents of the pitcher back over the top of your mash.

5.) Completely drain the mash tun as fast as your system will allow.

6.) As the first runoff progresses, start heating your batch sparge water. In this case, we’re going to heat 5 gal. to about 185F to try to get to a grain bed temperature in the 165-168F range.

7.) When the first runoff is done, close the valve and once again use the pitcher to add your sparge water until the pot is light enough to lift. Then pour the rest in. Stir the mash thoroughly.

8.) Go through the recirculation and draining process again, once more draining the cooler as fast as your system will allow.

9.) Continue the brewing process as you usually do

Congratulations...you’ve batch sparged! Like anything else in brewing, it may take a couple tries before you get everything figured out completely. But with batch sparging, you can brew all grain beers with a minimal investment in equipment, and a pride in the hands on fun of brewing.