Batch sparge question

[Boss]

Hi all,

Fairly new to the forum and have a quick question. I'm working on a Bell's Two Hearted clone and BeerSmith has me batch sparging with two steps - 1st step at one gallon sparge water and the 2nd with ~3.6 gallons of sparge water. Is there any specific reason that these two steps are not done with equal parts sparge water? Just curious. Thanks in advance.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Happywanderer]

Skip the two step sparge.

Sparging with 1 gallon isn't going to do anything other than get your grains wet.

For batch sparging, after you vorlaugh and drain first runnings, add all your sparge water to the mash tun. Stir like a mad man for ... eh ... 3-5 minutes. I use a giant whisk for this.

Let sit 10 minutes.

Vorlaugh and drain second runnings.

Done.

 

[chickypad]

Open up the mash profile, there is a place for batch sparge options where you check "use equal batches". If you want one step and it will fit in your tun you'll want the drain mash tun box checked and be sure it's set to fill like 95% of your tun.

 

[user 141939]

I bet the first sparge is meant to be a mash out step.

 

[kh54s10]

I didn't know about the equal amounts check box. I'll have to look for that.

I have always just ignored the sparge amounts. I measure how much I collected in the first runnings. I know I need very close to 7.3 gallons to end up with just over 5 going into the fermenter, so I do a sparge with a little over half needed, measure again then do a second sparge with about .1 gallon extra. This gives me my preboil amount and does not leave a lot of water left behind. Makes the grain lighter to carry to the compost pile.

 

[wapitiscat]

That part of the mash profile in BeerSmith still confounds me. It doesn't help that I'm sloppy with my equipment profiles and have to check to see if I'm using my 5 or 10 gallon cooler for mashing. I just fiddle with the settings (mainly the percent of the tun volume to use) until I get two equal sparge volumes. For my 10 gallon tun, it will often give me one volume that the cooler could hold but I split it and do two sparges anyway.

Todd

 

[Boss]

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Boss]

While we're on the topic of BeerSmith, does the software include cooling shrinkage in the post boil volume, or is post boil volume strictly from evaporative losses?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[acidrain]

The odd mash volumes work like this... If you add the 1 gallon to the mash just before draining your first running, it will make the first running, and the sparge the same volume. Check out Denny Conn's batch sparge method. It's how he does it.

BS will subtract cooling loss in the final batch size (wort into the fermenter).

 

[56kz2slow]

Stir like a mad man for ... eh ... 3-5 minutes. I use a giant whisk for this.

Could I use a grout mixer attached to a drill? A new SS mixer that is.

 

[56kz2slow]

Stir like a mad man for ... eh ... 3-5 minutes. I use a giant whisk for this.

Could I use a grout mixer attached to a drill? A new SS mixer that is.

 

[depper]

Could I use a grout mixer attached to a drill? A new SS mixer that is.

I use a 5-gallon paint mixer I got at HD for stirring my MLT and when I'm cooling my wort after boil. Works great!! Little effort on my part.

Tim